T&F: County athletes dominate 1A Area Meet
relay last week at Carthage's Bulldog Stadium. The Tiger foursome,
also consisting of Sadara Wilson and Victor Johnson, placed second
with a time of 1:33.78 to advance to the Region III Track Meet on
May 3-4 in Palestine. (Photo by John Krueger)
CARTAHGE -- Shelby County athletes from Joaquin, Tenaha and Timpson posted strong finishes last week at the Class 1A Area Track & Field Meet held here at Bulldog Stadium as they jockeyed to finish in the top four positions in order to qualify for the May 3-4 Region III Track & Field Meet set for Palestine.
The Timpson Lady Bears took top honors in the girls' division with 88 points. In addition to the excellent finish by Timpson, another Shelby County girls' squad placed in the top five overall as the Tenaha Lady Tigers scored 50 points to take the fifth spot. Cushing scored 72 points to grab third, while Beckville was close behind with 63 points and came in fourth. Joaquin was seventh with 45 points.
In the boys' division, the Timpson Bears scored 79 points, which was good enough to place second overall. Alto took top honors as the Yellowjackets scored 105 points. Overton placed third with 77 points, Carlisle tallied 56 points and secured fourth, while Tenaha placed fifth with 36 points to round out the top five.
Here is a rundown on how the participants from the three county schools fared in the events:
Tenaha High School
The Lady Tigers 400-meter relay team of Tia Thomas, Okievia Bratchett, Whitney Jackson and Courtney Edwards posted a time of 51.84, which qualified the foursome for regional with a second-place finish.
The Tenaha foursome of Thomas, Bratchett, Jackson and Edwards took top honors in the 800-meter relay to advance to the Region III Meet. They finished the event in 1:51.43.
Courtney Edwards placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.27, to advance to the next meet, while Amber M. Evans placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.09.
Bratchett was a regional qualifier in the triple jump, posting a fourth-place finish with a leap of 31 feet.
The Tiger 400-meter relay foursome of Cobi Steadman, Victor Johnson, Jose Campos and Reginald Davis ran third with a time of 44.07, to advance to Regional. The Tiger 800-meter relay team of Sadara Wilson, Porter Gipson, Davis and Johnson will also advance after running the event at the Area meet in 1:33.78 to place second.
Johnson leaped to a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 19'3.25". He also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.27. Both finishes will move him to the Region III Meet.
Timpson High School
All three Timpson Bear relay teams will be headed to the Region III Meet after posting finishes in the Top 3 at the Area Meet.
The 400-meter relay of Lorenzo Young, Rody Paige, Daylon Hooper and Jaylin Rhodes posted a time of 43.2 to place second, the 800-meter relay foursome of Denorris Blackshear, Kenneth Jackson, Young and Rhodes ran the event in 1:34.2 to come in third, and the 1600-meter relay of Jackson, Hooper, Young and Cameron Courtney posted a time of 3:35.3 to place second.
Courtney also qualified for Regional in the 800-meters and 1600-meters. He won both events, posting a time of 2:10 in the 800 and a 4:27 in the 1600-meters.
Warren Gray placed third in the 300-meter hurdles to advance with a time of 42.6. He finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a 17.8.
Rhodes placed fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.39, while Paige posted a time of 11.41 in the event to come in sixth.
Hooper will move on in the 400-meter dash after placing second with a 51.6. Lance Richard ran fifth with a time of 55.4.
Young leaped 5'6" in the high jump and finished sixth.
The Lady Bear 400-meter relay foursome of Latoya Cartwright, Tan Eaden, Shanee Adams and Jakelia Caraway took the Area title in the event and will advance to the Regional Meet with a time of 51.12.
Timpson will be represented at the Regional meet by two contestants in the 100-meter dash as Caraway took top honors with a 12.78 and Eaden posted the third-best time of 13.27.
Leeann Gustin of Timpson placed fifth in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles with a 55.68.
The Lady Bears were 1-2 in the 200-meter dash. Caraway posted the top time of 27.15, while Cartwright ran second in the event, posting a 27.78.
Kirsten Kimzey was another Regional qualifier, finishing second in the 1600-meter run with a 6:23.39.
The Lady Bear 1600-meter relay foursome of Gustin, Kimzey, Cartwright and Adams ran fourth in the event with a 4:39.55.
In the field events, Lady Bear Katy Yarbrough placed third in the discus with an 86'5", while teammate Shelby Green posted the fifth spot in the shot put with a 34'4". Cartwright finished fourth in the high jump with a height of 4'5", while Eaden had the fourth-longest leap in the long jump at 14'10.5".
Joaquin High School
The Joaquin Lady Ram 1600-meter relay foursome set a personal best with its second-place finish of 4:28. The team is made up of Michaila Duncan, Erin Stone, Whitney Vaughn and Olivia Worsham. Jordan Welch is the alternate on the team.
Duncan also placed third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:04.8, while Vaughn set a personal best time in the 800-meters, running the event in 2:34 to finish second.
Worsham set a personal best in the triple jump, leaping 30'8.5" to place fifth. She also ran fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.20 and second in the 300-meter hurdles with a 52.5. She will advance to the Regional meet in both hurdle events.
CLASS 1A AREA MEET
Top Team Results
Boys
1. Alto 105
2. Timpson 79
3. Overton 77
4. Carlisle 56
5. Tenaha 36
6. Calvert 30
6. Milford 30
8. Trinidad 25
Girls
1. Timpson 88
2. Alto 76
3. Cushing 72
4. Beckville 63
5. Tenaha 50
6. Overton 46
7. Joaquin 45
8. Trinidad 38