Calhoun has competitive day in first home meet
Lady Jackets finish first, Calhoun boys take second against Cass, Coosa
The Calhoun track team got a chance to test their skills early in the season and got to do it on their home track as a bonus as they came away with solid results on Wednesday.
The Jackets and Lady Jackets hosted Coosa and Cass for a tri-meet, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday but pushed back due to rain, and they came away a first and second-place finish in the team standings.
The Calhoun girls had a big day, finishing atop the three teams in the standings with 79 points. Cass took second with 36, and Coosa was third with 35.
Over on the boys side, the Jackets finished behind Cass, who took first with 80.5 points. Calhoun had 60 points, and Coosa was third with 31.
Calhoun coach Brant Murry said he was pleased with the way his team performed in their first home meet as they got some great individual efforts.
“I thought we did a solid job overall, and we had a few standout performances that we weren’t really expecting, which is always a plus,” said Murry, who is going into his seventh year as the boys head coach and fourth leading the girls. “To be here on their home track gives the kids a sense of pride. They definitely want to do their best on their home track in front of their fans, parents and friends.”
The Calhoun girls were led by Ashlyn Barnes and Zianna Maximo who each had multiple first-place finishes. Barnes won three events, including the high jump (5-00), long jump (1500.50) and triple jump (30-09.25), while Maximo took the top spot in both the 200 meter dash (28.58) and 400 meter (1:05.19).
Other first-place finishes for the Lady Jackets came from Elizabeth Peyton in the 800 meter (2:47), Ashley Hartness in the 1600 meter (6:10), Alexis Nalley in the discus (82-01), the 4x100 meter relay team of Erin Hyatt, Ashlyn Barnes, Zianna Maximo and Erin Barnes (53.34) and the 4x400 meter relay team of Morgan Henson, Riley McEntyre, Bree Darby and Stephanie Fuentes (4:46). They had nine other top-three finishes on the day.
The Calhoun boys had seven first-place finishes, which included Ben Tow in the 400 meter (55.94), Jonathan Santana in the 1600 meter (5:08.01), Esvin Garcia in the 3200 meter (11:07), Jack Rhea in the pole vault (15-00), Jonkell Tolbert in the triple jump (38-05.50), Maddox Parrott in the shot put (3907) and the 4x400 meter relay team of Jesus Gonzalez, Tolbert, Drew Rutledge and Tow (3:49).
The Jackets had eight other top-three finishes.
Murry said Wednesday’s meet was about competing but also seeing where everyone could fit in different events.
“Today’s meet was based on getting to see the kids in as many events we could,” said Murry. “We had several kids trying new events and also had a lot of different relay teams. It was good to see everyone out here and competing in something. Today we tried some different events for different kids and switched things up a bit. It’s just so we can keep ourselves humbled a little and continuing to try to improve while also seeing where the kids fit and what’s best for us as a team.”
Both Calhoun teams were coming off fourthplace team finishes at the Southeast Invitational last Saturday at Southeast Whitfield High. The Jackets will get a chance to host their own invitational on Saturday as they will welcome 11 other teams to their home track for the Yellow Jacket Invitational. It’s the first invitational meet Calhoun will host after opening their new track last year. The field includes local teams from Gordon Central and Sonoraville as well as Adairsville, Bremen, Cass, Haralson County, LFO, Murray County, North Murray, Rome and Southeast Whitfield.
Murry said he and his team are excited about the opportunity on Saturday.
“We’re very excited to host our first invitational…It’s been a long time coming,” said Murry. “We honestly want to dedicate it to those athletes that didn’t get a chance to compete in a home meet for those four years we were without one. We’re excited to host 11 teams from all over the area. It should be some good competition and a tough meet. It will also give us a chance to get prepared to host region in April and see how well things go and how we can improve the meet.”
The Yellow Jacket Invitational begins on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.