Local Class 1A Private, 4A track teams show out at state track meet

Several athletes from Muscogee County showed off their strengths in the three-day state track meet at Berry College in Rome. The meet featured over 90 schools from Class 1A Private, Class 4A and Class 7A.

In Class 4A, the Northside boys brought home the best finish among the local schools, taking home sixth place overall. Carver’s boys delivered a 23rd-place finish, while Hardaway wound up 35th. On the girls’ side, Columbus and Shaw posted the best team results, finishing 10th and 12th, respectively. Hardaway and Northside tied for 29th.

Brookstone’s boys team was the only local 1A Private school participating at Berry. The Cougars finished the last day of events in 17th.

Northside track coach Joe Sanders admitted he had lofty expectations for his squad but was satisfied with their performances.

“For the most part, we did well,” Sanders said. “I felt like (the boys) could have left in the top 3. A couple of things changed, but overall I’m pleased. We were top 6 in the state, one better than we did last year. I think we did a great job.”

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Alec Tanksley put together a great Saturday of events, finishing the day with 22 points. The senior Patriot took second in the 200-meter dash finals —setting a new Northside record in the process — and later finished fifth in the 300 hurdles. Teammate Jonathan Myrthil put forth a strong effort in the 800 finals, placing third.

The final day of competition sealed what was a memorable string of performances for the Northside boys. On Friday, Tanksley captured the state championship in the long jump with a 23-feet, four-and-a-half inches, setting a new school record. Duke Haslam also set a new record for the Patriots en route to a fourth-place finish in the discus.

The Columbus girls, meanwhile, wrapped up their competitions on Friday. Brittany Floyd capped off her senior season on a standout note, finishing second in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump. Tiondra Grant came through in the shot put for the Lady Blue Devils, ultimately finishing seventh in the event. Dayna Perrymond delivered in the discus, coming home in fourth.

For Shaw, the excitement in the finals began Friday with Akia Humber, who finished third in the shot put. The Lady Raiders finished it promptly Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the 4x100 relay and a fourth-place finish in the 4x400.

Deja Allen, who competed for Shaw in the 4x400, said she was happy with how she and her teammates performed but acknowledged she was glad the competitions had come to a close.

“Throughout the season, we learned our weaknesses and worked on them,” Allen said. “Today was very stressful. You have a lot of emotions running through your body. It feels great to have it over with, to know the meet’s over and you can sleep.”

For official results from all the events, go to Perfect Timing Group’s website.

This story was originally published May 14, 2017 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Local Class 1A Private, 4A track teams show out at state track meet."