MHSAA 3A Recap
The MHSAA 3A Track and Field Championships certainly lived up to the hype, featuring incredible performances and heart-stopping finishes throughout the day. Even a weather delay couldn't dampen the competitive spirit, as athletes from across the state gave their all in this crucial season finale. Let's take a closer look at some of the highlights and results from Wednesday's action.
High School Girls Field Events
The MHSAA 3A Track and Field Championships showcased some incredible talent and close competitions, particularly in the field events.
Cedriun Minor from Wilkinson County claimed victory in the high jump with a leap of 5-04, narrowly edging out Emily Reinike of Our Lady Academy and Tiara Leverson of Holly Springs, both of whom cleared 5-02.
In the Pole Vault, Anna Katherine Thriffiley of Saint Patrick and Eva Yelverton of Kossuth both cleared 9-0, ultimately sharing gold as neither could outperform the other.
The Alcorn Central athletes demonstrated their strength in the throws, sweeping the podium in the discus and taking the top two spots in the shot put. Mattie Mynatt from Alcorn Central won both events, throwing 105-05 in the discus and 35-00 in the shot put. Her teammate, Allie Kirkland, secured runner-up positions in both events, closely following Mynatt's marks.
Team Race
Alcorn Central's exceptional performance in the throws contributed significantly to their second consecutive state title. With a total of 109 points, they managed to stay ahead of Saint Andrew's, who scored 90 points thanks to their prowess in the distance events.
High School Girls Running Events
The MHSAA 3A Track and Field Championships saw several impressive performances from young and talented athletes. Nakiyah Walker, a junior from Independence, captured her first title in the girls 100m dash, narrowly beating Nicole Sandifer of Magee High School. However, Sandifer later claimed her first title in the 200m, edging out Walker with a time of 25.31.
Port Gibson's seventh-grader Amari Trevillion took the 400m crown, becoming one of the youngest state champions in MHSAA 3A history with a time of 1:00.04. In the 800m, another seventh-grader, DaBriel McCauley, won her first state championship by outleaning Saint Patrick's Bella Jordan in a thrilling finish, with a time of 2:29.18. All in all, the future Port Gibson middle-distance running looks promising.
Emily Ireland of St. Andrew's had yet another fantastic day, claiming victories in both the 1600m and 3200m. With her 1600m win, she earned her ninth MHSAA 3A individual title. Her efforts, alongside teammates India Mitchell, Parker Lee , and Mary Mac Penton, contributed a whopping 44 points to St. Andrew's distance events.
In the hurdles, Bryceland Townsend dominated the 100mH with a winning time of 16.06, while eighth-grader and state record holder Charve Gibson from Jefferson County comfortably won the 300mH in 47.23. Gibson's talents across many events makes her an athlete to watch in the coming years.
Gibson also claimed victory in the triple jump with a distance of 37-04 and finished as the runner-up in the long jump. Adrianna Branch of Booneville High improved on her 2022 podium finish to win the long jump with a leap of 17-2.5.
High School Boys Field Events
High School Boys Running Events Events
In the 100m dash, the junior of Noxubee County, Lekyleron Dancy used a fantastic start to separate himself early from the field. He maintained his advantage as he reached his top speed and crossed the finish line securing his second ever sub-11 second performance and his first MHSAA 3A State Championship.
Despite a fifth place in the 100m, Holly Springs' Kentravian Kinkle edged out Dancy to take the 200m dash title by an incredible one hundredth of a second. Similar to the 100m dash, Dancy separated himself from the field early, but Kinkle powered down the homestretch ,catching Dancy in the final steps of the race winning by the finest of margins. This was also Kinkle's first MHSAA 3A title and capped off a nearly undefeated season in the 200m. Kinkle also doubled back from the 400m, where he took runner-up behind Tylertown's Wildrekus Johnson in a personal best of 50.13. Johnson had himself an unprecedented level of success on Wednesday absolutely crushing the one lap race. Having never gone under the 50-second barrier, he absolutely obliterated it, running a time of 49.46, taking the state title by over half a second.
Moving into the hurdles, it was all the Tylertown Chiefs. The reigning 110mH and 300mH champion Kendrell Robertson defended his title in the 110mH. Getting out well, he cleared the hurdles with impeccable form, smoothly taking the victory in a time of 14.55 comfortably ahead of Saint Stanislaus' Micah Bishop. In the 300mH hurdles, Robertson and his teammate Jourdan Clements packed a 1-2 punch. After a tough run in the 110mH where he lost his spike, Clements came back with a vengeance and demolished the 300mH hurdles, winning in a time of 40.38, snagging his first-ever MHSAA 3A individual title in the process. He was followed quickly by Robertson, who was ahead of Avery Abram Jr., and the trio all together scored a monumental 24 points for the Chiefs.
Similar to Tylertown in the hurdles, it was the Saint Patrick show in the distance. The trio of Jack Hewes, Tristan Davis, and Luke Myers was undoubtedly the most critical asset for the Irish. Scoring a total of 62 points together, they were the focal points of the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m.
Starting the day in the 3200m, Tristan Davis, the freshman and former state record holder in the middle school 3000m on the grass, won his first MHSAA 3A title. Finishing in a time of 10:41.2, he was slightly ahead of his teammate Jack Hewes, who ran 10:45.1. Luke Myers secured the fourth place position and five points with a finishing time of 10:58.5. Moving into the 1600m, Jack Hewes took a commanding lead early and never relinquished it, ultimately winning in a time of 4:41.8 followed by Samuel Hopper from Kossuth in second and Davis in third. Rounding out the distance events, Hewes doubled back to take the 800m title in 2:02.6 just outside of his personal best and won his fourth MHSAA 3A state title in the process. Luke Myers finished second in a time of 2:06.7, and Davis locked in the fourth place finish in a new personal record of 2:09.3.
Team Race
In the team race, the Tylertown Chiefs proved to be too strong for any other squad. Despite pressure from Saint Patrick's strong distance squad, the hurdling and jumping abilities from Tylertown proved to be enough to help them repeat as MHSAA 3A state champions. Scoring 119 points they had a comfortable 23 point margin of victory. With alumni such as Kentucky's Jordan Anthony, state record holder in the 100m and 200m, they are showing they have lasting talent to continually compete statewide and are taking home the hardware to prove it.
Section written by Preston Speed