Panthers and Lady Panthers turn in solid performances at GHSA track and field sectionals

Published 10:27 pm Monday, May 6, 2019

From Staff Reports

 

COLUMBUS – Several Americus-Sumter male and female track & field athletes turned in solid performances in the GHSA Class AAAA sectionals in Columbus on Saturday, May 4.

The meet was held at Kinnett Stadium on the campus of Shaw High School.

The meet consisted of Class AAAA schools in regions 1, 2, 5 and 6. Americus-Sumter is in Region 1. Several ASHS male and female athletes qualified for the state meet, which will take place Thursday through Saturday, May 10-12, at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany.

In the finals of the Boys’ 100 Meter Dash, Keyvonte Nelson finished in third place with a time of 10.83 and has booked his spot in the state meet. Nelson will also be competing in the Boys’ 200 Meter Dash in the state meet. Nelson finished in third place in that event with a time of 22.18. The top eight finishers in each event in the sectionals qualified for the state meet.

In the finals of the Boys’ 400 Meter Dash, Jaylen Mable finished in fourth place with a time of 50.38, thus qualifying for state. His teammate, Braylon Green, finished right behind him in fifth place with a time of 51.11. Rondravious Terry finished in eighth place in the Boys’ 1600 Meter Run with a time of 4:39.22. That was good enough to punch his ticket to the state meet.

In the Boys’ 4×400 Meter Relay event, The ASHS team of Trevian Thomas, Rondravious Terry, Jaylen Mable and Braylon Green finished in fourth place and qualified for state in that event. They did it in a time of 3:24.35.

In the Boys’ Long Jump event, Thomas finished in eighth place, jumping a distance of 20-08.00 and qualifying for state. Thomas also finished strong in the Boys’ Triple Jump event, finishing in seventh place with a distance jump of 42-01.00.

Americus-Sumter’s Keyvontey nelson (far right) seen here running the 100 Meter Dash at the Region 1-AAAA Meet three weeks ago. Nelson qualified for state in both the 100 Meter and the 200 Meter Dash at the GHSA Class AAAA Sectional Meet in Columbus.
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On the girls’ side, Selliyah Owens finished in third place in the High Jump. Owens jumped a distance of 5-00.00 to secure her spot in the state meet. She also broke an ASHS school record in that event. “This is her first year of jumping and she’s only a sophomore,” ASHS girls head coach Shanika Dyson said. “I’m very proud of Selliyah. She worked hard this season to get where she is. That’s what I like about her and all my girls.”

The ASHS 4×100 Meter Relay Team of Owens, Adrienne Douglas, Ayesha Williams and Jamaya Young finished in eighth place with a time of 50.26. They were not far off the time of the Shaw relay team. Shaw finished in fourth place with a time of 48.63. “The relay team faired ok. We haven’t surpassed our fastest time this season (50.09), which is the school record,” Dyson said. “We had to fight for that spot and I just know we are going to have to fight for that spot in the finals on Thursday. I know our girls have a lot more to give and it’s going to have to come out soon.”

Dyson went on to say that there was a discrepancy in the Girls’ 400 Meter Dash, which caused the event to have to be done again. “It caused Selliyah (Owens) not to be able to qualify for state in that event,” Dyson said. “We already agreed that next year, we won’t let an obstacle like that stop her again. Overall, I’m excited about everyone’s success, both boys and girls. I can’t wait to see what the upcoming week brings.”

ASHS boys head coach Ryan McKenzie was equally pleased with the performance of his team. “We are proud of our efforts that were displayed last Saturday,” McKenzie said. “We finished with some strong performances and we know that we have much work to do in order to achieve our ultimate goal of being state champions. We have prepared all year for this moment and we expect to compete in every event we have qualified in. We appreciate all the support this year and we look to end the season on a great note.”