After winning their tough AAAAA region last year which included state powerhouses Redan, Douglass, and Stephenson, the Union Grove boys have picked right up where they left off and are the favorites to win the meet. However, close on their heels are the teams from Stockbridge, Eagles Landing, Woodland, and Dutchtown.
Some potential great performances and matchups are Marcelis Pope of Stockbridge, Richard Pippen and Courtney Henry of Ola and DJ White of Union Grove in the sprints. Jordan Moore and Theo Roberts of Union Grove look to be strong in the hurdles but will challenged by Chris Austin of Dutchtown, Billy Wright of Eagle’s Landing and Luke Cathy of ELCA. Boys distance should be very exciting with at least four runners that have run 4:32 or faster this season. Luke Baker of ELCA, Zack Sims and Keenan Joyner of Eagles Landing, and Sony Prosper of Union Grove look to battle it out in the 1600. In the 3200, look for Baker, Sims, Prosper, Joyner and Brandon Cromer of Union Grove along with Preston Valencia and Patrick Hansrote of Luella. The 800 is also a closely grouped bunch with Matt Worsham of Union Grove, Aaron Coleman of Stockbridge, Darnell Brown of Henry County and Josh Lockhart and Mackenzie Marcelin of Eagle’s Landing among the favorites. Alan Johnson and Steven Palmer are two from Stockbridge that look to make an impact in multiple sprint and jump events. The boys throwers are also a closely grouped bunch with some of the favorites being Daniel Jones and Hadden Henderson of ELCA, Shawayne Lawrence of Eagle’s Landing, Dalvin Tomlinson of Henry County, Darian Smalls of Dutchtown and Michael Charity of Union Grove.
On the girls side there are several schools in the running. Among them are Ola, Eagle’s Landing, Union Grove and Woodland. Bree Corbin of Ola and Mia Adams look to challenge for high point girls for the meet. Both have the top marks or near top marks in several events. Two seniors, Morgan McGhee and Ciara Simms of Luella will battle in the 100/200 for the 4th straight year. Also, look for sophomore Brianna Vaughn of Union Grove to give them a run. With Caitlen Jordan of Union Grove graduating, the mantle of top girls thrower looks to be between Amy Albers of Ola and Kendra Adams of Eagle’s Landing. Other impact athletes look to be Victoria Ingram of Dutchtown, Ashanae Monroe of Eagle’s Landing, Morgan Allman of ELCA, Shannon Milliken of Stockbridge and Rayna Green of Union Grove.