Foundations — Grade 12 • Jackson, Mississippi
Track State Champions
On Friday, May 3, the boys and girls track teams competed at Pearl High School in the MHSAA State Championship Meet. The girls ended the day as State Champions, and the boys earned 5th place.
On Friday, May 3, the boys and girls track teams competed at Pearl High School in the MHSAA State Championship Meet. The girls ended the day as State Champions, and the boys earned 5th place. The day kicked off with the 4x800 meter relay, where the girls relay team of Emily Ireland (7), Isabella Flores (9), Olivia Huckabay (11), and Olivia Mitchell (11) placed 2nd. The boys also placed 2nd in the 4x800 with Charlie Sewell (12), Jack Brown (11), Jack Sewell (10), and Luis Flores (12) running. Next in the girls 3200 meter run, Emily Ireland placed 1st with a phenomenal personal record of 12:23, beating the 2nd place runner by almost a full minute. Isabella Flores also scored points in this race, placing 4th. During this time, in the field events, several St. Andrew’s athletes were picking up points for the team. Ebun Opata (11) placed 4th in the long jump and 1st in the triple jump. Simone Weatherspoon (11) and Ariel Cox (12) were unbelievable in the discus, placing 1st and 2nd while picking up 18 points for the girls. In shotput, they placed 5th and 6th against some very competitive girls, including our long-time rivals Tylertown. In the pole vault, for the boys, Reed Finseth (10) set a personal record of 13’4” and almost broke the school record of 13’6”. He placed 1st while his teammates Dallas Ford (10) and Forrest Hutchison (10) tied for 6th. In the girls pole vault competition, Lauren Brown (11) and Sarah Elizabeth Sullivan (9) placed 1st and 4th, respectively. While Ebun was in the middle of her triple jump competition, the 100 meter hurdle race was starting. She dashed from the jump competition to the hurdles to effortlessly place 1st and set a new personal record of 15.61 seconds. She skipped an interview with reporters to head back over to the triple jump competition to win that as well. She eventually made it back over to the reporter to give her interview and was featured on the WJTV Channel 12. Next was the girls 4x200 meter relay with Zoe Hairson (9), Ebun Opata, Kira Leflore (8), and Simone McKinney (10), who placed 7th. Emily Ireland was back in competition for the 1600 meter run, where she placed 1st and earned another personal record of 5:44. Luis Flores placed 2nd in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:52. Next Lauren Brown and Madeleine Halford placed 3rd and 4th in the 300 hurdles. This event was particularly impressive for Madeleine who, at South State, dropped her time by 4 seconds in order to qualify for the state meet. After a brief lightning delay, Olivia Michell and Emily Ireland ran in a tight 800 meter race, placing 3rd and 4th. Luis Flores and Jack Sewell also ran in the 800 and both set personal records. Luis placed 1st, defending his 800 title from the two previous years, and Jack Sewell placed 3rd. Finally, in the last race of the day, the girls 4x400 team consisting of Olivia Mitchell, Madeleine Halford, Kira Leflore, and Lauren Brown placed 2nd. At the end of the day, the girls defended their state championship title from last year and were 60 points ahead of the runners up with 129.5 points. “We are proud of all our athletes who helped us get to this point,” says Coach Price Chadwick. “Track is truly a team effort based on individual performances. The girls will lose one senior this year, Ariel Cox. While her points will be missed next year, we will continue to have a strong, competitive team that is ready for next season.”
Back
Share
Foundations — Grade 12 • Jackson, Mississippi