T&F: Courtney to make return trip to State
State Track & Field Championships in Austin on May 14-15
when he won both the 800-meters and 1600-meters at the
Class 1A Region III Track & Field Meet in Palestine. (Photo by
John Krueger)
Timpson distance runner Cameron Courtney will be headed back to the High School State Track & Field Championships after claiming top honors in both the 800-meters and 1600-meters at the Class 1A Track & Field Meet held at Palestine High School on Tuesday.
Courtney was the lone Shelby County male qualifier for the State meet.
Here is a rundown of how Shelby County male athletes fared at their respective Region III track and field meets on this week:
Class 1A Region III Meet
Lindsey won the overall Class 1A Region III boys title with 83 points, followed by Alto with 56 points, Dallas Gateway scored 48, Itasca posted 46 points, Collinsville was fifth with 44 points and Timpson finished sixth with 37 points.
Cameron Courtney will advance to the State meet in two events, returning in the 800-meters and qualifying for the first time in the 1600-meters.
He posted a time of 2:05.39 in the preliminaries and then won the final race by more than four seconds, finishing the event with an impressive 1:57.57. Brendan Douglas of Blue Ridge was second with a 2:01.81.
Courtney was also dominating in the 1600-meters. There was no preliminary in this event and he finished the competition in 4:38.30. Phillip Thomas of Itasca was second with a 4:44.63.
The Tenaha 4x100-meter relay foursome of Cobi Steadman, Victor Johnson, Jose Campos and Reginald Davis placed fourth, running a 44.31 in the preliminaries and a 44.12 in the final.
Timpson also had a team in the 4x100 relay that did not finish the preliminary race. Lindsay took top honors with a 43.14.
The Bears' 4x200-meter relay foursome of Denorris Blackshear, Lorenzo Young, Kenneth Jackson and Jaylin Rhodes finished fifth overall, posting a time of 1:34.64 in the prelims and a 1:31.99 in the finals.
Tenaha's 4x200-mter relay team of Sadara Wilson, Reginald Davis, Porter Gipson and Victor Johnson ran seventh. The foursome qualified for the finals with a 1:35.46 and posted a 1:34.34. Dallas Gateway took top honors with a 1:30.39.
Timpson's Warren Gray placed sixth in the 300-meter hurdles. He ran a 44.35 in the preliminaries and a 43.08 in the finals. Ryan Haverkamp of Lindsay took top honors with a time of 40.36.
The Tigers' Victor Johnson suffered an injury in the 200-meter dash, resulting in him posting a time of 24.36 in the preliminaries. He did not qualify for the finals, finishing in 12th place overall. Robert Arend of Lindsay won the event with a 22.58.
The Bears' 4x400-meter relay team of Kenneth Jackson, Daylon Hooper, Lorenzo Young and Cameron Courtney just missed a trip to the State meet. The foursome posted in a time of 3:37.09 in the preliminaries and 3:29.95, which resulted in a 3rd-place finish. Alto took top honors with a 3:22.39.
In the field events, Victor Johnson of Tenaha leaped 17'6" in the long jump, which resulted in a finish of 14th.
Class 3A Region III Meet
After experiencing disappointment during the first day of the Class 3A Region III Track and Field Meet in Humble on Monday, there was more frustration for the Center Roughriders during Tuesday's finals.
The Roughriders 4x100-relay foursome of J'Von Jones, Ty Hubbard, Jeremy Small and Jacovian Johnson advanced to the finals with the fifth-best time in the preliminaries with a 42.45. The runners had an excellent opportunity to finish in the top two in the finals because of a violation by one of the other teams and the consequential problems involving other runners. But Johnson suffered a leg injury in the final 20 yards of the race, resulting in CHS to finish fourth in the event with a 42.40.
Because of his injury, Johnson wasn't able to participate in the 200-meter dash.
Center's Demarcus Brown placed seventh overall in the 300-mter hurdles.
Class 2A Region III Meet
Shelbyville's Brandon Gillespie was the Dragons' top performer at the Class 2A Region III Track & Field Meet when he leaped 43'3.75" in the long jump and finished sixth overall.