After competing both years at now-defunct Nike Track Nationals, two of the country’s elite girls programs renew acquaintances in hypothetical dual meet final, with Chandler remaining on top

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

For Chandler AZ and Western Branch VA, it was only fitting it ended this way.

Whether it was in 2010 at the inaugural Nike Track Nationals at Hayward Field, or eight years later in a virtual competition after the historic venue had been torn down, two programs accustomed to the national spotlight found their paths crossing once again.

The only thing missing this time was an opportunity for Chandler coach Eric Richardson to say a formal goodbye to Western Branch coach Claude Toukene – whom he refers to as “my friend from Cameroon” – following a 14-year career at the Chesapeake-based school, before taking on his next challenge at Bryant and Stratton College in Virginia Beach.

Just like they did both years at Nike Track Nationals, Chandler prevailed against Western Branch, this time by a 71-61 margin in a hypothetical national championship of the third annual DyeStat dual meet tournament.

CHANDLER INSPIRED BY LATE COACH WILLIAMS DURING RUN TO BACK-TO-BACK NATIONAL TITLES

But seven years removed from their last showdown, it was clear the more the personnel changed, the more the expectations and success remained the same for both programs.

“Claude and I first crossed paths in 2010 at the Nike Team Nationals and had some conversations and some arguments over watching the World Cup versus watching Wimbledon and Serena Williams, so that’s how we first got in tune with each other,” Richardson said. “Then the second year when we won it again in 2011, he came in and said all the coaches were talking about Long Beach Poly and the schools from Florida and these mega-teams from all over the place and he was the one who set everybody straight about us. That meant a lot because that was high praise coming from him.”

Nike Track Nationals were a one-day, 12-team competition at Hayward Field that featured 10 events – 100 meters, 400, 800, 1 mile, 100 hurdles, high jump, long jump, pole vault, discus throw and shot put – that was the last real attempt to crown a national team champion in high school track and field, much like Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals every fall try to determine the best cross country teams and individual distance runners in the country.

The event ceased after 2011 and while competitions like New Balance Nationals Outdoor and the Brooks PR Invitational have become staples on the calendar of several elite prep athletes and programs each June, no event has tried to recognize team success on a national level since then.

The scoring for each team at Nike Track Nationals was done similar to a heptathlon or decathlon, where every event would contribute toward a cumulative score. The one benefit for the competing schools was, unlike the heptathlon or decathlon, a team could drop a single event and only factor nine into its overall score.

Chandler prevailed in 2010 with 7721.65 points, with Western Branch finishing third with 7427.85.

Seven of the girls teams that attended the first year – Chandler, Western Branch, Long Beach Poly CA, Hopkins MN, Harvard-Westlake CA, Kentwood WA and Lee’s Summit West MO – returned in 2011, with Chandler performing even better to repeat as champion with 8096.71 points and Western Branch finishing sixth with 7439.30.

“Claude told the other coaches, ‘Hey, he brought almost a completely new team this year and they won it again, so give them some credit because they’re pretty good,’” Richardson said. “You had to be good to win there because you had Lee’s Summit West and so many other powerhouses, but we measured them all and got the victory.”

With Chandler not making any trips East to participate in the Penn Relays or New Balance Nationals Outdoor and Western Branch not traveling West during the regular season to race at the Arcadia Invitational, it had been since that 2011 matchup in Oregon that two of the nation’s most prestigious programs found themselves connected again in competition.

Although it was a virtual matchup, this year’s showdown still held special meaning for Richardson, not just as a result of the outcome, but also because of the historical significance attached to it.

“We definitely have some old dirt that we chew,” he said. “It’s amazing for it to happen again like this, I really didn’t expect it. We were a little thin on the sprint side this year, so when I saw how well they were running, I figured they would be the odds-on favorite, kind of like Miami Northwestern (the past two years), because they’re extremely talented in the sprints, jumps and hurdles, and he does a fabulous job with the relays. For it to be us against them in the finals, and for us to come out on top, it’s truly an honor.”