by Joseph W. Gex II, Contributing Writer
The South State track and field championships were held over the weekend for the various classifications. During the meets, several area thinclads advanced the state championship meets this weekend at Pearl High School. The top four finishers in each event at the South State championships advanced to the state meet.
In Class 3A, Saint Stanislaus and OLA both traveled to St. Andrew’s in Ridgeland for the 3A South State championships. The Rocks placed sixth overall with 42 points behind champion Tylertown.
The Rocks were led by Ilias Rida who won the shot put with a throw of 44′ 9″ and the 4x200m relay team of Chandler Chapman, Micah Bishop, Brady Logan, and Ethan Galloway who won with a time of 1:31.69. Bishop finished second in the 400m with a time of 52.24 and third in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.88. Chapman was fourth in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.48 and Bret Tyler was fourth in the discus with a throw of 115′ 1″.
OLA finished 10th overall with 20 points behind champion St. Andrew’s with 111 points. OLA was led by their 4x400m relay team of Abby Zimmerman, Margaret Compretta, Emily Reinike, and Riley Cruthirds who placed third with a time of 4:26.70. Reinike placed fourth in the high jump with a leap of 4′ 10″ and Zimmerman was also fourth in the 400m with a time of 1:03.72.
The Pass Christian Pirates traveled to Columbia on Friday for the Class 4A South State championships.
The Pirates were sixth on the boys’ side with 55 points behind boys champion Raymond with 125 points.
The Pirates were led by state qualifiers Talan Lindmark who placed second in the 3200m run with a time of 11:14.50, Tahli Clark who placed fourth in the 100m with a time of 10.99, Ollie Bailey who placed fourth in the 1600m with a time of 4:56.65, Landon Laphand who placed third in the 400m with a time of 51.88, Bailey who placed third in the 800m with a time of 2:07.92, Lindmark who placed fourth in the 800m with a time of 2:08.66, and Clark who placed fourth in the 200m with a time of 22.44.
In the girls’ division, the Lady Pirates were sixth out of 17 teams with 45 points behind champion Columbia with 130 points.
The Lady Pirates were led by Maleygh Acker who placed fourth in the 100m with a time of 12.80, the 4x200m relay team that placed fourth with a time of 1:47.31, the 4x100m relay team that placed second with a time of 49.80, Kailey Taylor who placed fourth in the 400m with a time of 1:02.25, and Anaya Bradley who placed fourth in the 200m with a time of 26.30.
In Class 5A, West Harrison was third in the boys’ division out of 15 scoring teams with 49 points and Long Beach was fourth with 48 points behind champion Hattiesburg with 136 points.
West Harrison was led by Evan Turner who was second in the discus with a throw of 151′ 8″, Matthew Quintero third in the 3200m with a time of 11:02.78, Jahmad McGowan fourth in the 300m hurdles with a time of 42.22, Tyrone McPherson third in the shot put with a throw of 44′ 2 1/4″, and Andrew Slaughter fourth in the pole vault with a height of 8′ 6″.
Long Beach was paced by Landon Ahrens who won the 1600m with a time of 4:37.53 and the 800m with a time of 2:05.28.
Other state qualifiers include Malachi Brown who was fourth in both the 100m and 200m with times of 11.19 and 22.61, repsectively, and Lazerrick Brooks was fourth in the discus with a throw of 128′ 7″.
In the 5A girls’ division, West Harrison was fourth out of 14 scoring teams with 75 points followed by Long Beach in ninth with 26 points behind champion Brookhaven with 174 points.
The Lady Hurricanes were led by Deasia Williams who won the pole vault with a height of 8′ 6″, Desiree Lacy was second in the pole vault with a jump of 7′, and Jewelz Galloway was third with a height of 6′ 6″.Tashala Thomas was third in the shot put with a throw of 32′ 3 1’2″ and Sydnei Barber won the discus with a throw of 108′ 10″.
The Lady Bearcats were paced by Mya Shaffer who was third in the long jump with a leap of 16′ 4 1/2″ and Tori Washington was fourth in the shot put with a throw of 31′.
