4A Friday Night Competition
Class 4A competition started with the long jump. The event promised to be an exciting one with Summerville\'s Shantell Smith, the top girls seed jumping 18\'5.5.\"
West Ashley\'s Keith Graham, with an entry mark of 23\'6\". Sierrah Oates (Lower Richland) came in to surprise Smith with a winning jump of 18\' as Smith placed second with a after leaping 17\'9.25\". On the boy's side Graham showed that he was a national competitor, winning with a jump of 24\'5.75,\" which also registers as the longest legal jump this year in the nation, according to NSSF Director Jim Spier.
The triple jump was the next on the field agenda with Fort Dorchester\'s Searra Jones, qualifying in 37\'8\" and Darrell Roddick, also from Fort Dorchester, qualifying in 48\'8\". Jones took the three steps, leaping 37\'11.75,\" outdistancing the next competitor by 10.25\" in the girl's competition. The boy\'s competition brought out a surprise as no. 5 seed Obrian Coles from Goose Creek jumped 49\'1\", besting the field by three inches.
"We don't have any track," Coles says about his training. "We were just jumping on grass…I didn't have any pressure really. I just wanted to go win."
Rain put about a one-hour delay in the meet, but did not slow the runners as the 3200-meter relay got started. West Ashley's Nodia Robinson took the lead early on in the race. After the first handoff, West Ashley held on to the lead with Fort Mill and South Aiken working to stay near the top. The third leg took started and Fort Mill took over the lead and South Aiken was not far behind. Spring Valley moved into third before the final leg when Kate Niehaus took the anchor. With 300-meters left Niehaus moved into the first spot, finishing with a combined time of 9:34.5.
During the boy\'s race almost every runner was takings turns at the lead. It wasn't until the third leg when Ridge View started to break away. The Blazers went into the final leg with a considerable lead. T.L. Hanna and Fort Mill were left to battle it out for second. Ridge View sealed the win, shattering the state record by 2.1 seconds in 7:53.13. T.L. Hanna finished second with in 8:04.09, just 67-hundredths of a second ahead of Fort Mill.
3A Friday Night Competition
The girl\'s discus started out the night with two girls with previous throws over 106 feet. Laiketha Alston, a freshman from Carolina Forest, won the competition with a throw of 111\'2\".
The boy\'s shot put had three athletes entered with qualifying marks over 47 feet. Clinton\'s Sam Wilson heaved the implement a distance of 52\'11.5,\" taking the win by over three feet.
The favorite in the girl's pole vault event was Seneca\'s Chelsea Taylor, but the event was not a gift. Taylor narrowly missed the 9\'6\" mark, giving the championship to Eastside senior Kalynn Anderson.
In the boy\'s pole vault Justin Crawford (Lugoff-Elgin) won by a margin of only two inches, vaulting 13\'6\".
The girl's and boy's long jump had wet conditions, but did not hinder the athletes. J.L. Mann\'s Darriale Henley won the girl's side with a jump of 17\'7.75.\"
Strom Thurmond\'s Jackar Hamilton captured the title in the boy\'s competition by only an inch and a half, jumping 22\'7.5.\"
Girl's shot put brought out the best in Dreher\'s April Jackson, with a best toss of 40\'5,\" more than five feet ahead of the nearest competitor.
"My last throw was a 38, that was my furthest and I did P.R. today," Jackson said about her victory after stepping off the awards podium. \"I ate right. I stayed on top of my game. I took a nice little jog. And I stayed focused mentally.\"
Seneca\'s Kyle Burden captured the boy\'s discus title with a best of 148\'11.\"
The 3200 relay was a very interesting event. The girl's event was taken in the last leg with Clover's anchor pulling away from Daniel to win in a time of 9:56.8. The boy's race leaders continued to change until the third leg. Lake City fought for the lead with Daniel not too far behind. Seneca conserved energy in third (place) and with 1,000-meters left the Bobcats surged. Daniel stayed with Seneca, but Lake City is caught by surprise and can't hold on. Seneca sealed the win in 8:14.14.
Action resumes today at 9 a.m.
Class 4A competition started with the long jump. The event promised to be an exciting one with Summerville\'s Shantell Smith, the top girls seed jumping 18\'5.5.\"
West Ashley\'s Keith Graham, with an entry mark of 23\'6\". Sierrah Oates (Lower Richland) came in to surprise Smith with a winning jump of 18\' as Smith placed second with a after leaping 17\'9.25\". On the boy's side Graham showed that he was a national competitor, winning with a jump of 24\'5.75,\" which also registers as the longest legal jump this year in the nation, according to NSSF Director Jim Spier.
The triple jump was the next on the field agenda with Fort Dorchester\'s Searra Jones, qualifying in 37\'8\" and Darrell Roddick, also from Fort Dorchester, qualifying in 48\'8\". Jones took the three steps, leaping 37\'11.75,\" outdistancing the next competitor by 10.25\" in the girl's competition. The boy\'s competition brought out a surprise as no. 5 seed Obrian Coles from Goose Creek jumped 49\'1\", besting the field by three inches.
"We don't have any track," Coles says about his training. "We were just jumping on grass…I didn't have any pressure really. I just wanted to go win."
Rain put about a one-hour delay in the meet, but did not slow the runners as the 3200-meter relay got started. West Ashley's Nodia Robinson took the lead early on in the race. After the first handoff, West Ashley held on to the lead with Fort Mill and South Aiken working to stay near the top. The third leg took started and Fort Mill took over the lead and South Aiken was not far behind. Spring Valley moved into third before the final leg when Kate Niehaus took the anchor. With 300-meters left Niehaus moved into the first spot, finishing with a combined time of 9:34.5.
During the boy\'s race almost every runner was takings turns at the lead. It wasn't until the third leg when Ridge View started to break away. The Blazers went into the final leg with a considerable lead. T.L. Hanna and Fort Mill were left to battle it out for second. Ridge View sealed the win, shattering the state record by 2.1 seconds in 7:53.13. T.L. Hanna finished second with in 8:04.09, just 67-hundredths of a second ahead of Fort Mill.
3A Friday Night Competition
The girl\'s discus started out the night with two girls with previous throws over 106 feet. Laiketha Alston, a freshman from Carolina Forest, won the competition with a throw of 111\'2\".
The boy\'s shot put had three athletes entered with qualifying marks over 47 feet. Clinton\'s Sam Wilson heaved the implement a distance of 52\'11.5,\" taking the win by over three feet.
The favorite in the girl's pole vault event was Seneca\'s Chelsea Taylor, but the event was not a gift. Taylor narrowly missed the 9\'6\" mark, giving the championship to Eastside senior Kalynn Anderson.
In the boy\'s pole vault Justin Crawford (Lugoff-Elgin) won by a margin of only two inches, vaulting 13\'6\".
The girl's and boy's long jump had wet conditions, but did not hinder the athletes. J.L. Mann\'s Darriale Henley won the girl's side with a jump of 17\'7.75.\"
Strom Thurmond\'s Jackar Hamilton captured the title in the boy\'s competition by only an inch and a half, jumping 22\'7.5.\"
Girl's shot put brought out the best in Dreher\'s April Jackson, with a best toss of 40\'5,\" more than five feet ahead of the nearest competitor.
"My last throw was a 38, that was my furthest and I did P.R. today," Jackson said about her victory after stepping off the awards podium. \"I ate right. I stayed on top of my game. I took a nice little jog. And I stayed focused mentally.\"
Seneca\'s Kyle Burden captured the boy\'s discus title with a best of 148\'11.\"
The 3200 relay was a very interesting event. The girl's event was taken in the last leg with Clover's anchor pulling away from Daniel to win in a time of 9:56.8. The boy's race leaders continued to change until the third leg. Lake City fought for the lead with Daniel not too far behind. Seneca conserved energy in third (place) and with 1,000-meters left the Bobcats surged. Daniel stayed with Seneca, but Lake City is caught by surprise and can't hold on. Seneca sealed the win in 8:14.14.
Action resumes today at 9 a.m.