Marley Bell from Montgomery County could be the superstar of this meet
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GHSA 1A Division 2 State Meet Preview
Track and Field is often thought of as an individual sport. Now, I would agree it is not a team sport in the sense that football or soccer is a team sport. In those sports, you are depending on your other teammates to be in position and do their job so you can be successful. In track and field, your individual performance has a lot to do with you any only you. So, from that perspective I can understand why track and field gets the reputation of being an individual sport. However, any coach or athlete who has won a team state championship knows that it takes a true team effort to do so, and they have experienced the sport in a way that not many have had the opportunity to experience. In this preview, I hope to bring some of the team drama to light and give a different perspective for you to follow this weekend!
Boys Team Preview
On the boys side, it looks like Montgomery County HS is in the drivers seat this weekend. They look to have the most control over their destiny with the possibility to score 70+ points. This gives them about a 20 points advantage with the next closest school looks to potentially score 49 points on a good day. Montgomery County will look to score all 4 of their relays while spreading out points in all the other event disciplines except for the throws. Jordyn Patterson will be a big factor as he is seeded 2nd in the 400 and 3rd in the 800. Joining him in two individual events is Ahmad Carter who is seeded 3rd in both the triple and long jump. They will also look to grab more points in the jump events from Demorrius Brooker who is the top seed in the high jump and Jamun Coglin who is tied for 4th in the long jump. If the field events can go their way then Montgomery County might get out to an early lead that no one will be able to catch.
Should Montgomery County falter, there are 3 teams who look like clear podium favorites that will be looking to pick up the pieces - Georgia Military College Prep School, McIntosh Academy and Schley County HS. These 3 teams are all projected to score within 4 points of each other which at the state meet makes them pretty much even.
Georgia Military Prep School is unique in that they will be looking to earn their trophy with mainly distance runners. Julian Council is the top seed in the 1600 and 3200 which would bring home a huge 20 points. Joining him in the 3200 is Jordan Overman who is seeded 2nd. Walker Bloodworth and Joel Deen are projected to score points in the 800 with Walker being the second seed and Joel being the 7th seed. 38 points from just those 3 events would be huge to go along with another 10 from their top ranked 4x800 team. The downfall is this is where they are maxed out. If they can all click this weekend, they should find themselves on the podium but it does not look like they have enough firepower to challenge for the top spot.
Behind Georgia Military Prep School, albeit only by 0.3 points, is McIntosh County Academy. McIntosh County is the opposite of Georgia Military Prep school in that they score 0 distance runners. McIntosh County does its damage in the jumps, throws, sprints and relays. MJ Quarterman is an integral piece to their puzzle as he is projected to score in 3 field events - triple jump, high jump and long jump. If he can manage the workload on day 1, he could get them off to a quick start. He is the top seed in the triple jump at 45-9.75, tied for the 4th seed in the long jump at 21-8.75 and tied for the 2nd seed in the high jump at 6-2. Trey Miller will look to add points in both the shot put and discus while Jaylan Dallas is projected to score in the triple jump and 200. Rounding out their scoring is their relays of the 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800 but, on paper, it looks like they will not have the entries needed to compete with Montgomery County.
Schley County rounds out the teams with a podium chance if everything goes according to plan. They come into the meet with a majority of their points being scored in the field events. Of their possible 46 projected points, only 3 come from the running events. One event that will be crucial to their success is the pole vault where they have the top 3 entries. This gives them the potential to score 24 points in one event, which they will need to help build an early lead. Clinton Jackson will also be a huge piece to their scoring as he is projected to score in the long jump, triple jump and 110 hurdles. Throw in Wyatt Halstead in the discus and we could see a team of only 5 athletes make it on to the team podium. This shows that there are different ways to earn a trophy.
Athletes to Watch
JP Powell of Miller County HS is one to watch in the 100 and the 200. He is the top seed in the 100 at a blazing 10.44 which is almost half a second ahead of the field. In the 200, he is the 3rd seed but with 10.44 speed in the 100 he cannot be counted out in the 200.
Quincy Edwards of Calhoun County HS will also look to score in both the 100 and 200 with PRs this season of 11.07 and 22.50. His 200 time makes him the top seed. His only meet this season was region so as he races more and gets sharper we should see these times drop.
Jacob Lawrence of Atkinson County could be considered a cofavorite in the 200 with a time of 22.52 which is only .02 seconds from the top seed.
Antavious Richardson comes in as the only boy to have broken 51 seconds in the 400 with a PR of 50.31 to make him the favorite to win the 400 m dash.
Terrell Mathis Jr of Mitchell County will look to win the 800m as he is the top seed at 2:06.85 however this only gives him a slight margin of .05 seconds. He also has the second fastest 1600 time this season as he will look to make the podium in 2 events.
Jaylen Brown of Chattahoochee County is the top seed in the 110 hurdles at 15.17. He will be busy this weekend as he will also be looking to score points in the high jump and long jump.
Jaris Moye of Jenkins Co HS comes in as the favorite in the 300 hurdles and as the only boy in the field who has broken the 40.0 second barrier after running 39.84 to win his region meet. He is also slated to grab a podium spot in the 110 hurdles.
Jordan Coney of Treutlen is coming off of 2 region victories in the 110 and 300 hurdles and he will look to use that momentum grab a medal in both events this weekend.
Patrick Green II of Aquinas will look to score in 3 events as he qualified in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump. His best event might be the long jump where he is the top seed at 22-6.
Frank Anderson of Aquinas is the top seed in the discus at 138-2.5. He finished 9th at the state meet last year so he will look to not only grab his first podium spot but a spot at the very top.
Landon Young of Portal HS will be one to watch in the discus. He was a state finalist last year and he will look to improve upon that 7th place finish. His PR of 138-1 puts him a mere 1.5 inches away from the top seed in the event.
Tre Turner of Lincoln County HS is the only athlete in the boys shot put who has a mark of 50+ feet. This makes him a favorite to bring home the gold medal this weekend.
Girls Team
The girls team race looks to be a battle between 2, maybe 3, different teams. Montgomery County HS and Charlton County HS come in as cofavorites as they both have the potential to score 60+ points. Right behind them is Georgia Military Prep School that will be looking to score in the high 50s. Should either of the top 2 teams stumble, they will be looking to pick up the pieces and grab the gold trophy.
Montgomery County HS has the most potential for points as they are projected to score 63 points, however, this is only 1.5 points ahead of Charlton County at 61.5. Anyone who has been at the state meet and paid attention to team scores and performances knows that 1.5 points is not really a lead at all. A big key to Montgomery County's success will be Marley Bell. She is slated to win 3 of the 4 events she is entered in - 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and triple jump - while also adding another 8 in the high jump. This is a lot for one athlete to handle but if she can handle the pressure and bring home 35+ points, she could be put Montgomery County in the drivers seat. Looking to help her out will be Laurie Conner in the 800, Jabrayla Coglin in the long jump and Makailah Moore in the discus.
What might help Charlton County is that they are not depending on one person to bring home a majority of the points. This team has points distributed across all event disciplines except the throws. Kiara Green will look to bring home points in the 100 and 200 where she is the second and first seed respectively. Marissa Green will look to add to the point total in the triple jump, long jump and 100 hurdles. Taylor Knox will be looking to add points in the triple jump and high jump along with Meza Dulce in the 3200.
Again, a 1.5 point difference is nothing when it comes to the state meet is virtually nothing. There is a good chance the team title could come down to the very last event - the 4x400 relay.
Georgia Military Prep School looks to be favored to bring home the 3rd place trophy. They will need Montgomery County and Charlton to stumble some in order to be in the team mix. But this is the state meet and we have seen some crazy things happen in the past so don't count them out! Just like their boy counterparts, they will be relying on some big points from the distance girls. Maria Knapp is the favorite to win the 800 along with adding a potential top 3 finish in the 1600. Lana Wood will join her in the 1600 along with the chance to score in the 3200 as well. Mid distance specialist Lily Ryan will look to win the 400 and then add some points in the 800. When it is all said and done, this group could bring home 40 big points. This will help propel them on to the podium but we will have to wait and see if it will be enough points to take the top spot this weekend.
Atlanta Classical Academy does not have the numbers to challenge for a team title but they are in the mix for a podium finish. And they will be doing it with all distance runners. Flora Tyler is the favorite to win the 1600 and 3200 along with a runner up finish in the 800. Throw in teammate Sara Neil Kirkland in the 1600 and 3200 and this team can score 40+ points. Again, this is probably not good enough for a team title but a podium finish is definitely possible.
A more well-balanced Portal HS team will be looking to grab the final podium spot. They have point scorers in all event disciplines except for jumps. Savannah Arnett is seeded 2nd in the 1600 and 3200 and their 4x800 team is seeded 1st. Throw in Hailey Scott who is the 2nd seed in the 400, Blair Brannen in discus, Raashonda Khalil in the 300 hurdles and April Barnes in the 800 and this team also has the potential to score 40+ points. Again, probably not enough to challenge for a team title but definitely enough to be in the mix for a team trophy.
Athletes to Watch
Zariyona Williams of Miller County HS has the top time in the 100 at 11.82, the second fastest time in the 200 at 26.17 and the second best mark in the long jump at 16-6.5.
Kaniya Anderson of Hawkinsville HS will look for a top 3 finish in both the 100 and 300 hurdles. She has the second-best time in the 100 hurdles and the 3rd best time in the 300 hurdles.
Caitlyn Burgess of Turner County HS will look to win the high jump and grab a podium spot in the 100. She is tied for the top seed in the high jump at 5-2.
Tykhia Burgess has the potential to win 2 individual titles this weekend. One in the high jump and one in the long jump. She is the top seed in the long jump at 17-9 and tied for the top seed in high jump at 5-2.
Emily Wilder of Schley County will look to join the boys on her team on the podium. She is tied for the top seed in the pole vault at 8-0.
Jerrica Bryant of McIntosh County Academy will look to win the shot put and discus where she is the top seed in both. She is the favorite in the shot put by almost 7 feet with a PR of 39-0.5. The discus will be closer as her PR of 110-3 is only a foot and a half better than the next closest competitor.