COLUMBIA -- Tevin Hester shook off what he described as a minor hamstring injury on Saturday to take the boys 100 meter dash competition at the 20th Annual Taco Bell Track and Field Classic.
The Granville Central, N.C., senior ran the distance in 10.54, which was well off the meet record of 10.28 set in 2008 by Rowland Marcus of Dorman High. Watch the race
Hester’s time was four one-hundredths of a second faster than Dreher High’s Brandon Sanders who finished second in the finals. Andre Watson of Whale Branch High finished third with a time of 10.60.
Hester, who won a National Championship in the 60 meter dash at the New Balance Indoor Nationals last winter, said he felt good coming into the 100 despite the injury.
“The hamstring bothered me a little bit, but I felt good about my chances,” said Hester, who will attend Clemson University this fall.
In the 200 meter dash, senior Harvey McSwain II of Crest High in North Carolina, a pre-race favorite at this distance, took first with a time of 21.29. Whale Branch’s Watson finished second with a time of 21.33, followed by Camron Hudson of Berry Academy, NC.
A pair of Morrow High (Ga.) boys finished one-two in the 400 meter dash. Ayrian Evans, a senior, won the race with a time of 47.83, finishing ahead of teammate Adolphus Gray who clocked a 48.78.
Evans, who will run track for the University of Georgia starting this fall, said he was ready to run a good race, even though his time was well off his PR in the 400 of 47.83.
“I wanted my time to be down a little bit,” Evans said. “I want to get down to 46.5 and I have three more meets this year to do that.”
Tom Bonaro, a senior at Pearl River (NY) High, won the boys 800 meter with a time of 1:54.28, beating Brian Sullivan, a junior from Walton (GA) by one one-hundredths of a second, while in the boys mile, Cameron Thornton of Whitefield Academy (GA), took the mile in 4:19.38.
In the hurdles events, Jordan Moore of M.L. King High in Atlanta placed first with a time of 13.51 in the 110 meters, setting a new meet record in that event at Taco Bell.
Moore said he had to overcome disappointment earlier in the meet when he was disqualified for a false start in the boys 200 meter qualifier.
“It was my first time in the 200 and I really wanted to do well,” he said. “Coming into (Saturday) I really wanted to stay focused, wait on the gun, get out as fast as possible and run my race.”
Moore said he has signed with TCU to play football, though he also plans to compete in track as well.
Moore’s time in the 110 hurdles trimmed the longstanding meet record of 13.80 set in 1991 by Sumter High’s Norman Green.
Erin Jenkins of ZB Vance High in North Carolina won the 400 hurdles with a time of 54.79.
In the boys relay events, three South Carolina schools, Stratford, Spring Valley and Lower Richland took the top three spots in the 4x400. That sweep followed an earlier win in the 4x100 for the team from Summerville High. Another South Carolina school, Lexington High, took the 4x800 relay, setting a new meet record of 7:51.72. Cabell Midland (W.Va.) and Colonial Forge (Va.) also broke the old meet record in that event.
Meanwhile, in the field events Saturday, Berry Academy’s Hudson took the long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 6 inches. Miles Lebby of South Pointe High finished second with a jump measuring 23 feet, 3 inches.
Benjamin Ezike of Susan Wagner High in New York, set a PR in the triple jump, with a best of 48 feet, 2 1/2 inches. E.J. Reddick of Mauldin High placed second with a jump of 47 feet, 6 inches.
In the high jump, South Carolina schools again took the top three positions: Hillcrest High’s Wesley Edwards placed first with a jump of 6 feet, 6 inches, followed by Devonte Gibson of Northwestern with a jump of 6 feet, 4 inches and Craishaud Foulks also clearing 6 feet, 4 inches.
Wando High’s Dezmon Venning captured the discus throw with a best of 166 feet, besting runner-up Matthew Zajac of E.C. Glass (Va.) by nearly six feet.
Venning, who will attend South Carolina this fall, won despite “not clicking” during the competition.
“I just got out there and treated every throw like it was my last throw,” the senior said. “I had some minor mistakes, but every time I tried to correct one, something else would go wrong.”
His winning throw Saturday was six feet short of his PR of 172 feet set earlier this year at the Coaches Classic.
Jeffrey Linta of North Myrtle Beach and Austin Vegas of East Forsyth High (N.C.), tied for first in the pole vault, both clearing the bar at 15 feet, 6 inches.
Final boys team standings at the meet placed Berry Academy in first, followed by Crest, Morrow, Stratford, Colonial Forge, Spring Valley, Woodland, Whale Branch, Bishop England and Dutch Fork.
