Local athletes shine at State championship meet in Athens

ATHENS — From hurdle races and relay battles to high jumps and long jumps, Southwest Georgia athletes delivered big performances last week at the GHSA State Track and Field Championships at the University of Georgia.

By the end of the meet, local schools had produced four individual state champions, several relay teams on the podium and a long list of top-eight finishes against the best competition in Georgia.

Monroe freshman Harmony Moore emerged as one of the stars of the weekend in Class AAA competition.

Moore raced to a state championship in the girls 300-meter hurdles with a winning time of 42.80 seconds and later added a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles. She also helped Monroe capture another state title as part of the Lady Tornadoes’ winning 4×400-meter relay team alongside Tamia Pollard, Jediah Lewis and Madisyn Goddard.

Monroe’s girls team finished eighth overall in the state standings and added more points with a third-place finish in the 4×800 relay and a fourth-place showing in the 4×200 relay.

Westover junior Sydney Donaldson also climbed to the top of the podium, winning the Class AAA girls high jump championship after clearing 5-foot-2. Donaldson nearly added another medal-winning performance, taking seventh in the long jump.

Westover’s Janiyah Winslow finished fifth in the discus, while the Patriots’ boys 4×400 relay team earned a seventh-place finish.

Lee County’s athletes also made plenty of noise in Athens.

The Trojans’ boys 4×200-meter relay team sprinted to a runner-up finish with a time of 1:26.78, while Montravious Clay took fifth in the 100-meter dash and KJ Streeter finished fifth in the 200 meters. Ja’Mari Arnold added a fourth-place finish in the long jump, and Lee County’s girls 4×400 relay team placed fifth in Class 6A competition.

Mitchell County turned in one of the strongest all-around performances of any local program, led by hurdling standout Darius Robinson.

Robinson swept both hurdle events, winning state championships in the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles while also placing third in the 200-meter dash. His teammates joined in the strong finish as Jonathan Isom took third in the 300 hurdles and Jerran Grissom placed fifth in the 110 hurdles.

Mitchell County’s relay teams consistently piled up points. The Eagles finished second in the 4×200 relay, third in the 4×100 relay, sixth in the 4×400 relay and seventh in the 4×800 relay.

Parnell Yates added a third-place finish in the long jump, while Dre Marcus finished fifth in the high jump.

On the girls side, Javiah Martin cleared her way to a second-place finish in the high jump and added a fourth-place effort in the triple jump. Akiria Sessions placed fifth in the discus, while Mitchell County’s girls relay teams finished fourth in the 4×100 relay and seventh in the 4×200 relay.

Worth County celebrated a state champion of its own as Ke’Varius Tyler won the boys long jump with a leap of 22-7.25.

Rush Hatcher continued his outstanding distance-running season by finishing fourth in both the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs, while Khalijah Thomas earned a fourth-place finish in the girls 200 meters. Worth County’s boys 4×100 relay team also finished sixth.

Terrell County’s Lynesha Hill captured the girls long jump state title with a leap of 17-9, while teammate Keyon Huckaby finished second in the boys high jump. The Greenwave boys also placed sixth in the 4×200 relay. Alexis Parimon added a seventh-place finish in the girls high jump, and Kaleb White took seventh in the boys long jump.

Dougherty’s top finish came from Zeterria Kegler, who raced to a runner-up finish in the boys 110-meter hurdles. Grace Smith added a sixth-place medal in the girls discus for the Trojans.