Monroe girls, Westover boys claim track and field region titles

ALBANY — The Monroe girls and the Westover boys claimed team titles at the Region 1 track and field championships last week at Hugh Mills Stadium.

The Monroe girls used a combination of speed and depth to score 184 team points, finishing ahead of Peach County in second and Bainbridge in third. The Westover boys followed a similar formula, piling up 170.6 points to edge Peach County and third-place Dougherty.

Monroe swept all four relay events and picked up key individual wins from Kaitlyn Williams (200m), Marianna Wright (400m, 300m hurdles), Tamia Pollard (100m hurdles), Kie’Aundria Acree (triple jump), and Shandrae Savage (discus).

But it was the Tornadoes’ depth that made the difference.

In the 400-meter dash, Wright led the way with a win, but teammates Madison Goddard and Kaitlyn Williams followed closely in third and fourth, adding valuable points. In the 800-meter run, Peach County’s Aydriana Jackson earned the win, but Monroe answered with a second-place finish from Goddard, third from Mariah McIntyre, and fifth from Olivia Lewis, continuing the point surge.

Other standout performances on the girls’ side included Westover’s Sydney Donaldson, who edged Dougherty’s Rihunna Doyle in a photo finish to win the 100-meter dash. Donaldson also won the high jump. Dougherty’s Dariona Simmons claimed the long jump title.

On the boys’ side, Westover senior Jaylan McCloud led the Patriots with an outstanding performance, winning the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash, and the long jump. He also anchored the 4×200 relay team that took first place.

The Patriots swept the top two spots in the pole vault, with Caleb Bradley finishing first and Isaiah Lumpkin taking second.

Westover’s depth proved just as important as its individual wins. Day’Shawn Mathis and Jason Williams scored in the 100-meter dash, Jayvion Fowler and James Rod in the 200-meter, and Rod and Adam Martin in the 400-meter. Zion Johnson scored in the 1600-meter run, and Timothy Robinson contributed points in the 3200.

Bradley also scored in the 110-meter hurdles, while Tyler Mansfield added points in the 300-meter hurdles. Zyler Thomas earned points in the triple jump, Joseph Ingram and Prince Whitfield contributed in the discus, and Torian Chester and Ingram also scored in the shot put.

Other local event winners included Dougherty’s Zeterria Kegler, who claimed victories in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles; Jaquavus Hallman of Dougherty, who won the triple jump; and Monroe’s Sedrick Roundtree, who took first in the 800-meter run.

The top four athletes in each event now advance to sectionals next week at Peach County High School.

For complete results, click here.