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By DP Daigle
Athletes From The Bottom Six In State Meet Action Friday
What's up? It's me again, Coach Daigle, here to give you The Run Around. This year 2A/4A/6A run Friday and 1A/3A/5A run Saturday. Let's look at Friday's meet - and highlight the individuals from The Bottom Six trying to reach the podium.
2A first... There are two 2A schools in The Bottom Six: Our Lady Academy, and St. Patrick.
OLA has twelve entries and a solid shot to get on the podium as a team. Olivia Gelpi is a junior who qualified in three events - the 100 and 300 hurdles, as well as triple jump. This girl is a beast y'all, look for Coach Baehr at OLA to work her into a relay too. OLA has two solid pole vaulters in Meredith McCraney and Grace Bradford, and 7th grader Allie Gant has qualified in long jump. There's another strong hurdler on the team in Taylor Slade, she too qualified in both hurdle events too. Riley Moore, an 8th grader, rounds out the Crescents' individual entries with appearances in the 800M and 1600M. The Crescents advance three relays: 4x2, 4x4, and 4x8. Ladies who may run on those squads include Isabella Breisacher, Allie Gant, Isabelle Gelpi, Olivia Gelpi, Sara Hollinsworth, 7th grade speedster Jillian Larosa, Rylie Moore, Taylor Slade, Alyssa Talbot, Georgia Zanca, 7th grader Samantha Robertson, and Grace Breisacher. Looks like track at OLA is a family tradition - lots of siblings on this squad and my daughter is in the mix too!
St. Patrick's
girls are poised for a podium finish too; they won Region 3-2A and finished as
South State Runner-Up advancing 17 individual entries plus relays. The Leatherman sisters pace this team. Isabel qualified in all three distance events
and her sister, Olivia is a pole vaulter who qualified to State. Coach Dellenger has some other weapons on the
girls' side too, including Amelie Million and Jordan Pete who both qualified in
all three distance events. Gabrila
Patino will run in the 400, Kendall Pitre will pole vault, Leila Ransonet will
triple jump, and Mackenzie Stenum will high and triple jump for the Irish. Finally, Taylor Ibele with throw both disc
and shot. A virtual meet has this team
scoring 90 points to finish as State Runner-Up.
St. Patrick's
boy's squad places 13th in a virtual meet scoring 22.33 points. Individuals who have earned a trip to Pearl
include Bricen Rivers in long jump, Cade Meyers all three distance events, and
Jameson Thriffiley in pole vault. The
Irish also qualified their 4x8 relay team.
Members likely to run on that team include Cade Meyers, Dylan Middleton,
Dominic Patino, Morgan Owen, and Bricen Rivers.
Class 2A Girls Team Score Rankings Article
Class 2A Boys Team Score Rankings Article
4A Next... There are seven 4A teams in The Bottom Six: Bay High, East Central, Moss Point, Pass Christian, Poplarville, Saint Stanislaus, and Vancleave. All but Poplarville are in Division 8-4A, and I think it's the toughest Division in the state in 4A.
Bay High is sending one girl to Pearl - Kylaryn Kilpatrick in long jump. She's got a shot at the podium too; her season best is 16-08. The Tigers also qualified Ke'Saun Laneaux on the boys' side in high jump.
East Central
will send Lauren Brown to Pearl to run the 1600 and 3200. Their boys' team, however, is stacked. The Hornets are projected to finish 3rd
with 56 points with only 9 individual entries plus one relay. The individuals are Adam Atigh, Adam Taylor,
Andrew Bates, Zach Deihl, and freshman Christian Balcer. Andrew Bates will be in the 300 hurdles while
the rest of their entries are strictly distance. Atigh will run the 3200, Taylor will run the
1600 and 3200, Balcer will run the 1600 and 800, and Diehl will triple in the
distance events. Their 4x8 is the top
seed going into tomorrow's run.
Moss Point sends
three ladies to the meet plus a relay.
Brieanna Miller will compete in HJ and long jump while Jordan Seales
will compete in both hurdle events.
Michaela Payton qualified in the 200 as well. The Lady Tigers have a chance to crack the
top ten as a team, but they'll need some PR performances to do it.
On the boys'
side, Moss Point sends two entries plus a relay. Jeffery Harmon can podium in shot and Marquez
Smith is a pretty good 400 runner in a fast heat. They're bringing a relay team too, and the
virtual meet has them placing 16th as a team scoring 13 points.
Pass High's
girls are strong. They are looking for a
top five finish and are bringing eight individual entries plus a relay. Haley Clark runs the 3200, Jeasonna Alexander
throws disc, Kamdyn Skinner high and triple jumps, Kealy Skinner runs the 800,
Madelyn Greene runs the 400 and triple jumps, and Mina Tran qualified in pole
vault. Coach Halley and his staff will
have the Lady Pirates ready to perform.
Pass' boys
squad will consist of Damanta May in triple jump, Mike Seignious in the mile,
and Xavian Paige in the 300 hurdles.
This trio is predicted to finish 17th scoring 12 points at
the State Meet.
Poplarville's
girls will be right there with Moss Point, looking for a top 10 finish. They are bringing 6 total entries, including
a relay. Evelyn Kimball runs the mile
with Janelle Johnson, who also runs the 3200.
Jolie Purvell qualified in the 300 hurdles and Moncia Raine throws shot
for the Lady Hornets.
Saint
Stanislaus' coach thinks the Rocks have a legit shot to win it all, but a
virtual meet places them 6th.
I guess that's why we run the races though. They have 12 entries including 2 relays. Three pole vaulters qualified for SSC: two time defending state champ Taylor
Necaise, William Weber, and Davis Scharp.
Scharp also qualified in the 110 hurdles with teammate Brandon Bordelon,
Brandon is the #1 seed in that race.
Landry Lemoine will run the 3200, Robin Spanks will run in the 100 and
200, and Thomas Weber will throw the disc for the Rocks. The following runners could represent SSC in
relays: JD Rutherford, Delvin Henry,
Brandon Bordelon, Robin Spanks, Will Hand, Landry Lemoine, Michael Raymond,
Madison Grindall, Alex Koons, Blake Hancock, and Jacob Kurka.
Vancleave's girls will be represented by Southern Miss signee Lina May in three events. And guess what? She is favored to win them all, placing her team 7th in the virtual meet. This young lady is a class act, and I hope she PR's in all three races tomorrow. The boys bring Garret Jacobs to the show plus some relays. Jacobs is a solid runner, he'll do well in a very fast 800M field. In fact, the virtual meet puts him on the podium in third.
Class 4A Boys Team Score Rankings Article
Class 4A Girls Team Score Rankings Article
And don't forget 6A... There are eight 6A teams in The Bottom Six: Biloxi, D'Iberville, George County, Gulfport, Hancock, Harrison Central, Ocean Springs, and St. Martin.
Biloxi's
girls will be bringing two individuals to the State Meet. Aubry Weyerstrass will be pole vaulting and
Rakya Phillips will be in the high jump.
The Boys from Biloxi are projected to place in the top five, brining
nine individual entries plus relays.
Asonti Hall will be in the 110 hurdles, Elijah Johnson will pole vault,
Joseph King will throw the shot, Landon Chalden will run the 300 hurdles,
Michael Jordan will high jump, and Roshaun Jones will run the 400. The Indians' strongest threats come in long
jump, and the two hurdle events. Cameron
O'Neal has a good shot to win the competition in long jump; his PR is
23-1. The other big threat is Tamrin
Hobbs in both hurdles events. He's got a
legit chance to win them both.
D'Iberville is brining 3 girls to the State Meet. Gracie Ferguson will lead the way for the team in the 800; she's an experienced runner with a chance at the podium. Lindsey Kuykendall will pole vault and Aubrani Williams will throw the shot.
The ladies from George County will send one entry to the big show; it's Samantha Burkett in discus. The boys will bring three entries to the big meet: Dylan Lawrence in long jump, Kaya Ludgood in shot, and Tyler Stansberry in pole vault.
Gulfport's Coach Woodberry has a daughter on the team too, and she's a pretty good high jumper. In fact, the virtual meet has her placing second, so look for Alexandra Woodberry at the high jump pit; she has a PR of 5-8. Dywana Parker will be throwing the disc for the Lady Admirals, and Mallory Streetman has qualified in two distance events. And then the relays will be a strength for the Gulfport girls too, the virtual meet says they'll get 20 points there pacing the team to a number 7 finish.
The boys from
Gulfport High are poised to have a good day too, they will bring 5 entries plus
a relay and are projected to finish 12th. Specifically look for Ginarious Johnson in
the shot; he's the favorite with a PR of 53-7... that's a huge mark! Joining Johnson will be two high
jumpers: Steven Martin and Temarcus
Garrett. On the track the Admirals will
have Derick Hall in the 200 and Kadarren Colton in the 400.
Hancock will
send two individuals to the meet, Alexis Rawls in triple jump and Maria
Thompson in the 300 hurdles. Thompson
has a good shot at the podium for the Lady Hawks.
Harrison
Central's boys qualified 4 individual entries to the meet plus a relay. Goff Dylon will high jump and Dayln Anderson
will run the 400. The biggest threat
will come from Christopher Hudnall in both hurdle events. He's got a strong chance to win them both! The above performances and a relay have these
boys on the brink of cracking the top ten.
Ocean Springs is always a force in Track & Field. Both boys and girls are well represented; Coach Sayers has the girls ready for a top five team finish and the boys should be in the top ten! Specifically, the girls will bring 12 entries plus relays. Andrea Wheeler will run the mile and the two mile, so will her sister Isabelle Wheeler. Anniston Warrick will high jump, Emma Hunt is the favorite to win the pole vault, Kaylee Foster will run the 300 hurdles and Mikya Mack will have a chance to podium in both horizontal jumps. Loren Winters will represent the Lady Greyhounds in the 100 meter dash, Sadie Smith will run the ½ mile, and Roslyn Inabnet will join Hunt in the pole vault. It's a good mix of entries throughout the day to score points continuously.
The boys will bring 7 entries plus relays. Robert Hughes and Joseph Gallo will represent Ocean Springs in the 800. Beck Guidry is a podium threat in both of his events, the mile and two mile. Logan Barnes will vault for the Greyhounds and Kaleb McClendon will double in the 100 and 200.
Class 6A Girls Team Score Rankings Article
Class 6A Boys Team Score Rankings Article
Congratulations
to all these athletes for making it so far already this track season. I wish you PR's or Season Bests tomorrow!
Well, that's all for Friday's meet. I hope I have enough gas in the tank after the meet tomorrow to preview the 1A/3A/5A meet for y'all too. See you at the track!