Long Beach High School Track & Field athlete Marianna Moore wins the high jump competition with a jump of 4 feet 2 inches at the St. Stanislaus Rockachaw Relays on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Brian Lamar/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

by Joseph W. Gex II, Contributing Writer

HATTIESBURG (GG) — The West Harrison Hurricanes and the Long Beach Bearcats qualified several athletes for the Class 6A state track and field championships on Saturday after competing in the South State meet last Friday at Hattiesburg High School. The top four finishers in each event advanced to the state finals.

The West Harrison Lady Hurricanes finished sixth out of 12 teams scoring 65 points. Event winners for the Lady Hurricanes include Diana Carr who won the 3200m run with a time of 13:14.20, McKinley Humbles in the shot put with a distance of 35′ 3 3/4,” and Sydnei Barber in the discus with a throw of 117′ 6.” Other qualifiers include pole vaulters Jewelz Galloway who took third with a height of 78′ and Desiree Lacy who was second with a height of 7.’
The Hurricanes placed fourth with 52 points out of 12 teams. Event winners for the Hurricanes include Joshua Lane in the shot put with a distance of 45′ 8 1/2″ and Sean Fairley in the discus with a throw of 176′ 6″. Other qualifiers include the 4x800m relay team of Zayden Ladner, Michael Howell, Demetrice Corbitt, and Joshua Anderson that placed fourth with a time of 8:50.27, Samuel Harris was fourth in the shot put with a distance of 39′ 4,” Joshua Lane in the discus with a second place throw of 137′ 8,” and Omar Ballard Jr. in the pole vault with a third place vault of 9′ 6.”
The Long Beach Lady Bearcats placed ninth with 30 points. The Lady Bearcats were led by Tori Washington who placed second in the shot put with a distance of 33′ 1″ and third in the discus with a throw of 107′ 4.”
The Bearcats placed sixth with 48 points. They were led by event winner Andre Windham who won the high jump with a leap of 6′ 2″ and placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 44′ 5 1/2.” Other qualifiers include Evan Barrone in the 200m with a fourth place finish in 22.85, the 4x100m relay team of Cordarious Fairley, Baronne, Windham, and Malachi Brown placing third in 43.74, and Maximus Cropper placing fourth in the pole vault with a height of 9.”
The Class 6A state championships will be held on Saturday, May 3, at Pearl High School at 10 a.m.