Ridgeland sweeps in tune-up for regionals
The Ridgeland High School track teams had to hold off Walker County neighbor and host LaFayette on Thursday, but earned a sweep in a four-team meet, their final one before the Region 7-AAAA Championships at Southeast Whitfield April 19 and 20.
The Lady Panthers won seven events and finished with 106.5 points. The Lady Ramblers, who also picked up seven event wins, were second with 95.5 points, while Alabama’s Cornerstone Christian Academy (26) and LFO (0) rounded out the girls’ field.
Mecca Spears swept the throwing events for Ridgeland. Her throw of 32-1 gave her first place in the shot put, while her mark of 84-9.5 gave her first place in the discus. Taylor Lambert won the long jump at 13-7 and Jenna Morgan took honors in the high jump at 4-10.
Koda O’Dell raced to
victory in the 100 with the time of 13.39. Madison Lennon crossed the line in 53.69 to win the 300 hurdles and the Lady Panthers’ 4x400 relay team took first place with a time of 5:28.
Runner-up finishers for
Ridgeland included Dasia Watkins in the shot put and the 100, Ardeja Battle in the discus, O’Dell in the 200, Lennon in the 400, Annabel Hill in the high jump, Hayley Strickland in the 800, Alyssa Wright in the
100 hurdles and Lauren Lewis in the 300 hurdles, along with the 4x100 and 4x800 relay teams.
Third-place points were scored by Lambert in the triple jump, Battle in the shot put and Wright, who tied for third in the long jump. Ridgeland’s “B” team also took third in the 4x400.
Winning for the Lady Ramblers was Haynie Gilstrap, who took the top spot in both the 800 (2:52) and the 1600 (6:32). Tanner Rogers was first in the 100 hurdles (19.00). Alyssa Gary was the winner in the triple jump (29-3) and Madison Todd (16:53) defeated teammate Natalie Ball by one second in the 3200.
The Lady Ramblers also were victorious in the 4x100 ( 55.69) and the 4x800 (13:10).
Todd took second in the 1600, along with Gary in the long jump and Kenna Massey in the triple jump.
Dakota Tabor earned third place in both the 800 and the 1600, while Imani Cook was third in the 100 and 200. Additional third-place finishers included Massey in the long jump, Elizabeth Perry in the 300 hurdles, Madison Mitchell in the discus and Olivia Dearing in the high jump and the 400.
Cornerstone Christian won the 200 and the 400. Their 4x400 relay team took second and their 4x100 relay team took third.
In the boys’ meet, Ridgeland collected 102 points on the strength of 10 event victories. LaFayette captured first in five events and was runner-up with 90 points. LFO had one event victory and was third with 34 points, while Cornerstone Christian finished with 15 points.
Seth Wingo led the way for the Panthers as he took first place in the triple jump (40-4.25), the 110 hurdles (16.38) and the 300 hurdles (46.03). King Mason showed off his blazing speed in winning the 100 (10.60) and the 200 (22.88), while Logan Montgomery was dominant in the shot put (53-5) and the discus (1599.25).
Maeniki Brown took the top spot in the 400 with a time of 53.68, while the Panthers earned first place
Earning runner-up points for Gordon Lee was Levi Helton in the 800 and in the pole vault, Hunter Stephens in the high jump and in the triple jump, Ryan Eldridge in the 200, Carson Carpenter in the 1600, Penn Askew
in the 300 hurdles, Josh Underwood in the long jump and Sam Wells in the shot put. Gordon Lee’s “B” team also finished runner-up in the 4x100.
Finishing third for the Trojans was Askew in the 100, Carpenter in the 3200, Walker Johnston in both the 800 and the 1600, Jackson Ellis in the 400 and Timy Duke in the pole vault.
The Ramblers had three athletes win two events each.
Jamario Clements claimed victory in the 100 (11.27) and the 200 (24.27). Houston Holloway swept the 110 hurdles (18.98) and the 300 hurdles (48.76), while Trey Taylor took first in both the long jump (19-9) and the triple jump (36-5).
The team of Clements, Taylor, Aiden Hannibal and Evan Williams won the 4x100 in a time of 46.98, while Hannibal, Caleb Zwiger, Colby Thompson and Josh Perea claimed
victory in the 4x400 (4:50).
Taylor was second in the 100, while other runner-up finishers included Hannibal in the 400, Thompson in the 110 hurdles, Jaden Kresser in the 3200 and Eli Prince in the discus.
Earning third-place points for the Ramblers was Hannibal in the long jump, Thompson in the 300 hurdles, Prince in the shot put, Gage Henderson in the 200 and Chase Hughes in the discus.