T&F: County runners sharpen skills
track meet in the 800-meter relay. Johnson is the anchor leg in both
the 400-meter and the 800-meter relay for the Roughriders. The
Roughriders posted the top times in both events at the Regional
Qualifiers' Meet in Hemphill held Thursday. (Photo by John Krueger)
All Shelby County schools were represented on Thursday at the Regional Qualifiers' Meet held at Hornet Stadium in Hemphill. With the exception of the Center Lady Riders and the Timpson Lady Bears, all regional bound teams were represented at the meet.
Center was getting final competition work in before its May 3-4 Class 3A Region III Track & Field Meet set for Humble. Joaquin, Timpson and Tenaha will be at the Class 1A Region III Track & Field Meet in Palestine and Shelbyville will compete at the Class 2A Region III Region III Track & Field Meet in Whitehouse on May 3-4.
Here's a rundown of the work completed by each school from Shelby County:
Center High School
The Center Roughriders recorded four first-place finishes and one second at the meet. Pole vaulters Joel Koonce captured the top spot and Grant Belrose placed second in their competition. Both athletes cleared 12'0".
In the running events, Demarcus Brown took top honors in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 41.03.
Center's 400-meter relay foursome of J'Von Jones, Ty Hubbard, Jeremy Small and Jacovian Johnson outsprinted the competition with a time of 41.93, which pleased CHS Head Track Coach Mickey Smith.
"This was only the second time we've run in that order with those same people and it was a great time," Smith commented. "We won the event by about 20 yards; those guys are getting pretty excited about the possibilities at the Regional meet."
The Roughrider 800-meter relay of Jones, Hubbard, Small and Johnson also took top honors, running the event with a time of 1:28.7.
"The kids did a great job despite Jacovian catching a smoke in the track coming down the stretch," Smith stated. "We still won by 20-30 yards.
"The kids ran really well. They're starting to peak at just the right time. They've really worked hard and they know if some things fall right and we have good exchanges that we have a chance to get to the Regional finals. At that point you never know what might happen."
Shelbyville High School
The Dragons' Brandon Gillespie placed second in the triple jump with a distance of 42'1", then ran third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.11. Shelbyville's Chris Thompson placed fourth in the shot put with a distance of 42'3".
Jeffrey Cagle was fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.2 and Jestin Brown came in second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.285.
For the Lady Dragons, the 400-meter relay foursome of Shameria Lathan, Tameria Lathan, Shenequa Lathan and Tiamary McKinney finished the race in 50.98, which was good enough for third.
Shameria Lathan ran fourth in the 200-meters with a time of 27.39.
Tenaha High School
The Tenaha Tiger 400-meter relay foursome of Cobi Steadman, Victor Johnson, Porter Gipson and Reginald Davis ran the event in 44.04 to place fourth. The Tiger 800-meter relay team of Octavius Griffith, Sadara Wilson, Johnson and Gipson posted the sixth-fastest time of 1:37.7.
The Lady Tiger 400-meter relay team of Tia Thomas, Okievia Bratchett, Whitney Jackson and Courtney Edwards finished fifth with a time of 51.86. The same four girls ran fifth in the 800-meter relay with a time of 1:52.
Courtney Edwards placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.1. Bratchett leaped 32'3" in the triple jump, which placed her seventh.
Timpson High School
The Timpson Bears' 800-meter relay foursome of Lorenzo Young, Rody Paige, Kenneth Jackson and Jaylin Rhodes placed third with a time of 1:33.7. The Bears' 1,600-meter relay foursome of Denorris Blackshear, Lance Richard, Paige and Jackson came in third with a time of 3:40.
In the 400-meter dash, Timpson's Blackshear ran third with a time of 54.5. Jay Bussey posted a time of 59.8 and Keon Coleman ran a 58.5.
Warren Gray competed in the 300-meter hurdles, placing second with a 43.13.
Joaquin High School
Although they didn't have any athletes finish in the top three places, the Joaquin Lady Rams had a good effort at the meet.
Olivia Worsham ran an 18.5 in the 100-meter high hurdles, while posting a time of 54.1 in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
Michiala Duncan posted the 4th-best time of 1:04.1 in the 400-meter dash, while Whitney Vaughn ran the 800-meter run in 2:40.
The Lady Ram 1,600-meter relay team of Olivia Worsham, Erin Stone, Whitney Vaughn and Michiala Duncan finished in a time of 4:28.