Harris County boys, Columbus girls track teams capture victories

The Harris County boys and the Columbus girls won the Harris County track meet held Monday. The Harris County boys won 13 events, while Columbus’ girls won 10.

Columbus track coach Bobby Peters said he was pleased with how the Columbus girls and boys competed throughout the day. While the Lady Blue Devils finished first, the Blue Devils took home second on their side.

“As a whole, everybody’s times and distances are improving,” Peters said. “It’s where we want to be right now. We’ve steadily been getting faster, jumping farther and throwing farther and jumping higher. We definitely haven’t stopped growing.”

Fittingly enough, while Columbus’ teams grabbed first and second, so did Harris County’s. The Harris County girls claimed second place with a score of 62.

The Harris County boys had 10 athletes win at least one event at the meet. John Lee contributed two wins:, the 400- and 800-meter runs. Tyrese McPhatter, meanwhile, prevailed in the 100- and 200-meter dash.

McPhatter was also one of the four runners in Harris County’s 4x100 relay team that won in 42.46 seconds, nearly three seconds faster than second-place Troup County.

“Harris County, their boys are extremely fast, and we understood that,” Peters said. “We want our guys to be able to go against fast, just to see where we stand. Looking at Harris County boys, the 4x100 they won hands down. We want our team to compete against fast to know what fast is to know where we need to be.”

Taylor Elkins, Devin Helms, and Ty Johnson all won events for the Harris County girls.

Columbus’ Brittany Floyd had a standout showing at the meet. Floyd, who joined the team late due to the girls basketball team’s state championship run, won three events on her own and ran part of Columbus’ victorious 4x400 race.

“She’s getting better,” Peters said. “She pushes herself, and she pushes her teammates. She’s definitely that team player who realizes the more she can push herself, the more she’s going to help her team be successful.”

Tiondra Grant was responsible for two Columbus victories, winning the shot put and discus.

For the Blue Devils, Alex Salgado did his part to help Columbus take home second place. Salgado wont the 1,600 and 3,200.

“Alex is non-stop,” Peters said. “The team feeds off his energy. He leads by example, and we love what he brings to the table every day.”

Peters explained spring break meant several athletes were not on hand for the event, which allowed some athletes the chance to stand out to the coaches. He specifically applauded Deshaun Omane, who had to step in for the 4x400 relay and helped the team win.

For Columbus, the meet was a chance to test some inexperienced athletes such as Omane, as well as gauge the team’s overall ability.

“These are going to give us a good mark of where we stand against all the teams in our region, section and state,” Peters said. “Every practice after a track meet is a brand-new starting point for us.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Harris County boys, Columbus girls track teams capture victories."