White County sweeps 7-AAA track team titles

It appears the White County track teams made history last week by capturing both Region 7-AAA track titles.

According to WCHS head coach Jake Cantrell, winning both the boys and girls' titles in the same year is rare, and may not have ever been done in the program's history.

“We haven't done it since I've been here, and to my knowledge it's never been done,” Cantrell said. “This group has a lot of depth, and it's quality depth. We have a lot of kids in the program, and most of them are freshmen and sophomores. We have twice as many kids as most of these teams. The kids have been excited all year and they have worked hard. They are dedicated to being competitive. With this group, we feel like the future looks really good the next two or three years.”

The Warriors ran away with the team title during the meet at Warrior Stadium, winning five individual titles on the way to compiling 169.5 points, while North Hall was second with 140.5 points. On the girl's side, the Lady Warriors claimed four individual titles and finished with 178, with Cherokee Bluff was the runner-up with 159 points.

“I want to thank our administration for allowing us to host the region meet,” Cantrell said. “When you host something like a region track meet, there are a lot of moving parts. Dr. Laurie Burkett, Mary Anne Collier, Craig Turner, and the rest of our administrators gave us everything we need to make it a success.

WCHS will send a large contingent to the Class AAA State Sectional B Meet Saturday at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta. WCHS, along with the rest of the athletes from Region 7-AAA, will compete with teams from Region 2, 5, and 6, for spots in the Class AAA meet later this month in Albany. The top four finishers in each event at the region meet earned a spot in the the state sectional meet, with the Top 8 finishers at the sectional meet moving on to the state championship meet.

“To be honest, I think our sectional is more competitive than the other (Class AAA) sectional, but it is what it is,” Cantrell said. “We're going to prepare this week and head down there and try to do our best and let the chips fall where they may. We're taking a lot of kids that have never been in a sectional meet before. This will be the first appearance on a big stage for a lot of these kids, and it can be overwhelming, but it didn't seem to bother us in the region meet. Our kids handled the pressure of the region meet and came through we they needed to do it.”

Girls Division

The Lady Warriors claimed four individual titles and finished with 178 points to win the region title, with Cherokee Bluff the runner-up with 159 points. Gilmer County (89.5), Lumpkin County (87), North Hall (83), Dawson County (48.5) and West Hall (13) rounded out the girl's standings.

Dasha Cannon, Shelby Spain, Lily Gearing and Ella Blair all won region titles in individual events, while Maci Shelnut, Jenna Ash, Cannon, Gearing, and Spain all had runner-up finishes in an event.

Cannon has been one of the top performers in the state this spring in the discus, and she continued down the track to a run at state title by winning the region meet with a mark of 112-03. Rusty Dye also got a ticket to the sectional meet by finishing fourth with a throw of 99-05, while Gabby Whiddon was seventh at 88-08.

For the first time this season, Cannon also competed in the shot put and finished second behind Lumpkin County's Grace Jones. Cannon had a mark of 35-10, while Jones won the event at 36-00.50. Camryn Dorsey just missed advancing to sectionals, finishing fifth at 29-10, while Von Minutello was seventh at 28-11.

“Dasha is in the Top 3 in Class AAA in the discus, and she has her mind on a mission of winning the state title,” Cantrell said. “We were trying to figure out the best way to get the most points possible for the team in the region meet, so we decided to throw her into the shot put, and she finished second.”

Shelby Spain captured the triple jump title, edging out Lumpkin County's Mercades Housman. Spain hit a mark of 33-08.5, while Housman was second at 33-07.50.

“Shelby has jumped against the Lumpkin girl several times this year, and she's come just short, but Shelby came through today,” Cantrell said. “Like a lot of our kids, she did it at the right time, at the region meet, when it counted.”

Gearing posted the top time in the 300-meter hurdles, winning the region title at 49.79. Zoe Burkett qualified for sectional with a fourth place finish at 52.46, and Spain was eighth at 55.55.

Gearing finished third in the long jump, posting a mark of 15-07.25. Caitlyn Gailey moved onto the sectionals with a fourth place finish at 15-04.75, while Jayden Robinson was fifth at 14-08.75. Gearing was also third in the 400-meter race, posting a time of 1:01.52, while Zoe Burkett was sixth at 1:04.63, and Kendyl Cantrell was 10th at 1:09.26.

“Lily won the 300, and she placed in a couple of other things,” Cantrell said. “She's a great athlete and she can do a lot. She was hurt earlier in the season and she's just starting to get back in stride to be able to compete at a high level. Regardless of what we as her to do, she always gives 110 percent effort.”

Sophomore Ella Blair and senior Jenna Ash gave the Lady Warriors a sweep in the Top 2 spots in the pole vault. Blair cleared the bar at 9-06, setting a personal-best height in winning the region title. Ash was second at 8-06. The WCHS duo were the only two girls in the event to clear 8-feet.

“It was big for us to have Ella and Jenna finish first and second,” Cantrell said. “Ella was seeded second coming into the region meet and she had a PR (personal record). This is really her first year in the pole vault since most of he season got cancelled last year. Her and Jenna both did a great job.”

Spain was second in the 100-meter hurdles, recording a time of 17.38 to finish behind Cherokee Bluff's Hannah Cheek (17.14). Jaylen Allison was sixth with a time of 18.61, while Shaylee Crane was seventh at 19.86.

In the high jump, Shelnut and Adelyn Knight finished in the Top 4 to advance to sectionals.

Shelnut cleared 5-02 to finish second behind Gilmer County's Taylor McCormick (5-04), while Knight was third at 4-08. Sarah Blair finished ninth at 4-04. Maci Shelnut earned a sectional spot with a fourth place finish in the triple jump at 31-08.

Sydnee Nix finished fourth in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:35.49, and Nealeigh Broadwell was sixth at 2:40.32, with Rachel Carter 13th at 3:02.46.

Aaliyah Anderson was fourth in the 200-meter race, posting a time of 27.40 to earn a sectional spot. Knight was sixth at 28.05, with Chandler Weaver ninth at 28.40.

In the 3,200-meter race, Josie Stover finished sixth with a time of 13.45.71, while Rachel Carter was ninth at 14:35.45. Knight finished fifth in the 100-meter race with a time of 13.30, while Aaliyah Anderson was seventh at 13.44, and Kyra Lavelle was 11th at 14.18.

In the 1,600-meter race, Reese Vandegriff was ninth at 6:12.69, while Rachel Carter was 11th at 6:31.50, and Tori McDuffie was 12th at 6:40.56.

The Lady Warriors qualified for state sectionals in all three relay races. The Lady Warriors' team of Nix, Broadwell, Vandegriff, and Stover finished second in the 4x800-meter race with a time of 11:04.48. In the 4x100-meter race, the team of Anderson, Weaver, Shelnut, and Gailey were third at 52.76. In the 4x400-meter race, the team of Gearing, Burkett, Lavelle, and Kendyl Cantrell finished third at 4:25.88.

Boys Division

Sophomore Darius Cannon and freshman Cam Wilson led the way for the Warriors, each winning a pair of individual titles.

Cannon claimed both of his titles during the field events on the opening day of the meet.

Cannon and North Hall's Jeremiah Telander staged a battle for the high jump title. Cannon and Telander were the only athletes in the field to post a mark above 5-08. The duo both cleared 6-02, but neither one was able to get over the bar at 6-04. Cannon won the event based on the number of misses during the competition. White County's Josh Brooks finished third at 5-08 to earn a sectional spot.

In the long jump, Cannon and teammate Silas Mulligan swept the Top 2 spots. Cannon posted a mark of 22-00, giving him one of the Top 5 distances in the event this spring in Class AAA. Mulligan won a battle with Lumpkin County's Caleb Norrell for the runner-up spot, posting a mark of 21-01, while Norrell's best was 20-08.25. Brooks finished off the White County contingent with a mark of 18-07 to finish seventh.

“Darius is a competitor,” Cantrell said. “He had a battle with the North Hall kid in the high jump. He's a very talented athlete; he can do just about anything in track and we're just trying to put in the events where he can have the most success. He's ranked in the Top 3 in long jump, so he's got a chance to do something big at state.”

Wilson made a big splash in his debut at the region meet, winning both of the sprint races. He posted a time of 11.43 to win the 100-meter race, and then captured the 200-meter title as well. Bryson Cronic was fifth in the 100-meter race at 11.80, while Cannon finished ninth at 11.84.

In the 200-meter race, Wilson had a time of 22.91 to hold off North Hall's Hunter Riley (23.59). Dominic Stevens was fourth at 23.93, while Bryson Cronic was ninth at 24.43.

“Cam came out here on the first day of practice and was ready to work,” Cantrell said. “We actually had him in the hurdles early in the season and then moved him to the sprint races. I think the work he did in the hurdles helped him become a two-event region champ as a freshman. That's pretty impressive.”

Riley Egerton captured the 300-meter hurdles title with a time of 44.02, while Elijah Nelson was fourth at 45.58, and Clayton Rogers was sixth at 47.63.

“Riley showed up and was willing to work, and do whatever we asked him to do,” Cantrell said. “He's athletic, coachable, and he always give 100 percent regardless of what we ask him to do. When we put him in the hurdles, I told him I thought he would win the region, and he did it.”

Eamonn O'Bryant had a pair of runner-up finishes in the running events. He was second in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 4:36.22, finishing behind North Hall's Andrew Jones (4:32.67).

In the 800-meter race, O'Bryant and Dawson County's Ethan Smith battled for the lead on the final lap, with Smith edging out the win over the final 50 meters. Smith posted a time of 1:59.02, while O'Bryant finished at 1:59.90. Von Nelson was 15th at 2:28.40, and Jackson Judice 18th at 2:36.52.

“Eamonn is probably in the Top 8 in the state in both the 800 and the mile,” Cantrell said. “He's not 100 percent right now, but he gave us a great effort in the region meet.

Teddy Strange finished second in the triple jump, posting a jump of 41-02.50 to finish behind North Hall's Clay Stover (41-06.50). Sean Hughes will join Strange at the sectional meet thanks to a fourth place finish at 40-01.50.

Jackson Jarvis posted a time of 53.26 to finish second in the 400-meter race, while Dominic Stevens was third at 53.28, with Egerton 12th at 58.62.

Kane Lowery earned a spot in the sectionals with a third place finish in the pole vault. He cleared the bar at 12-00, to finish behind North Hall's Simon Seid (13-06) and Gilmer's Will Kiker (12-06). White County's Isaac Sosebee was seventh with a height of 9-00.

Malachi Zellars finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.97, while Egerton was seventh at 18.97, and Clayton Rogers was eighth at 19.36.

In the throwing events, Mason Cockrel was seventh in the discus at 103-02, while Matthew Gee was 13th at 96-05, and Tyler Davis was 18th at 83-06. In the shot put, Malachi Zellars was seventh at 38-08. Davis was 10th at 36-08.50, and Cockrel was 14th at 33-06.50.

In the 3,200-meter race, Griffin DeFoor was 14th at 13:19.97, Wyatt Churchwell was 15th at 13:35.47, and Jackson Judice was 16th at 14:39.80.

The Warriors' three relay teams all advanced to the sectional meet.

In the 4x100-meter race, the Warriors finished second as Darius Cannon, Bryson Cronic, Dominic Stevens, and Cam Wilson combined to turn in a time of 44.74, with West Hall winning the race at 44.54.

The 4x400-meter team of Jarvis, O'Bryant, Stevens, and Wilson posted a time of 3:33.15 to finish second, while the 4x800-meter team of Sosebee, Jarvis, Von Nelson, and Elijah Nelson finished fourth with a time of 9:44.71.