GHSA 3A State Meet Recap
Girls: Wesleyan gets the job done with lots of distance scorers.
This was a very exciting team race, for 2nd place. And we will get to that craziness once we give Wesleyan their due. Wesleyan came in as the favorites and delivered all weekend. Their distance runners showed up and did their thing in Albany. Weezie Moore completed the distance triple as she won the 3200, was 2nd in the 1600, and 5th in the 800. Anne McSweeney won the 800 after placing 2nd in the 1600. Julie Anne Bush was 2nd in the 3200 and 3rd in the 1600. And Eva Murphy was 3rd in the 3200 to complete the sweep of that event. Between those four ladies they compiled 57 points, enough to win the meet with just the four of them. But they also won the 4x8 and were 8th in the 4x1 while Tia Hall finished 3rd in the 100 hurdles. They were just too powerful for any other contender to compete with. But that doesn't mean there wasn't drama at this meet...
It just means the drama was reserved for the other podium spots as only 7 points separated 2nd and 5th place. And all four schools were in the 4x4. But Sandy Creek was in the first heat while Hebron, Monroe, and Carver were all in the 2nd heat. In the end Hebron did just enough to beat Sandy Creek's time and hold off Columbus as they secured 2nd place as a team. Hebron's hero this weekend is probably Lily Macrina who won the 400 and placed 2nd in the 200, while most likely helping their sprint relays teams who finished 2nd in the 4x2 and 4x4. Layla Melton also played a big role though too as she won the 1600 and probably helped their 4x8 take 2nd place. But they also got crucial points in the throws from Lydia Kairu who was 2nd in the shot put. Monroe had a more dramatic finish as they needed to win the 4x4 in order to secure a spot on the podium. And that's exactly what you did to place 3rd, something none of us are surprised by after watching this team for years now show up and perform well at the state meet. Marianna Wright was very impressive as the star for Monroe as she won the 300m hurdles and then came back in the very next event and finished 2nd in the 800. That takes guts. Jurdyn Johnson completed another tough double as she was 3rd in the 800 after placing 5th in the 400. Safe to say they were both on two relays as Monroe was 2nd in the 4x1 but won both the 4x2 and 4x4. Sandy Creek's star was Bobbi Olive who won both the 100 and 200 and likely helped them place 3rd in both the 4x1 and 4x4 as they barely held on by two points for the final trophy. Noelle Boyd was huge for them as well after she took 3rd in the 300 hurdles and 6th in the 100 hurdles. Erin Smith was also 4th i the 100 and Empress Malone was 7th in the 300.
Individually, Tarrianna Jackson did everything she could for Carver by placing 2nd in the 100 and 200 and Haely Grant was 2nd in the 400. Makayla Clark won the 100 hurdles as Wright only did the 300, and Brooke Jordan was runner up in both. Carver won the 4x100 as well while taking 3rd in the 4x2 and 7th in the 4x4, coming up just short of the trophy. Marley Derringer was the star in the field as she cleared 6 feet in the high jump. Jadyn Singleton was impressive wining both the long jump and triple jump and Amelia Johnson defended her title in the pole vault. Annabelle Langley won the shot put by an inch over Kairu while Jaidyn Hayes held off Saniya Heard in the discus.
Boys: Sandy Creek is just too strong with a complete team
Sandy Creek delivered another masterful team performance at the state meet. Nobody is surprised, but it's still impressive that they keep churning out this kind of talent year after year. They were apparently focused on technique, at least for this year, as some of their best athletes all did the triple jump or hurdles. Dalen Penson did both as he won the triple and the 110 hurdles. Chinedum Ike was 2nd in the triple and 6th in the long jump. Blake Davis was 4th in the triple and 5th in the high jump. Jude Adderley did both hurdles as he placed 2nd in the 300 and 3rd in the 110 hurdles. Those four athletes did enough damage by themselves that they would have been on the podium with just the four of them. But they a much more complete team than that as they had a scorer in each of the sprint events with Tre Olive taking 5th in the 100, Zavion Green placing 5th in the 200, and Rod Smith Jr taking 4th in the 400. And of course they all came together on the relays by taking 2nd in the 4x2, 3rd in the 4x1, and 3rd in the 4x8. A minor DQ in the 4x4 wasn't enough to derail this full team effort, but you hate it for the kids when it happens. Hopefully it was obvious and not an overzealous official.
Meanwhile, Monroe Area had probably their best team ever, and in another year we'd be talking so much more about this team. Just bad timing for them to have to go up against that tough Sandy Creek squad. But they still had a great meet regardless. C.J. Wilburn won the 200 after placing 2nd in the 100. Rickey Robbins won the discus and scored in the shot put while Dacian Davis was 3rd in the shot put. Charles Manga scored in the long jump, triple jump, and 110m hurdles. Khaleed Latimore was 3rd in the 300 hurdles, 4th in the 110 hurdles, and Quenton Ervin was 4th in the 300 hurdles. They also got 7th in the 4x100 to complete the well rounded team effort. What a weekend. Oconee County just barely edged Monroe Comprehensive by one point for 3rd as both teams held off a strong Upson Lee squad that was a few points back. Oconee was all distance with their points as they won the 4x800 and scored big in all 3 individual distance races. Aaron Brodrick won the 3200 and placed 4th in the 1600. Patterson Graham was 3rd in the 1600 and 4th in the 3200, and finished off the distance quadruple with his best individual finish in his runner up 800m performance. Usir Bey showed up big for Monroe as he placed 2nd in the 400 and 3rd in the 200 while teammate Justin Burns won the high jump and placed 4th in the 400. They also won the 4x4 and placed 3rd in the 4x2.
Jayden Skelton was the 100m state champion while Jamari McIvory won the 400 and was 2nd in the 200. Wyatt Windham was spectacular and nearly completed the distance triple if not for a crazy impressive 9:05 by Brodrick. Windham won the 800 and the 1600 and still ran a strong 9:14 in the 3200 for runner up. Xayden Hunt won the long jump, Luke Samples won the pole vault, and Van Tane won the shot put. In the relays Upson Lee won the 4x1 while Carver Columbus won the 4x200 and was runner up in the 4x1.