Sumter County boys and girls track and field teams finish 10th and 14th respectively at L.C. Smith and Winfred Benson Relays

Published 3:14 pm Monday, March 21, 2022

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ALBANY – The Sumter County High School boys and girls track and field teams turned in strong performances at the annual L.C. Smith and Winfred Benson Relays held at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany on Saturday, March 19.

As a team, the Panthers finished in 10th place, while the Lady Panthers turned in a 14th place finish. Lowndes County won both the boys’ and girls’ team championships.

Individually, several SCHS athletes showed out at the meet. In boys’ action, Kavon Lewis turned in a top-10 performance in the Boys’ 300-Meter Hurdles. Lewis finished 10th in the event, posting a time of 46.77.

In the Boys 110-Meter Hurdles, LaTravis Angry turned in a top-10 finish for the Panthers, as he finished ninth in the event in a time of 18.84. Angry’s teammates, Jaquan Bowens and Justin Evans, finished in 13th and 20th respectively in the event. Bowen’s finished 13th in a time of 19.66 and Evans finished 20th in a time of 22.28.

Sumter County female athletes Anniya Tyson (front) and Jakierra Pride (back) compete in the Girls 200-Meter Dash at the L.C. Smith and Winfred Benson Relays. Tyson finished in 1th place and Pride finished 16th in the event. Tyson also finished in eighth place in the Girls 100-Meter Dash.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

In the Boys 100-Meter Dash, Anthony Tyson finished in 13th place for the Panthers with a time of 11.77. Tyson’s SCHS teammates, Caleb Josey-Durham and Kyric Harris, finished 15th and 27th respectively. Josey-Durham crossed the finish line in a time of 11.80 and Harris crossed the line in a time of 14.97.

In the Boys 200-Meter Dash, Kenneth Pough finished in 20th place in a time of 24.37 and his two Panther teammates, Kenyon Williams and Mason Butts, finished 30th and 31st respectively with times of 25.50 and 24.90. In the Boys 400-Meter Run, SCHS runners Hunter Dalton and Josh Dalton finished in 24th and 25th respectively with times of 58.33 and 58.40. Mason Butts also competed in the event and finished in 32nd place in a time of 1:06.94.

In the Boys 800-Meter Run, Griffin Toms turned in a strong performance as he finished in 16th place in a time of 2:20.50.

“Honestly, all I had to do was go at my normal pace, like the first lap and on the second, just give it my all,” Toms said. “Overall, I think I did pretty good. On the last 100 meters of the 800, I unfortunately didn’t kick it like I was supposed to. I don’t know what happened, but overall, I’m really happy for myself. I got a 2:20.50. I think that’s a pretty good decent time and hopefully I can improve in the future,” Toms continued.

Sumter County male athlete Griffin Toms tries to chase down Kamryn Tucker of Jordan HS in the Boys 800-Meter Run. Toms finished 16th in the event with a time of 2:20.50.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

Toms was also a member of the SCHS 4×400-Meter Relay Team that finished in seventh place in a time of 3:47.14. The other members of that relay team included Hunter Dalton, Kenyon Williams, Mason Butts and Jaquan Bowens.

The Panthers also turned in a strong performance in the 4×800-Meter Relay, finishing in 10th place in a time of 10:13.50. The members of that team included, Griffin Toms, Javion Terry, Mason Butts, Hunter Dalton, Justin Evens, Joshua Dalton and Kavon Lewis.

Sumter County female athlete Zyria Battle finished in 24th place in the Girls 100-Meter Dash with a time of 14.14.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

In girls’ action, Anniya Tyson turned in a top-10 finish for the Lady Panthers in the Girls 100-Meter Dash, finishing in eighth place with a time of 13.25. Tyson’s teammates, Jakierra Pride and Zyria Battle, finished in 17th and 24th place respectively. Pride finished in a time of 13.75 and Battle crossed the finish line in a time of 14.60. Tyson also had a strong showing in the Girls 200-Meter Dash, finishing in 14th place in a time of 28.65. Pride finished two spots behind Tyson in the event with a time of 29.15. Jaiden Bridges finished 30th in the event with a time of 32.25.

Justin Evans hands the baton off to Kavon Lewis in the Boys 4×400-Meter Relay event at the L.C. Smith and Winfred Benson Relays in Albany.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

In the Girls 400-Meter Dash, Kamayra Waters turned in a strong performance by finishing in 14th place with a time of 1:09.90. Waters’ SCHS teammates, Karla Lizzarraga and Damia Battle, finished 29th and 31st respectively. Lizzarraga crossed the finish line in a time of 1:23.30 and Battle finished in a time of 1:25.45.

In the Girls 300-Meter Hurdles, Bridges finished 19th in a time of 1:00.37 and Waters crossed the finish line in 23rd place in a time of 1:04.56.

In the Girls 4×100-Meter Relay, the Lady Panthers finished in eight place with a time of 53.82 and in the Girls 4×200-Meter Relay event, SCHS finished in seventh place 1:57.84. In the Girls 4×400-Meter Relay, the Lady Panthers finished in ninth place with a time of 5:18.93.