Deerfield-Windsor track and field teams tune up for state with solid showing at area

The Deerfield-Windsor track teams are getting ready for the state track meet at McEachern High School in Powder Springs after a strong performance in the area meet last week in Macon where two seniors won their events and others had strong showings.

The state meet in Marietta will have Class A private, Class AA and Class AAAAAAA competitions beginning May 13 and closing on Saturday, May 15.

Seniors Parker Jones and Graham Ford came home as area champs, as well as the 3,200-meter boys relay team which consisted of Ford, Jon Durham, Garrison Slaughter and Charles Peeler.

Jones and Ford each won two events — Jones took the triple jump and the long jump, while Ford broke his own school records to win the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. Jones, who missed the school record in the triple jump by just a few inches, also finished fourth in the 100.

Other competitors for the Knights that deserve recognition were Garrett Watson who finished ninth in the 100 and 11th in the 200; Thomas Ray finished eighth in the 400 with Harren Bettis right behind him in ninth place. Brayden Michilig also ran the 400 and finished 14th. Bettis also ran the 800 and crossed in fourth place for the Knights. While Ford won the 1,600 and 3,200, teammate Jon Durham finished third in both of those races, and Garrison Slaughter crossed sixth in the 3,200, giving the Knights three finishers of the top six in that race.

Boles Middleton finished third in both the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles and eighth in the triple jump, while teammate Tucker Pollock finished 10th in the 110 hurdles and 12th in the 300 hurdles. Chance Bacon finished 12th in the high jump. Gleaton Jones finished fourth in the shot put and eighth in the long jump. John Allen Rigsby placed eighth in the pole vault and Jaden Hubbard took ninth in the discus, with teammate Harrison Dyke in 12th. Also in the shot put competition, Deerfield-Windsor’s David Mullins took 10th and Levi May finished in 12rh.

The Lady Knights did not bring home any first place finishes, but freshman Joi Hubbard took second in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump for the highest individual honors. Bailey Irvin took third place in both the 800 and 1,600 runs and seventh in the 3,200.

In the relays, the Lady Knights took second in the 3,200, third in the 400 and seventh in the 1,600.

Other notable finishes for the Lady Knights were Cassandra Lopez, who crossed in sixth place in both the 100 and 200; Caroline Tennyson finished sixth in the 400 meter dash; Cece Lukes finished seventh in the 800; Jane Strickland finished seventh in the 1,600 and eighth in the 3,200; Kate Williams, Ansley Inlow and Haliegh Joslin finished 11th, 12th and 16th, respectively, in the 100 hurdles; Murphy Ray finished 11th in the 300 hurdles, eighth in the long jump and 12th in the triple jump; Julia Watson took 11th place in the discus, with teammates Hannah Davis in 15th and Caroline Mattos in 19th. Joslin took eighth in the shot put, with Watson in 13th and Davis in 14th for that event.

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