LaFayette girls fourth, Ringgold boys fifth at 6-AAA meet
The LaFayette Lady Ramblers finished fourth in the Region 6-AAA track championships at Rockmart High School last week, while the Ringgold Tigers were the highest-finishing local team in our area in the boys’ meet as the Blue-and-White placed fifth overall.
Haynie Gilstrap had an impressive meet for the Lady Ramblers. She claimed victory in the 800 (2:44.77) and teamed with Dakota Tabor, Brittany Aguero and Madison Todd to win the 4x800 relay (11:53.42) by a margin of 30 seconds. Gilstrap also qualified for state sectionals in the 1600 (6:20.74) and in the 3200 (15:08.07) with fourth-place finishes.
Also qualifying for sectionals for the Lady Ramblers were Olivia Dearing, who took third in the high jump (4-6), and the 4x100 relay team (54.02), who also placed third. Alyssa Gary was fourth in the triple jump (30-3.5) and the 4x400 relay team of Dearing, Tabor, Emily Phillips and Ava McNabb also placed fourth (4:58.24).
Scoring fifth-place points for LaFayette were Natalie Ball in the 1600 (6:38.85) and Tanner Rogers in the pole vault (6-6). Dearing placed sixth in the 400 (1:07.93). Ball was sixth in the 3200 (16:24.45) and Elizabeth Perry earned sixth place in both the 300 hurdles (1:04.50) and in the pole vault (6-0).
LaFayette had five seventh-place finishes, including Tabor in the 400 (1:09.03) and the 3200 (16:39.42), Rogers in the 100 hurdles
(20.48), Imani Cook in the 100 (14.03) and Kenna Massey in the triple jump (28-5). Massey also placed eighth in the long jump (14-3), while
McNabb was eighth in the 400 (1:11.28).
Ringgold finished seventh overall in the girls’ standings. The Lady Tigers’ best showings were a runner-up finish in the 4x100 (52.84) and third-place finishes by Jersey McCann in the 400 (1:04.43) and in the triple jump (30-6). Autumn Green was fifth in the 100 (13.68) and Sydney Logan was fifth in the 400 (1:05.55).
For LFO, who ended the meet in ninth place, Christina Gass earned second place in the 400 (1:03.57) and eighth place in the 200 (30.95).
Rockmart won the team title with 168.5 points, followed by Sonoraville (116), Coahulla Creek (95.5), LaFayette (84), Adairsville (66), Murray County (46), Ringgold (28), North Murray (10) and LFO (9).
For the Ringgold boys,
110-meter hurdle specialist Gabe Elmore beat the rest of the field to win the race in a time of 15.96. Elmore also teamed with Harrison Wofford, Ashton Meador and Kale Davis to take second place in the 4x400 (3:45.77), while Jackson Brumfield was second in the pole vault (10-6).
The Tigers placed third in the 4x100 (45.20) to round out their state sectional qualifiers.
Davis scored fifth-place points the 1600 (5:04) and added a sixth-place finish in the 3200 (11:44.36). Brandon Morris was sixth in the 800 (2:18.72) and seventh in the 3200 (11:50.60), while Camryn Kecskes was seventh in the 100 (11.99). Kecskes also placed eighth in the 200 (24.23), while Morris was eighth in the 1600 (5:13).
LFO, who placed seventh in the team standings, saw senior Kyle Pursley win the high jump for the third consecutive year, this time with a winning mark of 5-10. Pursley was the only state sectional qualifier for the Warriors.
Andre Flores placed fifth in the 400 (54.48) and Blake Thornburg was fifth in the 110 hurdles (17.78), while the team of Flores, Pursley, Jabari Besley and Kevin Dozier took fifth in the 4x400 (3:48.62). Thornburg also earned seventh-place points in the 300 hurdles (47.32) and in the pole vault (9-0).
LaFayette, who placed eighth in the final team standings, saw Tucker Henderson qualify for sectionals with fourth-place finishes in the 1600 (5:02) and the 3200 (11:21.98). Henderson also joined Jaden Kresser, Steven Sanford and Josh Perea for a fourth-place showing in the 4x800 (9:28.05).
Jamario Clements finished fifth in the 200 (23.85) and earned sixth place in the 100 (11.91). The team of Henderson, Perea, Alex Holloway and Aiden Hannibal finished seventh in the 4x400 (3:55.59). Perea was eighth in the 400 (57.47), while two more eighth-place finishes were turned in by Houston Holloway in the 110 hurdles (18.62) and Trey Taylor in the triple jump (38-2.5).
Rockmart also won the boys’ title with 162.5 points with Coahulla Creek (129), Sonoraville (118) and Adairsville (92.5) rounding out the top four. Ringgold (48), North Murray (37), LFO (31), LaFayette (29) and Murray County (15) filled out the rest of the team standings.
Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta will host the Class AAA state sectionals this Saturday.