Marist Hangs on by the Thinnest of Threads Defending their 4A Title
Marist had built a nice lead going into Saturday and needed to take care of business to secure the title, but an unfortunate fall in the 800m race, threw a slight monkey in the wrench, as the War Eagles had to watch, with no chances to score the final 3 events, but held on to their shorts taking the 4A title by 1 point over Carrollton as the Trojans made a monumental run on Saturday.
Sandy Creek blew out of the blocks recording the fastest 4x100m relay time of the day earning a 'Best Performance Award' going 41.27 pulling a mild upset over Banneker HS in 2nd at 41.67
Statesboro's Zaquavian Smith was not intimidated overtaking Banneker's Ryan Clark the final 10 meters taking 4A 400m Gold home in 47.60. Clark, visibly disapointed, had to settle for 2nd in 47.62
Demek Kemp of MONROE AREA HS caught and passed Marvin Hubbard from Sandy Creek before the finish line winning the 4A 100 meter title in 10.61. Hubbard placed 2nd in 10.70.
Daniel Gilstrap picked up 10 HUGE points for Marist as he took the Gold in the 110 hurdles in 14.04. Statesboro's Andreas Ward finished in 2nd place at 14.33
Devin Dixon of Eagle's Landing pulled a big upset in the 4A 800 meter race as he stayed in stride coming down the homestretch clocking a 1:55.66 besting Nolan Daniels of Marist a step back in 1:55.91. Andrew Coggins of Lagrange had a nice race taking the bronze medal.
Carrollton continued their run at Marist during Finals as Trent Carroll had a monster race with pr of 21.46 ahead of Smith from Statesboro at 21.72. Clark of Banneker continued to have a tough day .003 back in 3rd place.
The Trojans continued to close the gap on Marist in the 300 hurdles as Caleb Johnson came up big gliding across the hurdles for the win at 37.94. Johnson of Statesboro finished 2nd in 38.14
Coming into the 4x400m relay, Carrollton was very much in play for a team title, but Bannker could have cared less as they took the Gold in 3:17.07 edging a game Eastside team at 3:17.58. Carrollton gave it their best coming up a little short in 3rd a point behind Marist.