Rambler rifle team splits their Saturday matches

The LaFayette High School rifle team finished fourth overall in an eight-team competition on Saturday, splitting their two head-to-head matches against Etowah and Cartersville.

The Ramblers lost a close match to the Etowah Air Force JROTC team, 1,0681,053. Julianna Brown paced LaFayette with a score of 284 (out of 300), followed by Crandale Jackson (279),

Elijah Webb (256), Dixie Mathis (234) and Jacob Gilbreath (229).

In the second relay against the Cartersville Army JROTC, the Ramblers earned a 1,0491,000 victory behind a 280 from Jackson and 279 from Brown. The rest of the team included Abby Sansing (248), Webb (242) and Mathis (225).

Of the 26 shooters in attendance, Brown and Jackson both placed in the top five, finishing third and fifth, respectively.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga finished seventh at the 2021 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend at the VMI Corps Physical Training Facility.

Three individuals and two relay teams scored for the Mocs, including freshmen Ashtyn Hagood and Emmy Davis.

Hagood was sixth in the women’s mile, placing fourth in the first heat. She set a PR in the distance with a time of 5:12.28, and earned a spot on the SoCon all-freshman team despite not running competitively for almost two years due to an injury.

“Ashtyn started the day with a great race,” Mocs head coach Andy Meyer said. “The race started slow. She stayed and fought for perfect position throughout the race. Each 400 meters the pace got faster and she was able to hang on. We are extremely proud of her effort and race.”

Freshman Emmy Davis took eighth in the 800 meter final with a time of 2:22.62.

“She matched her performance from yesterday,” Meyer said. “She hung on the fast pace from the start and her last 200 was her fastest close this season.”

In the 5,000 meter run, Makenzie Jones placed sixth for the Mocs after getting out to a hot start. She led the group through the first three laps before a trio of Furman runners took over. She was just over five seconds off her personal best.

The Mocs’ 4x400 meter team was led off by McKenzie Williamson. Ashlynd Broling-Miller, running in her final indoor championships, took the baton for the second leg. Emmy Davis covered the third and Imani Bryant ran anchor for Chattanooga with a time of 4:20.36.

“We had a good day and conference meet,” Meyer said. “It was great to actually get the season in. We are currently looking forward to carrying this success into our outdoor season.”

Samford was the overall champion with 155.5 points followed by Wofford’s 131 for second and ETSU was third with 125.5. Netanya Linares from Wofford was named the women’s Most Outstanding Athlete and Amanda Dumar from Samford was the women’s Pinnacle Award winner for the highest GPA on the winning team.

Among the Day 1 highlights on Saturday included former Heritage High standout Madelyn Thompson in the long jump, who scored her best distance on her first try.

Kimbra Dunning jumped a PR 5.35 meters (17-6.75) on her third try, while freshman Mikah Charley jumped 4.81 meters (15-9.5) in her first-ever long jump competition.

“Kim popped her third jump … and just finished two centimeters out of qualifying for the finals,” Meyer said. “Madelyn had a great first jump and a huge PR at 5.18 meters (17-feet).”

In the 60 meter dash, Williamson just missed her PR by 0.10 seconds but did set a season-best time with a sub-eight minute time. Sage Davis also hit a seasonbest and was just three hundredths of a second off her PR. Dunning and Bryant each set PRs in the race.

Davis and Bryant both posted PRs in the 200 meter dash and Faith Brown topped her previous best time in the 3,000 meter run at 11:10.16.

The final race for Chattanooga on Saturday was the Distance Medley Relay. The Mocs ran Hagood (1200), Williamson (400), Davis (800) and Broling-Miller (1600).

Ashtyn ran an outstanding 1200,” Meyer said. “McKenzie ran a 61-second 400 meter after a busy day of running the 200 and the 60. Emmy ran the 800 leg on short rest and Ashlynd brought us home with the 1600 meter leg.”

Thompson also placed 12th in the 60 meter hurdles, clocking in at 9.66 seconds, while Charley (10.34) was one spot behind.