Local teams, athletes perform well at Heritage
Dalton’s Catamounts and Lady Catamounts won the day at a sixteam meet at Ridgeland last Tuesday, but teams and individuals from both Walker and Catoosa Counties had outstanding days as well.
Dalton’s girls finished with 214.5 points to run away with the team title. Heritage (89.5) edged past Gordon Lee (87) for second place, while Ridgeland (32.5), LaFayette (30.5) and Dade County (15) rounded out the team score.
For the Lady Generals, Raleigh Lewis won the shot put with a throw of 31-5 1/2 and she later finished second in the discus. Zauren Burton clocked in at 26.54 seconds to win the 200. Madelyn Thompson took first in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.63 and she also finished third in the long jump.
Alex Gass was third in both the 800 and the 3200, while Jasmine Wiggins was third in the 100 hurdles. Heritage’s relay teams took second in the 4x100 and third in the 4x400.
As for the Lady Trojans, Gracie O’Neal simply dominated in both the 800 and the 1600. She won the 800 in a time of 2:26, beating her closest competitor by a full 21 seconds, and her time of 5:23 in the 1600 was just three seconds off her school record, which she set in the state finals last year. O’Neal won the race on Tuesday by more than a full minute.
Freshman Kaylee Brown also had another nice day as she won the high jump at 4-8 and took third place in the 400. Baileigh Smith won the discus with a solid throw of 102-0.
Another freshman, Addison Sturdivant, finished second in the 300 hurdles, but her time of 49.13 broke her own school record by more than a second. Sturdivant set that record just last week. Kaylen Jackson scored second-place points for Gordon Lee in the 1600, along with the Lady Trojans’ 4x400 relay team.
Ciera Foster won the long jump for Ridgeland with a distance of 16-4 1/2. Ke’Asia Harris was third in the 200 while the Lady Panthers’ 4x100 team also took third.
LaFayette had three top-three finishes, two came from Kiara Shropshire, who was third in both the shot put and discus. Alona Davis was second in the 400.
Dalton’s boys got a challenge from Heritage, but were able to pull away with 168 points. The Generals finished with 136, followed by Gordon Lee (60), Ridgeland (53.5), LaFayette (51.5) and Dade County (4).
The Generals took first in five events. Ryan Carter won the triple jump at 39-10 1/2 and he also took third place in the 200. Lavarius Hood won the shot put at 42-7 1/2 and was second in the discus, while the order was reversed for Zack Scott, who won the discus at 124-5 and placed second in the shot put.
Dakota Carter raced to victory in the 300 hurdles in a time of 43.67 and the Generals’ 4x400 relay team crossed the line first in 3:47. Caleb Boyd was second in the 800 and third in the 1600. Kobe Beaty was third in the
discus, Chandler Hill was third in the high jump and Wes Lozano was third in the 400. Damian Weekly also took third place in both the 110 hurdles and the 300 hurdles.
For the Trojans, Braden Jarvis won the long jump at 20-3 1/2 to pick up the only victory for Gordon Lee. Jasper Wilson was second in
the 1600 and Jake Lee was third in a very close 3200 race. The Trojans’ 4x400 team also took third.
Ridgeland’s Xavier Blackwell blistered the track in the 100, clocking a blazing 10.43 to earn first place. King Mason ran the 200 in 23.90 to edge out Blackwell for first place by 0.05 seconds. The only other top-three finishes for Ridgeland came from Cedric Shropshire, who was third in the triple jump and the 4x100
relay team, which took second.
Chase Stultz had a memorable day for the Ramblers. He finished second in the 110 hurdles, but his time of 15.50 set a LaFayette record and broke a mark that had stood for 21 years.
Dakota Cathey was second in both the long jump and the triple jump. Dee Southern took third in the shot put and the Ramblers’ 4x100 team also took third.