Warriors repeat as region champs; Lady Warriors finish in second place

The White County High School track teams came up with a stellar performance last week at the Region 7-AAA track meet in Flowery Branch.

The Warriors dominated in the boy's division, racking up 163 points to win their second-straight region title. The Lady Warriors made a run at their second consecutive title, but Cherokee Bluff used a strong stable of runners to win the title. Bluff finished with 188 points, while WCHS finished with 125 points. In all, WCHS had 32 athletes, either in individual events or relay races, finish in the Top 4 in an event to earn a spot at the Class AAA state sectionals this weekend at Greater Atlanta Christian in Norcross. The state contingent will also include several more athletes who are alternates (fifth-place finishers) in events or relay races.

“It was a total team performance by both the boys and the girls,” WCHS head coach Jake Cantrell said. “It's a testament to the talent we have  and the depth we've built in the program over the past 10 years. We put a lot of people in the finals and we were able to score a lot of points because of our depth. When you can put two or three people in the Top 8, that's a lot of points. Our older kids led well, and we had some younger kids step up and do well.”

In the boy's division, the Warriors jumped to the top spot in the team standing during the open day of 

competition (field events), and never relinquished the lead. West Hall was second with 126 points, followed by North Hall (99), Gilmer County (74), Cherokee Bluff (73), East Forsyth (70), Dawson County (59), and Lumpkin County (35).

For the girl's, WCHS had a solid performance during the opening session, but Cherokee Bluff excelled during the running finals to claim the team title by an 188-125 margin. North Hall was third at 109, followed by Lumpkin County (79), Dawson County (68), East Forsyth (57), Gilmer County (48), and West Hall (25).

“We have a lot of high character kids,” Cantrell said “They are all willing to do whatever we ask them to do. They all understand their role on the team, and it was a total team effort on both sides.”

Boys Division

The Warriors claimed four titles, four runner-up spots, a third-place finish, and three fourth-place finishes in individual events, along second and third place finishes in two relay events.

Cam Wilson was the lone Warrior to win a pair of events, sweeping the sprint races.

Wilson won the 100-meter race with a time of 11.13, edging out North Hall's Hunter Riley (11.51). Ryan Fowler, who is also a member of the WCHS baseball team, was fifth with a time of 11.76. Jackson Hudson competed in the preliminary heat, posting time of 13.03.

Wilson turned in a time of 22.58 to win the 200-meter race, with West Hall's Jaylen Fagan second at 22.81, while Kyler Mayo was seventh at 23.90. Tripp Nix turned in a time of 24.46 during the prelims.

“All Cam has done since he's been here is get faster,” Cantrell said. “He pushes himself to the max to get better, that's what it boils down to. He's got a great chance to get out of the sectionals.”

Josh Brooks had a huge day in the jumping events, winning the high jump, and moving on to the sectionals in both the triple jump and long jump.

“He definitely had a big day,” Cantrell said. “He knew coming in we were going to ask him to do a lot. We knew he had to score a lot of points to give us a chance to win. We put a heavy load on him, but he's embraced it.”

In the high jump, Brooks was the only athlete to clear 5-10, with Gilmer County's Dom Tarantino and WCHS' David Boman clearing 5-8. Tarantino finished second due to misses, with Boman, a freshman, finishing third. Sean Hughes finished seventh at 5-6.

In the long jump, Brooks had a mark of 21-6 to finish second behind West Hall's Jaylen Fagan (22-5). Hughes was fourth at 21-0 and Elijah Nelson was 10th at 19-0.

Hughes finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 42-3, with West Hall's Jaden White winning at 42-10. Brooks was fourth at 41-8.50, and Teddy Strange was fifth at 41-5.

Kyler Mayo picked the a title for the Warriors in the 400-meter race.

Mayo, who is also an outfielder on the WCHS baseball team, turned in a time of 51.49 to edge out Dawson County's Ethan Smith (51.77) in the finals. Mayo won the race despite wearing cast on his right arm after breaking his wrist during baseball season.

“Kyler is a natural runner, and he can get a lot better” Cantrell said.

Colton Turner had pair of runner-up finishes in the hurdle events.

Turner set a school record in the 110-meter finals, posting a time of 15.40 to finish second to Cherokee Bluff's Micah Hunter (15.09). Malachi Zellars was fourth at 16.13, and Trevor Knott posted a time of 18.96 in the prelims.

Turner had a time of 40.78 in the 300-meter hurdle finals, finishing second to Hunter (39.73). Zellars was fifth at 43.25, and Nelson was sixth at 44.33.

JD Trowell posted a runner-up finish in the shot put, landing a mark of 43-7. West Hall's Tilil Blackwell won the event with a mark of 45-7. Zellars finished fifth at 40-1, and Mason Cockrell was 10th at 36-10.

Ashton Pickett battled through a pectoral injury to finish fourth in the pole vault competition. He cleared a height of 11-0 to earn a spot in the state sectional. Isaac Sosebee had a height of 9-00 to finish in a tie for 10th place.

Cockrell was fifth in the discus at 117-3, with Justus Rogers 10th at 102-9, and Zellars 22nd at 77-1.

Logan Long was 14th in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 5:19.84, with Aiden Pickett 16th at 5:21.87, and Wyatt Pilgrim 18th at 5:30.53.

Aiden Pickett was 15th in the 3,200-meter race with a time of 11:46.44, and Pilgrim was 21st at 12:31.46.

Cole Gearing finished 18th in the 800-meter race at 2:21.66, while Josh Lankford was 19th at 2:22.04, and Jackson Judice was 21st at 2:31.23.

The Warriors' 4x400-meter team of Jarvis, Nix, Boman, and Nelson turned in a time of 3:34.47 to finish second in the event behind Dawson County (3:32.44)

The 4x100-meter team of Wilson, Hughes, Turner, and Fowler was third with a time of 51.99.

The 4x800-meter team of Gearing, Judice, Lankford, and Long turned in a time of 9:01.03 to finish fifth, while the team of Boman, Nix, Fowler, and Tristin Orndorff turned in a time of 1:36.18 to finish fifth in the 4x200-meter race.

Girls Division

The Lady Warriors had two individual region champions, three runner-up finishes, three third-place finishes, and two fourth-place finishes, to go along with  three relay teams finishing in the Top 4 to advance to the state sectionals.

Senior Lily Gearing captured the 300-meter hurdles title, posting a time of 47.54. Shelby Crane was eighth in the finals with a time of 58.08.

“Lily's had to battle an ankle injury all season,” Cantrell said. She's a two-sport athlete and she was hurt early in the soccer season. She's tough and has managed to play on it all year, so we've been trying to get her healthy.”

Rusty Dye brought home the other individual title, easily winning the discus competition.

Dye posted a mark of 104-2 and was the only athlete to break the 100-feet barrier. Cherokee Bluff's Stephanie Condland was second at 96-0. Yvonne Minutello was 11th at 67-6, and Marilyn Martinez was 16th at 50-5.

Minutello posted a second place finish in the shot put with a mark of 30-10 to finish behind Bluff's Avery Jones (35-00). Kendyl Cantrell was 14th at 24-5, with Kiannah Dorsey 17th at 23-0.

Ella Blair overcame an ankle injury to finish second in the pole vault. Blair cleared 9-6 to finish behind East Forsyth's Elizabeth Wade (10-0).

Tallulah Shack and Nevaeh McCollough both cleared 8-6, with Shack placing fourth due to the the number of misses.

Maci Shelnut and Claire Beckman both cleared the bar at 5-2 in the high jump, with Shelnut earning the second-place finish due to the number of misses. Gilmer County's Taylor McCormick won with a height of 5-03. Adelynn Knight finished fifth with a height of 4-8.

Beckman was third in the triple jump with a mark of 32-7, while Shelnut finished eighth at 31-11, and Sarah Jarrard was 11th at 28-0.

Jayden Robinson posted a third place finish in the long jump, posting a mark of 16-0.50, while Emma Hare was sixth at 15-2.50.

Gearing was fourth in the 400-meter race, crossing the line with a time of 1:02.42, while Cantrell had time of 1:08.93 during the prelims.

Knight was fifth in the 100-meter race finals, posting a time of 13.33, with Hare finishing seventh at 13.74. Minutello posted a time of 14.28 during the prelims.

Nealeigh Broadwell had a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter race with a time of 3:28.49.

McCollough was fifth in the 200-meter race, posting a time of 27.62. Naomi Roberts (29.58) and Knight (30.10) both competed in the preliminary heats.

Crane finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles, posting a time of 19.77 in the finals.

Emma Morrow was ninth in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 6:20.45, while Reese Vandegriff was 10th at 6:24.75.

The Lady Warriors' 4x100-meter team of Hare, Knight, Gearing, and McCollough turned in a time of 51.99 to earn third place.

The team of Gearing, McCollough, Broadwell, and Cantrell finished third in the 4x400-meter race with a time of 4:21.58.

The 4x800 team of Rachel Carter, Emma Lightsey, Broadwell, and Vandegriff produced a time of 10:52.95 to finish in third place.

The 4200-meter team of Roberts, Jarrard, Shelnut, and Cantrell finished sixth with a time of 1:53.35.