Southland Academy Lady Raiders finish fifth and Raiders finish seventh at GISA State Meet

Published 10:30 pm Monday, May 3, 2021

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Staff Reports

 

LOCUST GROVE, GA – Both the Southland Academy Raiders and Lady Raiders’ track and field teams (SAR) finished in the top 10 at the 2021 Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Class AAA State Track and Field Meet held Thursday through Saturday, April 29 – May 1, at Strong Rock Christian Academy in Locus Grove, GA.

The Lady Raiders finished in fifth place as a team with a total of 71 points and were 4.50 points behind fourth place finishers John Milledge Academy (75.50). Pinewood Christian School from Bellville, GA won the girls’ state championship with 92 points, followed by state runners-up Bulloch Academy (83) and third place finishers Trinity Christian-Dublin (77).

Southland Academy’s Morgan Minick is seen here competing in the Girls Pole Vault event at the GISA State Meet. Minick won the state title in the event and finished as the state runner-up in the Girls 200 Meter Dash.
Photo by Sallie Minick

On the boys’ side, the Raiders finished in seventh place with 36 points and finished two points shy of Brookwood (38 points) and three points behind fifth place finishers Tiftarea Academy (39 points). John Milledge Academy ended up winning the boys’ state championship with 144.50 points and finished 60.50 points ahead of state runners-up Pinewood Christian School (84 points).

Individually, the Lady Raiders had several athletes finish in the top six in their respective events. SAR’s Morgan Minick turned in solid performances in both the 100 Meter and 200 Meter Dash. Minick finished in sixth place in the 100 with a time of 13.70 and she finished as the state runner-up in the 200 with a time of 27.40.

Southland Academy’s Tanner Humphrey (yellow jersey) finished sixth in the 800 Meter Run and fifth in the 1600 Meter Run at the GISA State Meet. Humphrey also helped the SAR 4×400 Meter Relay team finish in sixth place.
Photo by Carol Burrell

In the preliminary round of the Girls’ 4×400 Meter Relay, Minick and her teammates, Wimberly Hines, Jadie Burrell and Maddie Crisp, finished in fifth place with a time of 4:30.29, which was good enough to qualify them for the finals. In the finals of the event, the Lady Raiders finished in fourth place in a time of 4:27.85. They finished slightly behind the Pinewood Christian relay team, who finished in third place in a time of 4:26.03.

While Minick barely missed out on being a state champion in the 200 Meter Dash, she was able to claim the state title in the Pole Vault event, clearing the bar at a height of 7-06.00 (seven feet, six inches).

In the Girls 400 Meter Run, Maddie Crisp finished in sixth place for the Lady Raiders with a time of 1:06.83, while in the distance events, such as the 800, 1600 and 3200 Meter Run, Jadie Burrell shined on the track for SAR. Burrell was the state runner-up in both the 800 and 1600. She finished the 800 in a time of 2:34.17 and crossed the finish line in the 1600 with a time of 5:57.30. While she was edged out for the state title in both the 800 and 1600 meter events, Burrell would not be denied in the 3200 Meter Run. She was able to claim the state title in that event by crossing the finish line in first place with a time of 13:06.75. Burrell ended up being the second highest-scoring female athlete for GISA Class AAA.

Southland Academy’s Maddie Crisp competes in the Girls 4×400 Meter Relay event at the GISA State Meet. The Lady Raiders finished in fifth place in that event.
Photo by Carol Burrell

In the Girls Long Jump event, Elizabeth Law earned a top 10 finish in state as she finished in sixth place with a distance jump of 13-11.75. Law’s teammate, Wimberly Hines, also earned a top 10 finish by finishing in eighth place with a distance jump of 13-08.75. Law was also able to finish in the top 10 in the Triple Jump as well. She finished in ninth place with a distance jump of 27-10.00.

The Lady Raiders got another top 10 finish from Brylie Redding, who finished fourth in the Girls Shot Put event. Redding was able to secure fourth place by making a distance throw of 30-11.75. Redding’s teammate, Addison Starlin, almost cracked the top 10, finishing in 12th place with a distance throw of 25-06.75.

Southland Academy hurdler James Griffin competes in one of the hurdles events. Griffin finished in sixth place in the 300 Meter Hurdles and finished seventh in the 110 Meter Hurdles.
Photo by Sallie Minick

Starlin was able to earn a top 10 finish in the Discus event by finishing in seventh place with a distance throw of 76-00 (76 feet). Her teammate, Katie Rogers, finished just ahead of Starlin in sixth place with a distance throw of 80-02.

In boys’ action, SAR’s Tanner Humphrey turned in another strong performance in the 800 Meter Run. Humphrey finished in sixth place in the event with a time of 2:11.52 and barely missed out on fifth place, which was secured by Brad Joiner of Westminster-Augusta (2:11.40). Humphrey’s teammate, Max Foster, finished in 15th place with a time of 2:26.50. Humphrey was able to secure fifth place in the 1600 Meter Run and finished the race in a time of 4:58.21. His SAR teammate, Noah Sheff, barely missed making the top 10. Sheff finished in 11th place with a time of 5:22.15.

The Southland Academy Girls 4×400 Meter Relay Team of Jadie Burrell, Elizabeth Law, Morgan Minick and Maddie Crisp finished the event in fourth place in the event with a time of 4:27.85.
Photo by Carol Burrell

In the Boys 3200 Meter Run, SAR runners Shaw Pinnell and Matteson DeBaise each turned in strong performances. Pinnell finished in 13th place with a time of 13:20.18 and DeBaise finished 15th with a time of 13:33.17.

In the Boys 110 Meter Hurdles, James Griffin turned in a top-10 performance by finishing in seventh place in a time of 18.36. Griffin also turned in a solid performance in the 300 Meter Hurdles, as he finished in sixth place in a time of 45.34.

Southland Academy’s Elizabeth Law competes in the Girls 4×400 Meter Relay.
Photo by Carol Burrell

In the Boys 4×400 Meter Relay event, the Raiders were able to finish in sixth place. The team made up of Nathan Duke, Ashton Ray, Noah Sheff and Tanner Humphrey crossed the finish line in a time of 3:43.55.

Two more Raiders finished in the top 10 in the High Jump. Owen Exley was able to earn a third place finish by jumping a height of 5-10.00. His teammate, Colman Fort, finished in fifth place by clearing a height of 5-08.00

In the Boys Pole Vault event, Hunter Hockman and James Wall ended up tied for fifth place, as both cleared the bar at a height of 8-00.00 (eight feet). In the Boys Long Jump event, Carmello Volley barely missed making the top 10. Volley finished in 11th place with a distance jump of 17-06.50.

Southland Academy’s Noah Sheff competes in the 1600 Meter Run. Sheff finished in 11th place in a time of 5:22.15.
Photo by Carol Burrell

In the Triple Jump event, Nathan Duke, who was instrumental in helping the SAR 4×400 Meter Relay team finish in sixth place, finished in fifth with a distance jump of 39-01.50. Duke was beaten out for fourth place by Wade Walker of Trinity Christian-Dublin, who jumped a distance of 39-08.00.

Southland Academy’s Morgan Minick clears the bar during the Pole Vault competition and ends up winning the state championship in that event.
Photo by Sallie Minick

In the Boys Shot Put event, SAR had another Raider finish in the top 10. John Saey was able to nail down 10th place by making a distance throw of 40-03.00. Saye’s teammate, Will Godwin, finished the event in 14th place with a distance throw of 36-09.00. Godwin was able to finish in the top 10 in the Discus event. His distance throw of 97-00 was good enough for ninth place. Saye finished the Discus event in 12th place with a distance throw of 90-09.

For more information and all of the results of the GISA State Meet, go to www.ga.milesplit.com.