WCHS sends big group to Class AAA state meet

White County is sending a huge contingent to the Class AAA state track this week in Albany, as 26 athletes are headed to South Georgia to compete on the biggest stage of the season.

During the Class B Sectional last Saturday in Atlanta, the Top 8 in each event earned a ticket to the state meet, which kicked off this morning at Hugh Mills Stadium.

The Lady Warriors had seven girls qualify in individual events during the sectional meet, and a pair of relay teams. The Warriors also have seven individual qualifiers and two relay teams in the state field.

The 26 total athletes is the largest number the program has ever taken to a state meet.

In the girl's division, Dasha Cannon made a run at the sectional title in the discus, finishing in second place. Cannon had a throw of 114-10 to finish behind Greater Atlanta Christian's Autumn Clark (118-08). Rusty Dye  also qualified for state in the event, finishing seventh at 102-07.

Cannon also qualified for state in the shot put, finishing fifth with a mark of 34-06.50.

Ella Blair punched her ticket to state with a third place finish in the pole vaulting, posting a height of 9-00, while Jenna Ash will join her at the state meet thanks to seventh place finish at 8-00.

Lily Gearing was fifth in the 300-meter hurdles, posting a time of 49.58 to earn a state spot, while Zoe Burkett just missed qualifying, finishing ninth at 51.98.

Gearing just missed qualifying for state in the 400-meter race, finishing ninth with a time of 1:02.82, and was 14th in the long jump at 14-02.50. Aaliyah Anderson was 13th in the 200-meter race with a time of 27.64.

Shelby Spain was sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 34-02, while Maci Shelnut finished 13th at 31-08. Spain was ninth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 17.30, finishing right behind Cherokee Bluff's Hannah Cheek (17.28) for the final qualifying spot.

Shelnut finished sixth in the high jump due to the tiebreaker. Pike County's Zy Thompson, Cedar Grove's Leiah Easterly, Westminster's Janine Holt, and Shelnut all posted a height of 5-02. Adelynn Knight also competed in the event, finishing 12th at 4-08.

In the relay events, the Lady Warriors' 4x800 team of Sydnee Nix, Neileigh Broadwell, Reese Vandegriff, and Josie Stover finished fifth with a time of 10:45.02.

The girl's team of Anderson, Kendyl Cantrell, Zoe Burkett, and Kyra Lavelle qualified in the 4x200-meter event, finishing eighth at 4:23.10.

The girl's team of Aaliyah Anderson, Chandler Weaver, Knight, and Shelnut were 14th in the 4x100-meter race with a time of 56.67

On the boy's side, Darius Cannon and Eamonn O'Bryant both earned a state spots in two events.

Cannon picked up both of his spots in a pair of jumping events. Cannon finished third in the long jump with a mark of 21-00.25, and was fourth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6-00.  Josh Brooks finished 10th in the high jump at 5-08.

O'Bryant qualified for a pair of running events. He was fifth in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 4:27.33, and also turned in a fifth-place performance in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:00.45.

Kane Lowery cleared 13 feet to finish in a three-way tie for third in the pole vault, but officially finished fifth due to the number of misses during the competition. Lowery, along with Westminster's Walker Weston and Sonoraville's JT Vess all cleared to height to finish behind North Hall's Simon Siad (15-00) and Pike County's John Lovett 14-06).

Riley Egerton earned a state spot with a fifth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles, turning in a time of 43.32, and Elijah Nelson was 15th at 48.03.

Teddy Strange and Sean Hughes both finished in the top eight in the triple jump to a place in the state field. Strange was sixth at 41-03.50, while Hughes was next in seventh place at 41-02.00.

Cam Wilson finished seventh in the 200-meter race, crossing the finish line with a time of 22.85 to earn a state spot, and posted a time of 11.39 to finish 10th in the 100-meter race. Dominic Stevens was 11th in the 400-meter race with a time of 52.31, while Jackson Jarvis was 13th at 53.57.

In the relay events, the Warriors' squad of Jackson Jarvis, Kyler Mayo, Stevens, and Wilson posted a time of 3:31.23 to finish third in the 4x200-meter race.

The boy's team of Cannon, Wilson, Bryson Cronic, and Ryan Fowler finished eighth in the 4x100-meter race with a time of 44.29 to earn a qualifying spot.

The team of Isaac Sosebee, Vondre Nelson, Maverick Aguilar, and Elijah Nelson were 13th in the 4x800-meter relay at 9:48.27.