A couple months ago, the Calhoun High girls and boys track teams wrapped up outstanding seasons and several Jackets individual records fell in the process.
Both the Jackets and Lady Jackets repeated as Region 7-AA Champions and several individual performers lifted region first-place trophies as well. From there, the teams combined to have 29 qualifying performances for the Class AA State Track Meet, and Keyth Fightmaster highlighted the efforts with his second straight Class AA high jump state title and Best Performer Trophy.
Sydnie Parker was the top finisher at State for the girls team, taking second in the Class AA 400 meter dash.
Through the course of the season, a total of four school records and one class record were broken.
Fightmaster, who will start his college track career at Samford in the next few months, took down his own school record in the high jump, placing the new record mark at 6-11.
Also on the boys side, the 4x100 meter relay team of Thomas Lester, Chandler Curtis, Keidron Isham and Tydus Curtis broke a 28-yearold school record in the event. They ran a 42.56 to put their names at the top of the list.
Chandler Curtis also made his presence felt individually, breaking a 35-year-old class record in the long jump with a 22-8.25 effort.
The girls team also broke two school records. Parker ran a 58.63 in the 400 meter dash as she broke a 15-yearold mark.
She was also a part of the 4x400 meter really team along with Tamia Wade, Blair Robinson and Taylor Sewell that took down a 10-year-old school record with a time of 4:18.60.
“As a whole, we had one of the best seasons Calhoun track has had in many years,” said Calhoun coach Brant Murry. “We began our postseason with both teams repeating as region champions and continued to improve from there. We had several school records broken on the season and those were some stout records that were previously held.
“We had a state champion, 10 state runner up performances and nine other state finishers combined for the boys and girls. It was great to watch both teams have so much success throughout the season. I’m excited to see what next season will bring.”
Along with the record performances, the team had a memorable few months in the Spring. To go with repeating as Region 7-AA champs at the Region Meet at Pepperell in April, they also won local bragging rights by sweeping the girls and boys titles at the Gordon County Championship at Gordon Central also in April.
The boys team took sixth overall in the standings at the State Meet in Jefferson with 44 points, and the girls team finished 11th overall in the standings at the State Meet in Albany.
Calhoun then had 20 total selections on the Rome NewsTribune All- Area, divided between First and Second Team honors, as well as Fightmaster and Parker being named Calhoun Times AllCounty Boys Track Co-MVP and Girls Track MVP, respectively.
The Jackets and Lady Jackets will once again have a home track next season as construction is set to be complete on the track at the new Calhoun High. The Calhoun program has shared the track at Gordon Central over the past two seasons.