Several words can be used to describe the performance of Banneker senior Ryan Clark at the 44th edition of the Georgia High School Association Boys Track and Field Championships, a.k.a., Georgia Olympics XLIV. Outstanding. Sensational. Remarkable.
But that one that probably fits most is “finally.”
After three years of nearly unattainable expectations, Clark broke through on Saturday in Jefferson with the dominating performance the public has been waiting to see from him since his freshman year. Previously, Clark had competed primarily in the 400 and 200. While he had won several youth national championships in both and had been always been ranked as one of the nation’s top sprinters, injuries and inopportune subpar performances had limited Clark to just one state title in high school – the 400 meters his sophomore year.
But Saturday, the Florida-bound sprinter set the all-time and all-classification state records in the 100 and 200 meters, winning the events in Class AAAAA with times of 10.29 (10.33, DeAngelo Cherry, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, 2008) and 20.79 seconds (20.94, Tyreek Hill, Coffee County, 2012), respectively. Clark earned the Outstanding Performance Award for the meet.
“It’s about time I was able to stay healthy and finish up my high school career with a good performance,” said Clark, who noted that his future coaches at Florida advised him to focus on the 100 and 200 the latter part of this season. Clark owns the state’s second fastest time in the 400 this season (47.53), which had been his signature event.
“I already had a championship in the 400, so it was nice to get one in the 100 and 200,” said Clark, who closed the meet by leading the Trojans’ 1,600-meter relay team to the title in the event and another all-time, all-classification record (3:12.03)
Still, Clark’s phenomenal performance was not enough to overcome the depth of Southwest Dekalb. Led by sophomore twins Terry and Terryon Conwell, the Panthers won the AAAAA team title with 58 points, 14 better than second place Banneker. Terry Conwell finished second to Clark in the 100 and was third in the 200, while Terryon placed second in the 400 and fifth in the 200.
The win gave retiring head coach Napolean Cobb a fitting send off. He will be voted into the Georgia Coaches Association Hall of Fame later this month, after leading the Panther program to its ninth team title.
In AAAAAA, Rockdale County roared from way behind after the meet’s first two days to claim the program’s first championship. The Bulldogs were led by Lawrence Crawford, who won the 100 (10.62) and 200 (21.22), and Jhibri Greer, who won the 110-meter hurdles (13.97) and was fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.
Sandy Creek’s 1,600-meter relay team needed only to finish the race to earn at least a tie for the AAAA title. But the unit finished sixth to pick up three points and give the Patriots a 42-40 win over North Oconee and Marist, and their program’s first team championship since 2008.
In AAA, Cedar Grove won the school’s first track team title with a comfortable 67-45 edge over Decatur. The Saints picked up 23 points in the relays, as their “A” teams won both while their 1,600-meter “B” team placed sixth.
Greater Atlanta Christian won the AA crown for the first time, as seniors Micah Abernathy and Darius Slayton won the 400 and 200, respectively.
Athens Christian won the A-Private title – its fifth consecutive team championship and sixth overall – and Terrell County won the A-Public championship.
