Terrell Academy’s Ross Hunter wins fourth state title

ALBANY — Ross Hunter gathered his thoughts, took a deep breath, said a prayer and took off.

Hunter took his steps carefully, gathered his feet and made a jump.

With the effort, the Terrell Academy high jumper cleared six-feet, five-inches and won his fourth state title Friday at the Georgia Independent Schools Association state track & field meet at Hugh Mills Stadium.

“I just get really still and slow down my breathing,” Hunter said of how he tunes out the crowd. “I talk to God. I tell him ‘One more time. You help me with this jump just one more time and I will do it for you.’ ”

What makes Hunter’s accomplishments even more rare is that he has won his championships in three different classifications.

As a freshman, Hunter won the Class A title while at Randolph-Southern. His sophomore year, he won with Terrell Academy while the Eagles were in Class AA and the past two years have been with Terrell as a Class AAA school.

“It is just something I’ve gotten good at,” Hunter said. “People like seeing me do it and I like doing it. I just decided if I could keep up and get people to come out that usually don’t come out.”

Despite the victory, Hunter was sad to see his last high school meet come to an end.

“It is a bittersweet feeling,” Hunter said. “It is my fourth title, but it is also my last meet. I’m going on to bigger and better things. I’m going to miss it.”

One of the biggest surprises in the field events came in the girls Class AAA triple jump.

Deerfield-Windsor eighth-grader Hadley Holt came in as the No. 8 seed and upset the field with a jump of 32- feet, three-inches.

“I was just worrying about getting on the board,” Holt said. “I just wanted to get out there and get in the pit at a good distance.”

The win is even more important for the Lady Knights who are currently missing multiple girls due to injury.

“That definitely helps our team,” Holt said. “Since we have Virginia (Moore) out, it definitely helps to add points. It really helps a lot.”

The state meet continues today with the majority of the track finals being held. The events begin at 9:30 a.m. with the 3200-meter run. The final event, the 1600-meter relay, is scheduled to begin at 2:20 p.m.