2018 Track & Field State Championships
Spring Valley High School played host to the 2018 SCHSL Track & FIeld State Championships on May 11th & 12th. Greenville County Schools was well represented at the event. Hillcrest (5A) and Greer (4A) girls both finished 2nd overall in the team competition. JL Mann placed 4th in 5A girls and Greenville (8) and Travelers Rest (9) finished top 10 in Class AAAA. Berea finished 7th overall in Class AAA.
The Hillcrest girls were bolstered by their young but talented sprint team. Nya McGowan, a freshman, won the 400 meters and teammate Zariere Dumas placed 2nd. Dumas, only a sophomore, also had podium finishes in the 100 (4th) and 200 (4th). Freshman Camille Egbula won the 800 meters with a time of 2:16.79. Senior Adia Bennon added a 6th place finish in the 400 hurdles and the 4x100 team finished 2nd. Hillcrest's 4x400 team cruised to a state title with a time of 3:55.62, four seconds faster than second place. Freshman Keiran Martin finished top 7 in long jump, triple jump and high jump. Taniya Richardson placed 7th in the 100 hurdles. The Rams also placed 8th in the 4x800 relay.
Kaiya Bradford won a state titles for Greer in the 100 meter hurdles and shot put, an unlikely combination to say the least. Teammate Ebony Balsley placed 5th in the 100 hurdles and 6th in the 400 hurdles. Bradford also reached the podium in the high jump and Balsley in the long jump. Taylor Houston placed 4th in the 3200 meters as an 8th grader. Greer got podium finishes in the 4x400 and 4x800 relay's as well. Tyanna Dingle placed 5th in discus.
JL Mann girls got a strong performance in the distance events. Three Patriots finished on the podium in the 800; Ana Garcia Vazquez (2nd), Morgan Moseley (5th) and Madison Roush (8th). Lillian Taylor and Roush went 1-2 in the 1600, Taylor winning a state title with a time of 5:16.94. Taylor also added a podium in the 3200 (6th). The Patriots won the 4x800 by a whopping fourteen seconds. Dejaaionne Kinard placed 4th in triple jump.
Greenville's Shawndra Coleman won the 4A triple jump and placed 7th in long jump. Breasia Robinson and 8th grader for the Red Raiders finished 3rd in the 100 meters and teammate Brianna Hames finished 7th. Robinson also reached the podium in the 200. Greenville won the 4A girls 4x100 with a time of 47.67, just edging out Ridge View.
Berea's Jada Robinson was strong on the track, finishing 3rd in the AAA 100 and 200 and 2nd in the 400 meters. Teammate Keniya Walker took 4th in the 200. The Bulldogs finished 3rd in the 3A 4x100 relay.
Riverside's Jessie Crowley (5A) and Eastside's Olivia Henn (4A) won state titles in the 3200 meter run. Crowley added a 3rd in the 1600.
Other top finishers from the girls events: Laura Deadwyler, TR, 3rd 4A 400; Taylor Reynolds, TR, 4th 4A 800; Macey Morgan, Mauldin, 4th 5A 1600 and 5th 3200; Haley Morgan, Mauldin, 7th 5A 1600; Madison Ellis, Eastside, 8th 4A 3200; Emily Michenfelder, Woodmont, 7th 5A 3200; Elizabeth Rogers, Riverside, 8th 5A 3200; TR 4x400, 4th 4A; Emily Klaeser, WHHS, 2nd 5A high jump; Ke'Asia Salters, Southside, 2nd 3A long jump; Mycal Bowser, TR, 5th 4A triple jump; Taylor Thornton, TR, 4th 4A discus; Jalani Adams, Mauldin, 4th 5A shot put.
In the boys competition, Greer High finished 4th overall in Class AAAA. In 5A, Mauldin and Hillcrest finished tied for 8th along with White Knoll.
Coen Roberts earned a state title for Greer, winning the 3200 meter run by four seconds over Eastside's Noah White. The Yellow Jackets Quavian White grabbed a title in the 110 hurdles and placed 3rd in the 400 hurdles and long jump competition. Zeph Cox added an 8th in the long jump. Greer took 4th in the 4x800 relay.
Mauldin scored points in the field events, with Logan Carroll winning a title in 5A shot put throwing 57-06.00. Carroll also placed high in the discus grabbing 5th overall. In the triple jump, Andru Phillips placed 2nd overall with a jump of 47-09.50. Jake Crow placed 5th in the 3200 meters.
Hillcrest finished tied with rival Mauldin, but the Rams did most of their scoring on the track. Senior Demadgyai Croft placed 3rd in the 100 and 6th in the 200. Teammate Jeremiah Talbert grabbed 5th in the 200. Kendric Lindsey (2nd) and Jalin Miller (4th) both made podium in the 110 hurdles.
Thomas Clark of JL Mann won the gold in the 100 meter wheelchair race with a time of 31.33.
Other top finishers from the boys events: Gerrard Donald, Woodmont, 7th 5A 100; Kyle Thompson, Blue Ridge, 7th 4A 1600; Paul Windsor, Eastside, 5th 4A 3200; Jonathan Fox, Eastside, 6th 4A 3200; Andrew Costano, Riverside, 6th 5A 3200; JJ Richardson, WHHS, 5th 5A high jump; Cole Smith, WHHS, 5th 5A pole vault; Hunter Edens, TR, 4th 4A shot put.
Congratulations to all the GCS athletes who competed in the SCHSL track and field state championships this year! For a complete event recap, check out SCRunners.
Posted: 5/14/2018 | Author: Jeff Hoffman
