Yellow Jackets dominate County MS meet
The Calhoun Middle School girls track and field team won the Gordon County championship last week at Calhoun High, finishing ahead of second-place Red Bud and third-place Ashworth Middle.
The Yellow Jackets won 10 events overall, including eight individually, to lead their nearby rivals from start to finish.
Red Bud finished the day with three wins, including two in the hurdles and one in the field events.
For Calhoun, Mariah Anthony led the team with first places in three different events. She won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter run, and the long jump and led 1-2-3 team finishes for the hosts in both the 100-meter and the long jump.
Anothony won the 100 by running a time of 13 seconds flat while Libby Brannon was second (13.65), and she just edged out teammate Maggy Abernathy for third (13.69).
Anthony was victorious in the long jump (16.00-75) by nearly two feet with Abernathy second (14-03.74) and Kaitlyn Kennedy was third for Calhoun (13-01.5).
Anthony completed the hat trick by winning the 200-m (27.80) in an event the Yellow Jackets were first and second in.
Brannon was second for CMS (28.87) and Red Bud Middle runner Chloe Townsend took third (29.70), placing just ahead of Ashworth racer Brielle Miles (29.85).
Abernathy was a big winner herself in the high jump as the Jackets finished with three of the top four places.
Abernathy finished with a height of 4-10 and Jazmine Hunter of Red Bud was second with a 4-02. Ella Strickland and Janelle Ramirez of Calhoun had the same height as Hunter, but officially came in third and fourth, respectively, in the final results.
And Ramirez was also an individual winner, taking first in the 400-meter race as Calhoun again had three of the top four places. Ramirez won it with a 1:07.22 and Red Bud’s Kinley Hicks was second in a close finish, running a 1:11.06 that saw McKenzie Harris of Calhoun third with a 1:11.32. Morgan
Guyton of Red Bud ran a 1:11.39 to come in fourth.
Yellow Jackets also had the top three finishes in the 800-m and 1,600-meter races with Kathryn Land winning both of them.
In the 800-, Land reached the finish line nearly 10 seconds ahead of everyone else with a 2:57.00, which was the only time under three minutes. Dylan Duke was second for CMS with a 3:08.45 and Christen Guthrie was third (3:10.35).
Ashworth Middle School runner Jayleigh Brooks was fourth in the race with a 3:17.29.
In the mile, the same three Calhoun girls finished in the same order with Land winning it with a 6:28.57 while Duke was second with a 6:36.29 and Guthrie was a close third at 6:38.25.
Ashworth Middle School’s Jayleigh Brooks came in fourth to help her team’s scoring.
Saira Mendoez gave the hosts a sweep of the distance races, winning the 3,200-meter run with a 16:09 even. Joselin Leon Cornejo gave the Jackets another 1-2 team showing by coming in second. Purity Busie was third in the two-mile for Red Bud Middle.
Raylen Kirby had Calhoun’s other individual win, taking the gold in the discus. She won with a distance of 7303 and was the only girl in the field to go farther than 60 feet.
A pair of Red Bud throwers were right behind Kirby with Izzy Goss second with a distance of 58-10 and Aubreigh Dixon was third at 54-10.
in the relays, Calhoun won both the 4-x-100 and the 4-x-400, which were the only two relays held.
Strickland, Abernathy, Brannon, and Anthony on the anchor leg teamed up to win the 400 with a fast 54.17 for the middle school A team.
Red Bud Middle School was second with a solid 56.38 and the CMS B team was third at 57 seconds exactly. Kara Hogan, Averie Walraven, Addie White, and Kennedy made up that Calhoun relay team.
In the 4-x-4, Calhoun won with a 4:57.26 and Harris, Strickland, Ramirez, and Hogan made up that winning group.
Red Bud was again second and in front of the second Calhoun relay
team, which was made up of Addie Grace Hoblitzell, White, Guthrie, and Walraven, and finished third.
The Red Bud Middle School girls won both of the hurdle races.
Cadence Mulkey won the really tight 100-meter hurdles as the Phoenix were 1-3 in the race.
Mulkey won it by just a step ahead of Calhoun’s Debora Lopez with Mulkey having a time of 20.14 while Lopez ran a 20.18. Kadence Torres of Red Bud was not that far behind either girl for third, running a 20.79 and Leon Cornejo of Calhoun was fourth with a 20.89. Kennedy of Calhoun was clocked at 20.92.
Torres came back to win the 300-meters for Red Bud with a 57.60 for the only time under a minute. The next two runners were from Calhoun with Lopez second at 1:01.71 and Leon Cornejo third at 1:03.10.
Sheila Ramirez of Ashworth just missed getting in the top three, running a 1:03.69 for fourth place.
Izzy Goss gave Red Bud three gold medalists as she was first in the shot put with a distance of 36 feet, two inches. Raylen of Calhoun was second with a 30-09.25 distance and Sidney Petty of Ashworth placed third at 26-07.25.