Will DeLoach winning the 3200m at the Jerry Arnold Challenge
Unsung Heroes Week 3: Ain't No Hurdle High Enough
This week at Unsung Heroes, we recognize athletes from the smallest three classifications: 1A Divisions I and II, and 2A. These athletes are the most likely to be under-discussed in the usual meet previews and the "Who Won the Week?" articles due to most of these schools competing at smaller meets throughout the regular season. That's why we have a space here to recognize these great competitors! All of the track and field athletes featured in this week's edition rank among the top three athletes in at least one event in their respective classifications so far this season.
"Unsung Heroes" recognizes some great individual performances from this past week across the state of Georgia that might have flown under the radar or gone underappreciated. One winner is selected from each of five categories (sprints, hurdles, distance, jumps, and throwing events) for both boys and girls. Enjoy!
Girls Winners
Sprints
Savannah Simmons, Mount Pisgah
12.76 in 100m at Milton Showcase Invitational, 2nd
26.35 in 200m at Blessed Trinity Meet #1, 2nd.
17' 7" in Long Jump at Milton Showcase Invitational, 1st
Simmons, a junior for the Mount Pisgah Patriots, finished 10th in the 200m and 300mH last season at state, but she looks ready to place much higher this season so far. Simmons finished second in the 100m behind only teammate Madison Childress against athletes from much larger schools at the Milton Showcase Invitational. That came after a great race earlier in the week where she finished a close second in the 200m at Blessed Trinity. This sprinting prowess represents a return to form for Simmons, as she finished in the top 5 at state in the 100 and 200 her freshman season.
Hurdles
47.85 in 300mH at 13th Annual Eagle Invitational, 2nd
16.12 in 100mH at 13th Annual Eagle Invitational, 2nd
One of the reasons why I enjoy writing Unsung Heroes is the chance to highlight athletes from smaller classifications who would otherwise be lost in the shuffle but have done a tremendous job to be one of the best in the state in their respective events. Macada McDonald represents this quite well, as she peaked at the right time last season to finish a surprising 3rd in the 100mH and 4th in the 300mH at 2A state. After the reclassification in summer 2022, McDonald seems poised to finish even higher this year. In her first outing of the season, she ranked second in the state in 2A in both hurdle events, and she has already shown she knows how to perform when the stakes are higher.
Distance
Maria Knapp, Georgia Military College Prep
2:36.77 in 800m at BHS Friday Night Lights, 1st
Hard work and persistence do pay off, as do trying new things! Maria Knapp, a junior at GMC Prep, finished in the top 20 at XC state for 1A Public as just a freshman, and then topped her region in the 3200 later that spring. However, success at the state meet in XC or track has eluded her since then, as it appears several seasons have been cut short due to injuries. Knapp put all that behind her while trying the 800 for the first time (in a MileSplit-recorded meet) and immediately launched herself to the very top of the 1A-DII leaderboard in that event. She also won the meet by almost 10 seconds. With good health, Knapp will be a good bet to finish with a good haul of points in various distance events at state this year.
Throws
111' 6" in Discus Throw at 13th Annual Eagle Invitational, 1st
24' 9" in Shot Put at 13th Annual Eagle Invitational, 17th
Don't let your eyes Glaze over this next entry in our Unsung Heroes. Marika Glaze, a senior from Elbert County, was not expected to make much of a splash in the rankings this year, coming off of a season in which she failed to qualify for state in the discus or shot put last year, with a PR of less than 100 feet in the discus. However, she put everything together in her very first meet of 2023, scoring first place in the discus for the Blue Devils at the Eagle Invitational. This was a sensational throw that is more than 10 feet farther than any other girl in 1A-DI so far this season.
Jumps
11' 4" in Pole Vault at Pierce County Varsity Meet #1, 1st
Sophie Scruggs is far from an unknown in GA pole vaulting circles. After all, she cleared 11 feet in the pole vault last spring and won her region meet. Unfortunately, her season ended after region, and she was unable to try for a state title. Scruggs came out this season in top form, clearing a personal best height of 11 feet 4 inches at the Pierce County Varsity Meet, a tri-meet that Scruggs won by an outstanding five and a half feet! Having only picked up pole vault last season, she could potentially be one of the best in any classification once she faces some top competition later in the season.
Boys Winners
Sprints
Winfred Anderson, Mitchell County
22.46 in 200m at Fitzgerald Home Meet #1, 3rd
11.20 in 100m at Fitzgerald Home Meet #1, 2nd
1A Division II can be a tough place to earn recognition. It's not always a given that athletes will have many opportunities to compete in FAT meets that are published on MileSplit. Also, it's difficult to have athletes competing in the whole gamut of events when the class sizes are so small. Case in point, 1A-DII Region 1, where Mitchell County competes, has 13 schools, but just four have competed in any MileSplit-posted meets so far this season. Luckily for Winfred Anderson, the Fitzgerald Home Meet fit the bill, and Anderson took full advantage. His times of 11.20 in the 100m and 22.46 in the 200m should be good enough for him to qualify for the state meet right there, but given that Anderson is just a sophomore already rapidly improving from his freshman season, he will likely improve even more.
Hurdles
43.75 in 300mH at 1st Annual Willie Hamm Invitational, 2nd
17.00 in 100mH at 1st Annual Willie Hamm Invitational, 1st
After one meet, Walker has shown he belongs in the conversation for the best hurdler in 1A Division I this year. His time of 17.00 in the 100mH ranks first in the classification so far this season, and he won the event at the Willie Hamm Invitational at his home track by nearly two seconds. He also finished second in the 300m hurdles in the same meet in another very good time. These performances stack up with his best from last season, where he qualified for sectionals in both events.
Distance
9:55.14 in 3200m at 2023 Jerry Arnold Challenge, 1st
Will DeLoach has been a steady improver as a runner over the past few seasons, capped off by a top-10 performance at 2A XC state this past fall. Unfortunately, he's been overshadowed by his Athens Academy teammate Jackson Scruggs. This year, in his junior season, DeLoach decided to run track for the first time, and it appears as if it has already paid off with some very impressive results. In his first outdoor 1600, DeLoach broke 4:30 at the Marietta Distance Carnival. More recently, DeLoach won the 3200 at the very competitive Jerry Arnold Challenge over some proven track runners such as Beck Wolf-Hardy and Luke Kalarickal. DeLoach, Scruggs, and teammate Robbie Dillon have swept the rankings in the 1600 and 3200 in 2A so far this year. Let's see if they can end the season like that, too!
Throws
120' 1" in Discus Throw at Milton Showcase Invitational, 3rd
36' 3" in Shot Put at Milton Showcase Invitational, 15th
The Weber School, GHSA's only Jewish school (as far as I'm aware), isn't one that usually gets a lot of press in MileSplit. However, Solomon Raggs may change that narrative. The freshman had a dream start to his high school track and field career by hurling the discus 120' 1" at the Milton Showcase Invitational. This throw was good enough to rank him second in 1A-DI, and third in all classifications among freshmen. Given how throwers tend to improve with age and muscle, Raggs certainly is on a bright trajectory. He has a great track record, too, as he finished second at GA Middle School State last spring, so it would not be too surprising to see him throw much farther as the season progresses.
Jumps
Caleb Josey-Durham, Sumter County
44' 5" in Triple Jump at Fitzgerald Home Meet #1, 1st
21' 2" in Long Jump at Fitzgerald Home Meet #1, 1st
20' 1.5" in Long Jump at Larry Clark Invitational, 5th
What a start to the season for Caleb Josey-Durham! The Sumter County junior was a sprinter and jumper last season for the Panthers, but he was best at the horizontal jumps. This season, he's focused solely on the jumps, and it has already paid dividends. Josey-Durham comfortably won the long jump and triple jump at the Fitzgerald Home Meet, setting personal bests in both events. The triple jump mark, especially, was eye-catching, since that ranks him first in 2A and in the top 15 all classifications.