Westlake is off and running in the 4x100 relay.
(all photos by Marc Logan)
The Fulton County Championships Finals converged upon Westlake's campus Saturday morning as the prelims qualifiers competed to determine who the best teams and athletes in Fulton County high schools are. By the end of Saturday, 26 MileSplit National Elite Performances had been achieved. As expected, Westlake's #1 all-classes squad in the team power rankings flew around the track dominating the sprints, relays and 800m run. The Lions amassed 158 points and won going away by winning 7 events of the finals session while picking up many 2nds and 3rds. The boy's side of the meet was more closely contested as Alpharetta, Westlake, Langston Hughes and Milton picked up wins on Saturday. Alpharetta put together a late surge in the final four events winning three golds pushing the Bucs' to the team title. Check out the collage below for an event-by-event recap.
Coach Cage added these comments after the conclusion of the meet, "The Fulton County Track & Field Championship had a #OneFulton Family Atmosphere at Westlake Track & Field Stadium on Saturday. There was a new format this year where there was a North County Prelims held at Milton & a South County Prelims held at Langston Hughes. After these prelims were concluded the north & south qualifiers competed against each other at Westlake for the Finals. One of the concerns was that Parents & Family Members have not been able to attend the Finals in past years because it usually scheduled on a Monday evening while parents & family members are just getting off work. For example, if the Finals was scheduled at Langston Hughes starting at 5 pm on Monday, parents who work in North Fulton County would not be able to attend because of traffic & if the Finals was scheduled at Milton on a Monday at 5 pm, parents who work in South Fulton County would not be able to attend also. Our solution was to make it a Family Atmosphere where Parents & Family Members would be able to attend all while practicing social distancing. Westlake Stadium seating arrangement was set up for Parents & Family members to sit on the home side & while the athletes sat on the visiting side. This plan worked out as Parents, Grandparents, & other family members enjoyed seeing their family members compete. A lot of credit goes to our County Athletic Director (Dr. Craft) who is a strong supporter of Track & Field. Our Fulton County Track & Field Championship committee consisted of (Coach Estes of Milton, Coach Cage of Westlake, Coach Helmerich & Coach Holcombe of Johns Creek).
Colleen Branch anchors Westlake's 4x100 squad to the win going 47.07
Alpharetta got off to a fast start winning the 4x100 at 42.04
In a hotly contested 1600m race, Elle Mezzio of Riverwood seized the gold posting a 5:09.53
Madyson Wilson of Westlake won her first gold of the day in the 400m dash in 55.98
Westlake had 3 hurdlers score in the boys 110h led by race winner Malik Mixon's time of 14.84
Kieley Gayle of Westlake pulled away on lap 2 securing the 800m win going 2:15.09
Alpharetta's Matteo Carriere got the Buc's late scoring surge going taking the win in the 200m dash at 22.67
Christopher 'CJ' McFerren racked up 10 more points for Alpharetta by winning the 300h in 39.50
Alexa Hoppenfeld of Riverwood International slowly pulled away to victory in the girls 3200m run posting an 11:44
Hayden Marshall struck gold for Milton winning the boys 3200m run clocking a 9:41
Westlake closed out their scoring winning the 4xx400 relay at 3:55.80
Alpharetta's 4x400 squad bested a fast Westlake team clinching the team victory going 3:21.80
Riverwood's girls finished a strong 2nd as a team with 103.5 points
Westlake's girls are all smiles after piling up 158 points for the team title.
Alpharetta bested host Westlake by 8 points claiming the boy's team win