ALBANY – Both the Southland Academy and Schley County boys and girls track and field teams competed Wednesday, March 28, at the inaugural Deerfield-Windsor Knight Relays at Hugh Mills Stadium.

This was a meet in which both GHSA and GISA schools competed in. As far as team results are concerned, the Schley County girls finished in fourth place overall with a total of 68 points, 2.5 points behind Pelham (70.5). Fitzgerald finished runner-up with 103.5 points and the host school, Deerfield-Windsor, one the meet with 112. Southland Academy finished right behind Schley County in fifth place with 62 points, 5.5 points ahead of Bainbridge High School.

As far as the boys’ results are concerned, Schley County finished in fifth place overall with 68.5 points. Southland Academy finished in eighth place overall with 18.5 points. Bainbridge High School blew away the competition, finishing in first with a total of 145 points. Deerfield-Windsor finished a distant second with 106.50 points. “I am very happy with how our guys performed,” Schley County Boys head coach Scott Burgess said. “It is always nice to get a run at Hugh Mills because that is where our area and state meets are held. It is always great to run against good competition and schools of higher classifications such as Bainbridge and Fitzgerald. Schools like Deerfield-Windsor, Southland and Pelham are always going to have good squads every year, so getting to run against them will be a good example of how our region and area meets are going to look as far as competition.” Burgess went on to say that with the region meet just around the corner on April 10, they need to correct some little things which will help them score as many points as possible at the region meet.

In the Girls High Jump event, Southland’s Sydney Payne finished tied for first with Lila Lanier of Deerfield-Windsor with a jump of 4-08.00. “We practiced a lot, but I just have to work on the mark and everything,” Payne said. Payne finished in 10th place in the Girls Triple Jump with a score of 30-06.00, right behind Schley County’s Carmen Philips, who finished in ninth place with a score of 31-05.00. The winner in the Girls Triple Jump competition was Kyah Crook of Fitzgerald with a score of 35-02.00.

In the Girls Long Jump competition, Schley County’s Tamia Kelley finished in the top eight at sixth place with a score of 15-05.50. In Girls Shot Put, Southland’s Savanna Banks performed well, finishing in second place with a distance of 32-08.00. Banks was 3.50 inches behind the champions Kanjanai Brown of Pelham. In Girls Discus, Schley County’s Rene Rix finished in second place with a final distance of 88-06.50. Westwood’s Karlie Jones won the competition with a distance of 91-01. The best Southland finisher in the discus competition was Addison Starlin. Starlin finished in 10th place with a distance of 67-10.

In the Girls 400 Meter Dash, Alexis Bradshaw of Schley County finished in third place with a time of 1:04.66. Her teammate, Tamia Kelley, finished in fifth with a time of 1:06.11. The best Southland finisher in the competition was Lilli Dickens, who finished right behind Kelley in sixth place with a time of 1:06.65. Southland’s Calyn Fort finished in 11th place with a time of 1:09.01.

In the Girls 800 Meter Run, Southland’s Ryleigh Bell finished in third place with a time of 2:32.91. Her teammate, Jadie Burrell, finished in seventh place with a time of 2:45.86. The best Schley County finisher was Carmen Philips, who finished in 13th place with a time of 3:05.33.

Bell and Burrell both did well for Southland in the Girls 1600 Meter Run. Bell finished in second place with a time of 5:44.58, some 14 seconds behind Camryn Bridges of Deerfield-Windsor (5:30.91). Burrell finished in fifth place with a time of 5:57.26. Schley County’s Carmen Philips finished fourth in the Girls 1600 Meter Run with a time of 5:55.15. For her, it was all about the third lap. “I need to work on my third lap. It’s always slowing me down,” Philips said. “Last week, my time was in the 6:20s because of my third lap. I’m supposed to get 1:30 every lap and I got a 1:50 in my third lap last week.” In this race, however, Philips’ finished the third lap in a time of 1:24, enabling her to finish fourth in the competition.

The Lady Raiders also did well in the Girls 3200 Meter Run. Elizabeth Law and Sydney Hayes finished second and third respectively. Law finished in second with a time of 14:13.56, and Hayes finished right behind Law in third place with a time of 14:49.27. “It was my first time running the 3200 Meters,” Law said. “It was definitely an experience. I went out there and told myself to do my best and not worry about what place I came in. If I did finish around the top, then I would be proud of myself and maybe next time, I’ll be able to finish first.”

Their teammate, Georgia Torbert, finished in sixth place with a time of 16:00.55. The best Schley County finisher was Morgan Bradshaw. Bradshaw finished in eighth place with a time of 18:21.01.

In the Girls 100 Meter Hurdles, Schley County’s Nyiah Kelley finished in sixth place with a time of 18.28. “I tried my best, but I think I need to work on not stutter stepping,” Kelley said. Her teammate, Megan Harris, finished in ninth place in the event with a time of 19.21. Kelley also finished in sixth place in the 300 Meter Hurdles.

In the Girls 4×100 Meter Relay, Schley County’s “A” team, made up of Dasani Minter, Alexis Bradshaw, Tamia Kelley and Nyiah Kelley finished in second place with a time of 51.45. Southland Academy’s “B” team of Elizabeth Law, Savanna Banks, Brookland Weaver and Allison Bell finished 16th with a time of 1:02.56. In the Girls 4×400 Meter Relay, the Lady Wildcats’ “A” team, made up of Dasani Minter, Carmen Philips, Alexis Bradshaw and Tamia Kelley finished in second place with a time of 4:21.11. Southland Academy’s “A” team of Jadie Burrell, Lilli Dickens, Calyn Fort, Ryleigh Bell, Alex Exum and Elizabeth Law finished in fourth place with a time of 4:35.23. “It was hard, but I’m so glad that my team finished strong. I love them so much,” Fort said. Her teammate, Lilli Dickens, described how hard and intense the event is. “The 4×400 is really hard. It’s a mix of a sprint and a distance event,” Dickens said. “It’s really intense. I guess we’re just adrenalin junkies.”

In boys’ action, Schley County’s Peyton Register finished ninth in the Boys 100 Meter Dash with a time of 11.81. The best Southland finisher was Landon Law, who finished 11th with a time of 12.03. Law’s teammate, Clay Owens, finished 13th with a time of 12.08. In the Boys 200 Meter Dash, Jackson Fulks of Schley County finished in third place with a time of 23.26. His teammate, Dartavious Napper, finished in 13th place with a time of 25.60. The best Southland finisher was Caleb Law, who finished right behind Napper in 14th with a time of 25.71. In the Boys 400 Meter Dash, Tra Sampson of Schley County finished in 10th place with a time of 55.19. The best Southland finisher was Nathan Duke, who finished 15th with a time of 58.72.

In the Boys 800 Meter Run, Schley County’s Noah Hammons and Aaron Pinckard finished in eighth and ninth place respectively. Hammons’ time was 2:17.95 and Pinckard’s time was 2:18.49. Hammons was running the race, having come off ankle surgery. “It was my first 800 Meter race of the year because I was out for the rest of them because of ankle surgery,” Hammons said. “My best last year was 2:08, so 2:17 isn’t bad for the first one back. I’ve just got to get back into running shape.” Pinckard also finished in fifth place in the Boys 1600 Meter Run with a time of 5:07.26. The best Southland finisher in the 800 meters was Morgan Youngdale, who finished in 13th place with a time of 2:23.54.

In the Boys 3200 Meter Run, Schley County’s Austin Anthony finished in fifth place with a time of 11:26.99. His teammate, Peter Horton, finished 15th with a time of 13:04.34.

Landon Dailey of Schley County finished in sixth place in the Boys 110 Meter Hurdles. His teammate, Trent Davis, finished in 11th place with a time of 18.57. Southland’s Bennett Carey was right behind Davis with a time of 18.62, and Carey’s teammate, Riley Parker, finished right behind him with a time of 19.31.

Davis and Dailey of Schley County finished fourth and sixth respectively in the Boys 300 Meter Hurdles. Davis ran a time of 43.57, while Dailey’s time was 45.29. Southland’s Bennett Carey finished 12th with a time of 47.30, while Clay Owens finished in 16th place with a time of 49.44.

In Boys Pole Vault, Southland’s Brody Shattles finished in second with a distance of 12-00.00, six inches behind champion Luke Hall of Baconton Charter. Shattles’ teammate, Logan Morris, finished in seventh with a distance of 9-06.00. Schley County’s best finisher was Peyton Register, who’s best clearance was 9-00.00

Jackson Fulks of Schley County won the boys long jump competition with a distance of 20-09.00. Southland’s Clay Owens finished in third with a jump of 19-05.00. Fulks’ teammate, Trent Davis, finished one inch behind Owens (19-04.00). Fulks also won the boys triple jump with a distance of 43-01.00. His teammate, Jakim Williamson, finished in eighth place with a distance of 37-11.00. Southland’s James Griffin and Nathan Duke finished 15th and 16th respectively, with jumps of 31-03.50 and 30-09.50.

Schley County’s Wayde Montgomery finished in sixth place in the boys shot put competition with a throw of 39-01.00. Southland’s best finisher was Parker Weldon, who finished in 11th place with a distance of 35-07.00. In boys’ discus, Schley County’s Jakobi Thornton and Wade Rodgers finished in seventh and eighth place respectively. Thornton threw for a distance of 117-10, while Rodgers threw for a distance of 114-04.50. Southland’s best finisher was Cameron McSweeny with a distance of 102-02.

Schley County’s “A” team, made up of Jackson Fulks, Peyton Register, Dartavious Napper and Trent Davis, finished in eighth place in a time of 45.37. Southland’s “A” team, made up of Clay Owens, Morgan Youngdale, Alex Roach, Landon Law and Caleb Law, finished in 11th with a time of 46.33.

In the Boys 4×400 Meter Relay event, the “A” team of Schley County, made up of Jackson Fulks, Jakim Williamson, Tra Sampson and Trent Davis, finished in fourth place with a time of 3:46.90. The “A” team of Southland, made up of Morgan Youngdale, Jantz Womack, Landon Law, Caleb Law, Luke Law and Gabe Roland, finished 13th with a time of 4:00.10.

Overall, it was a good day for Southland as well. Head Coach Nathan Hammack was very pleased with how the Raiders and Lady Raiders performed. “Overall, we ran well today. We had some people achieve some personal bests,” Hammack said. “Savannah Banks finishing second in the Shot Put. She threw her best throw of the season.  Brody Shattles clearing 12 feet in the pole vault, Sydney Payne tying for first in the high jump. We performed very well today, and now, we’re getting ready for region.”

Southland’s Evan Murphy hands the baton off to Nathan Duke in the Boys 4×400 Meter Relay.