Mitchell County track and field sweeps region titles at Hugh Mills

ALBANY — Mitchell County’s boys and girls track teams captured the Region 1-A Division II Championships in convincing fashion Friday at Hugh Mills Stadium, piling up points across nearly every event to secure both team titles.

The Mitchell County boys, the defending Class A Division II state champions, racked up points in all but one event — the 400-meter dash — to claim the region title. They scored multiple top-eight finishes throughout the meet to distance themselves from the competition.

Leonte Thomas Jr. led the Eagles by winning the 200-meter dash and finishing fourth in the 100. In the 800-meter run, Mitchell County swept the top three spots with Terrell Mathis Jr. finishing first, followed by Patrick Wilder and Willie Davis. Mathis also placed second in the 1600-meter run, with Davis coming in fourth.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Darius Robinson edged out teammate Jonathan Isom for the win, with Quitavius McCraw placing fourth. Robinson and Isom also finished first and second, respectively, in the 300-meter hurdles.

Mitchell County won three of the four relay events and dominated the throwing events. Jaylen Richardson took first in the discus, while KJ Cooper and Antiquon Bell placed third and fourth. Terrell County’s Gjehovah Roberts interrupted the Mitchell County sweep by finishing second.

In the shot put, Miller County’s Stanley Shepherd earned first place, while Mitchell County claimed the next three spots: Cooper was second, Elisha Mullins third, and Jordan Thomas fourth.

Baconton Charter’s Anthony Escalante was one of the standout individual performers of the day, winning both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs. He ran away from the field in the 3200, finishing more than a minute ahead of Pelham’s Octavian Edwards.

“I was just trying to improve my personal best,” Escalante said after his 3200 win. “I was off by two seconds, but it was hot and we had to wait a long time before we could run. I didn’t have any other runners pushing me, so that’s part of why I didn’t get there.”

Escalante, who placed sixth at state last year as a sophomore, has his sights set on moving up the leaderboard this spring.

“I’ve just got to focus on my race,” he said. “I can’t let my mind get filled up with a lot of other thoughts. I can’t let myself get scared because it can ruin the race. I’ve just got to make sure I stay focused.”

Other boys event winners included:

• Andreveion Lee (Early County) – 100-meter dash
• Jaden Welch (Calhoun County) – 400-meter dash
• Jaylin Perry (Terrell County) – High jump
• Kaleb White (Terrell County) – Long jump
• Thomas Green (Randolph-Clay) – Triple jump
• Bryce Parker (Baconton Charter) – Pole vault
• Stanley Shepherd (Miller County) – Shot put

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On the girls’ side, Mitchell County’s depth propelled the Lady Eagles to the region title, despite strong sprint performances from Miller County.

The Lady Pirates of Miller County took first in the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter dashes with wins from Rosalyn Burke, Zariyona Williams, and Rha’Mya Hughes, respectively. They also won the 400- and 800-meter relays.

But it was Mitchell County’s balance across distance, field, and relay events that secured the championship. Jasmine Scott won the 1600-meter run, and the Lady Eagles also claimed the 3200-meter relay. In the high jump, Deamber Jenkins and Tytionna Draggs went 1-2. Akiria Sessions won both the discus and the shot put, with teammate Karen Johnson placing second in the shot put.

Other girls event winners included:

• Heaven Keaton (Baker County) – 800-meter run
• Kelly Currin (Seminole County) – 3200-meter run
• Mylaisha Almond (Pelham) – 100-meter hurdles
• Akia Seymore (Randolph-Clay) – 300-meter hurdles
• Ziyah Johnson (Randolph-Clay) – Long jump and triple jump
• Mary Grace Welch (Baconton Charter) – Pole vault