The most important part of David Caldwell's training comes after practice.

"Just ice baths to try and keep from getting injured,'' said the South Charleston senior. "I'm just trying to stay injury free.''

Avoiding any type of pull or strain was Caldwell's only concern Thursday evening in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the Class AAA Region 3 meet at Laidley Field.

The 6-foot, 160-pound chiseled Caldwell jogged to an easy victory in 3,200, his best event, finishing in a healthy time of 10 minutes, 2.57 seconds in the boys division. He was nearly 17 seconds better than second place. For good measure, Caldwell also took the 1,600 in 4:40.23, more than 6 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

The top three in each running event and the top four in each field event at the regionals advance to the state meet, set for May 22-23 at Laidley.

George Washington used victories in the sprint events to earn the boys title with 127 points, ahead of Greenbrier East (104) and SC (901/2). In the girls division, Woodrow Wilson also turned sprint success into a championship with 181 points, finishing comfortably in front of Capital (94) and Nicholas County (81). (See Page 5B for results.)

Caldwell owns the second-fastest time in the state in the 3,200, turning in a 9:29.58 at a meet in Columbia, S.C., about a month ago. He has the sixth-best clocking in the 1,600 (4:28.1).

Caldwell was third in the 3,200 at last year's state meet in 9:47.2 and ninth in the 1,600.

"He's really stepped it up this year,'' said SC boys coach Jamie McDonough. "He trains exceptionally hard. He has his own distance coach and [SC athletic director] Jason [Redman] runs with him. They push him hard [and] he's always in the weight room doing what it takes.''

All of Caldwell's focus next week will be on the 3,200 and his stiffest challenger, North Marion senior Zach Tennant, who owns the best time in the 3,200 (9:25.67).

"I haven't really run a good 2-mile since,'' said Caldwell of his personal best in the South Carolina meet. "I'd say Tennant will be able to pull me along for a good 2-mile.

"I think I can go in the 9:20s. They say it's his to lose. I heard he's trying to go after the state meet record. I don't know if I'm that fast. We'll see what happens.''

The most important part of David Caldwell's training comes after practice.

"Just ice baths to try and keep from getting injured,'' said the South Charleston senior. "I'm just trying to stay injury free.''

Avoiding any type of pull or strain was Caldwell's only concern Thursday evening in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the Class AAA Region 3 meet at Laidley Field.

The 6-foot, 160-pound chiseled Caldwell jogged to an easy victory in 3,200, his best event, finishing in a healthy time of 10 minutes, 2.57 seconds in the boys division. He was nearly 17 seconds better than second place. For good measure, Caldwell also took the 1,600 in 4:40.23, more than 6 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

The top three in each running event and the top four in each field event at the regionals advance to the state meet, set for May 22-23 at Laidley.

George Washington used victories in the sprint events to earn the boys title with 127 points, ahead of Greenbrier East (104) and SC (901/2). In the girls division, Woodrow Wilson also turned sprint success into a championship with 181 points, finishing comfortably in front of Capital (94) and Nicholas County (81). (See Page 5B for results.)

Caldwell owns the second-fastest time in the state in the 3,200, turning in a 9:29.58 at a meet in Columbia, S.C., about a month ago. He has the sixth-best clocking in the 1,600 (4:28.1).

Caldwell was third in the 3,200 at last year's state meet in 9:47.2 and ninth in the 1,600.

"He's really stepped it up this year,'' said SC boys coach Jamie McDonough. "He trains exceptionally hard. He has his own distance coach and [SC athletic director] Jason [Redman] runs with him. They push him hard [and] he's always in the weight room doing what it takes.''

All of Caldwell's focus next week will be on the 3,200 and his stiffest challenger, North Marion senior Zach Tennant, who owns the best time in the 3,200 (9:25.67).

"I haven't really run a good 2-mile since,'' said Caldwell of his personal best in the South Carolina meet. "I'd say Tennant will be able to pull me along for a good 2-mile.

"I think I can go in the 9:20s. They say it's his to lose. I heard he's trying to go after the state meet record. I don't know if I'm that fast. We'll see what happens.''

McDonough said Caldwell should have something to run for in the 3,200.

"This meet really didn't push him that hard, but when he gets to states and gets in the same heat as [Tennant] it's going to be a good race.

"He just needs somebody to push him. When you have a guy that's faster than you, you see him in front of you, he's going to push you to run a faster time. I think it's going to come down to the last lap.''

GW surprisingly dominated the sprints in the boys division.

Patriots sophomore Shaquille Williams (100, 11.15 seconds) and senior Matt Johnson (200, 22.31) posted victories while they also helped GW grabb the 4x100 and 4x200 relay titles. The Patriots shuttle hurdles relay was disqualified and coach Shawn Wheeler said he thought they had a good chance to win that, too.

Williams, who competed in the 100 because of an injury last week in practice to senior Greg Jones, defeated Riverside junior Raheem Waiters, as did Johnson in the 200. Waiters has the second-fastest time in the Kanawha Valley behind Hurricane senior Terrell Martin in the 100 and the second-best performance in the state behind Martin in the 200.

"I really didn't know what to expect in the 100,'' said Wheeler. "Shaq just came out of nowhere for me. He's been running 11.5 in the one meet I ran him in the 100 then he came out and ran an 11.02 [in qualifying].

"I mean that's fast. I can't wait to see him run against Terrell Martin [at the state meet]. It worked out a little bit better than I had figured before the meet. I didn't think anybody was going to beat Raheem in our region. My guys stepped up and surprised me.''

Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at tatkin...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4811.