Lady Cougars Finish Second at Region Track
The Piedmont Academy Lady Cougars track team finished second at last week’s region meet and will send several athletes to the state competition this week in Albany.
Emily Hammonds won the female highest points honor for the region meet, held at Flint River Academy in Woodbury.
Winning first place for the Piedmont girls were:
•Bailyn Whitaker, high jump, 4-6
•Hammonds, 400-meter dash (1:04.57), 200-meter dash (28.19), long jump (14-5)
•Alina Jablonski, 800-meter run (2:57), 1,600-meter run (6:23), 3,200-meter run (13:31)
•4×400-meter relay team of Jablonski, Abigail Hyde, Amelia Dodson and Emily Hammonds (4:50.48).
The Piedmont girls just missed winning region by compiling 142 points. Flint River won the girls region title with 148 points.
Third place Brandon Hall compiled 77 points. Griffin Christian finished with 58 points in the girls division while Arlington compiled 32.
Several Lady Cougars finished in the top four of their respective events and will also compete at state in Albany beginning Thursday. Those qualifying for state included:
•Makennah Holifield, second, high jump, 4-2
•Dodson, second, long jump, 14-3.25 and second, 400-meter dash, 1:09
•Payton Partenza, third, 800-meter run, 3:09
•Sara Hammonds, fourth, 3,200-meter run, 17:21
•Whitaker, third, 100-meter hurdles, 20.91 and third, 300-meter hurdles, 1:02.38
•Mattie Smith, triple jump, 25-6
•4×400-meter relay team (Team “B”), Partenza, Whitaker, Bridgete Phillips and Anna Knox, fourth place, 5:14
Lady Cougars who placed at region and earned points included:
•Parker Kelly, fifth, 1,600-meter run, 8:05
•Dodson, fifth, 300-meter hurdles, 1:05.80
•Hyde, fifth, 100-meter dash, 15:04; sixth, 200-meter dash, 32.58
•Holifield, sixth, 100-meter hurdles, 23.53
•Lauren Mosley, sixth, shot put, 20-3
•4×100-meter relay team (Team “B”), Taylor Patterson, Anna Phillips, Partenza and Remington Marsh, fifth, 1:00
•4×100-meter relay team (Team “A”), Knox, Dodson, Hyde, Hammonds, sixth, 1:07
Piedmont’s boys were fourth led by a first-place showing in the shot put by Gaven Edge. His throw of 40-0 was his best of the year.
Edge will also compete at state in the discus after finishing fourth with a throw of 73-8.5.
Other top performers for the Cougars included:
•Barrett Whitaker, second, long jump, 17-7.25 and third, high jump, 5-2
•Britton Bailey, third, triple jump, 35-3.5
•4×100-meter relay team of Bailey, Hunter Knox, Hank Strickland and Whitaker, third, 47.71.
•Whitaker, 100-meter dash, fourth, 12:49.
•Brice Dodson, 110-meter hurdles, fourth, 23.61
•Knox, 300-meter hurdles, fifth, 54.63
•Chris Coogler, 800-meter run, fifth, 2:54
•Strickland, 1,600-meter run, fifth, 5:58
•4×400-meter relay team (Team “A”), Strickland, Knox, Bailey and Whitaker, fifth, 4:30
•Mack Brady, 1,600-meter run, sixth, 6:12
•Dodson, 300-meter hurdles, sixth, 59.86
•Bailey, 200-meter dash, sixth, 25.66
•Michael Edwards, high jump, sixth, 4-8; long jump, sixth, 14-10
•Mills Smith, discus, sixth, 64-7; shot put, sixth, 29-9
•4×400-meter relay team (Team “B”), Edwards, Edge, Coogler and Brady, sixth, 4:53.
The Cougars compiled 77.5 points team points at region. Griffin Christian was first in the boys division with 170 points followed by Flint River (115.5) and Arlington (80).
The state track meet will be Thursday-Saturday in Albany at Hugh Mills Stadium.
Piedmont coach Rhett Farmer said the warmer weather should help times. The coach also said he was proud of the way his athletes performed at region last week.