TRACK ROUNDUP: 45 individuals qualify for state from Clayton County schools By Luke Strickland
JONESBORO — Sectional track and field meets were held around the state over the weekend. In total, 45 individuals from Clayton County programs qualified for the GHSA state championships later this month.
Note: to qualify for state, competitors must place in the top eight in their respective events at sectionals.
Class AAAAAA Sectional at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta
Girls
Drew saw four individuals qualify for the state championship meet. Shatara Johnson won both the 400-meter dash and the long jump at sectionals and will compete in both at state. Jadia Woodfork, who finished third in the discus and sixth in the shot put, will also compete in multiple events at state. Danielle Chambers came in second in the 400-meter dash and Ariana Sulton placed sixth in the 800-meter run. The 4×400-meter relay team of Chambers, Johnson, Sulton and Rashanti Odum will compete at state after finishing second.
Forest Park also had four individuals qualify for state. Sarah Matthews was the runner-up in the triple jump, while Maya Vasta and Janaya Jones came in third in the 300-meter hurdles and the triple jump, respectively. Dezz Thomas also qualified for state in the long jump.
Lovejoy will send four individuals to state, all of whom will compete in multiple events. Imani Clark won both the 100- and 200-meter dash events. Courtnee Robinson won the 100-meter hurdles and was the runner-up in the 300-meter hurdles. Alexis Williams finished second in the 200-meter dash and placed third in the 100-meter dash. Finally, Karmon Jackson-Bell, who placed fourth in the shot put and the sixth discus, also qualified for state. The 4×100-meter relay team of Clark, Williams, Dominique Gant and Nijahe Gilmore came in third and will also compete at state.
Mount Zion had three members of its team qualify. Imani Carmouche, who won state in the high jump last year, finished second in the event at sectionals. Kyra Watts and Jasmine Brown finished seventh in the triple jump and pole vault, respectively.
Mundy’s Mill will be represented at state by Alexus Celestin, who finished third in the long jump.
Boys
Drew’s Shemar Vance and Denzel Carter qualified for state. Vance came in second in the 100-meter dash, while Carter placed third in the high jump and sixth in the long jump. The 4×100-meter relay team of Vance, Onuma Dieke, Jordan Bolden and Devon Brantley placed fourth, and the 4×400-meter relay team of Brantley, Tony Butler, Brandon John and Derionte Kemp came in sixth.
Forest Park had just one Panther qualify for state. Clerance Acosta placed third in the shot put.
Lovejoy led all local boys programs with seven individual qualifiers. Allen Mbah will compete in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles after second- and third-place finishes, respectively. Rodney Tookes came in third in the 800-meter run, while Joshua Bostick placed seventh in the same event. Justin Fergerson was fourth in the triple jump, while Jamil Lloyd qualified with an eighth-place finish in the same event. Caleb Jones (seventh, 400-meter dash) and Zavion Bradley (eighth, 1,600-meter run) also qualified for state, as did the 4×100-meter relay team of Jones, Emmanuel Adeleke, Mitchell Morand III and Darian Thomas, which came in seventh.
Mount Zion’s Justin Onuigbo will compete in two events at state. He placed third in the triple jump and sixth in the 800-meter run. Tyree Leonard will advance after a fifth-place finish in the shot put. Jason Rudolph also will be at state after finishing seventh in the 400-meter dash.
For Mundy’s Mill, Matthew Marley will compete at state after winning gold in the discus. Andrew Sibley (fifth) and Eric McGee (sixth) qualified in the 110-meter hurdles. Javell Johnson will also be at state after a seventh-place time in the 200-meter dash.
The GHSA Class AAAAAA State Championships will be held May 11-13 at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton.
Class AAAAA Sectional at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton
Girls
The Morrow Lady Mustangs will send their 4×100-meter relay team of Corta Washington, Mykenzie Webb, Taylor Jones and Adaya Alexander to state after a seventh-place finish. Riverdale’s Runeshia Williams qualified for state in two events after a runner-up in the discus and a seventh-place finish in the shot put.
Boys
Morrow’s Cedric Claritt bested the field in the triple jump to qualify for state. Derek Stidwell qualified as well with an eighth-place time in the 110-meter hurdles. The 4×400-meter relay team of Kenrick Williams, Stidwell, Gabriel Peacock and Christia’n Jarvis finished eighth to qualify for state.
Riverdale’s Jaeden Douglass will compete at state in the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run. Douglass came in third in the 400-meter event and eighth in the 800-meter event. The 4×400-meter relay team of Douglass, Xavier Allen, Denzel Bell and Marqutt Edwards finished second to advance to state.
The GHSA Class AAAAA State Championships will be held May 11-13 at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton.
Class AAAA Sectional at Cross Creek High School
Girls
The Class AAAA Sectional for Region 4 was held Saturday at Cross Creek High School in Augusta.
North Clayton’s Moena Battle topped the field with a first-place finish in the high jump to advance to state. Teammate Dalania Clardy qualified for state in two events after finishing fifth in the long jump and eighth in the triple jump.
Boys
North Clayton’s Jaiquan Earls finished as the runner-up in both the long jump and the triple jump. He will look to win gold in each event at state.
The Class AAAA State Championships will be held May 11-13 at Berry College.
Class A-Public Sectional at Claxton High School
Girls
Elite Scholars Academy saw several individuals qualify for state. Taleya Liddell finished second in the 400-meter dash and fourth in the long jump to advance to state. Nichole Slocumb also qualified in two events after a third-place finish in the 800-meter run and a sixth-place distance in the triple jump. Asia Love qualified in the 400-meter dash after finishing fourth. ESA’s 4×400-meter relay team won gold at sectionals, while the 4×400-meter relay team came in fourth.
Boys
Benjamin Okafor will represent Elite Scholars Academy at state in three events. Okafor won the triple jump and finished fifth in the 400-meter dash and the long jump. Robert Hall will also be at state after a sixth-place time in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Class A-Public State Championships will be held May 11-13 at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany.
