SPORTS

Track and field team hits stride, breaks four school records

The 4x1600 boys relay team stands tall after breaking the school record for the event at the Coaches Invitational on March 18. They posted a time of 18:22.43 in their final race as a team.

The 4×1600 boys relay team stands tall after breaking the school record for the event at the Coaches Invitational on March 18. They posted a time of 18:22.43 in their final race as a team.

Dylan Hynson, Sports co-Editor
April 1, 2016

“We’ve done a lot of great things this season,” head track and field coach Chad Walker said. “We’re in good position to finish off the year.”

The Panthers track and field team broke four school records in the long jump, 4×1600 boys relay team, shot put and the 800 meter sprint medley relay. The four records were broken on March 18 at the Coaches Invitational at Pope High.

The first record broken was by senior Alexis Farley, who broke not only the school record that she set last year, but also the meet record for the long jump. She posted a 19-08.00 meters, which was almost a meter ahead of the second place score.

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Starr’s Mill girls track and field competitor places 2nd place in the triple jump, while breaking the school record during the event. The team broke three additional records during the meet.

“I went to the meet thinking I was going to get the meet record, because the record was 19-05.00, which was my personal record,” Farley said. “Going into the event with that mindset really helped me break the record.”

Farley was apart of another broken school record along with three teammates in the 800 meter sprint medley relay. The team of Farley, freshman Tenae Grigsby, and juniors Elan St. Julian and Nailah Underwood set the record with a time of 1:48.57, finishing third in the event.

“I’ve been striving for a new PR every meet,” Farley said. “For jumping especially, I’ve been improving every meet and doing better in those events.”

Farley won a state championship last year in the long jump and finished second in the triple jump. She will be attending Mississippi State University next fall on a track and field scholarship.

“Her big goal this year is to win the big three at state. She wants to win the long jump, triple jump, and 100 meter hurdles,” Walker said. “Last year, she fell in the hurdles at sectionals and didn’t even qualify for state. She definitely has some extra motivation this year.”

Another record broken at the Coaches Invitational meet was the boys 4×1600 meter boys relay team, featuring seniors Reed Livingston and Nick Bryant, and freshmen Nick Nyman and Harrison Fultz. The team broke the record with a time of 18:22 in their final competition as a team.

“We all ran cross country together,” Bryant said. “Cross country is probably where we all bonded and really became a team.”

The final record broken was by senior Ryan Spiecha in shotput, an event where he won the state championship last year. Spiecha posted a 55.05-00 meters, two meters above the second place finisher.

The team competes in their biggest event of the season tonight in the Friday Night Lights event, hosted at Panther Stadium. This is one of the final events before the region championships, an early qualifier for the state meet.

“At Friday Night Lights, we want to give everyone an opportunity to get a good time,” Walker said. “We’ve got one more meet after that and then it’s the region meet. We are just trying to make sure everyone is healthy and ready to go for regions and beyond.”