Here’s a look at the current standings and some top performances heading into Saturday’s finals at the state track and field championships:
Class A Public in Albany (Hugh Mills Stadium)
Boys: 1. Commerce, 55 ½; 2. Gordon Lee, 44; 3. Montgomery County, 28. The top two teams slugged it out for the first two days, setting the stage for Day 3. The teams won the top four spots in the 1,600 meters as Gordon Lee's Jasper Wilson (4:47.11) won the title while Jake Lee took fourth (4:56.33). For Commerce, JJ Morris took second (4:48.49) and Demarco Hernandez third (4:54.08). Commerce won two field titles as well, as Shannon Segars took the long jump (22-2 ½) and Tucker Flint won the pole vault (13-6). Gordon Lee countered with Wiley Heming earning gold in the high jump (6-2).
Girls: 1. Gordon Lee, 51 points; 2. Marion County, 30; 3. Telfair County, 22. Gracie O'Neal's win in the 1,600 meters (5:16.09), Kaylee Brown's victories in the high jump (5-feet, 4-inches) and the pole vault (10-9), and Ansley Whitley's win in the discus (127-4) helped the Trojans take an early lead in the team standings.
Class A Private in Rome (Valhalla Stadium)
Boys: 1. Landmark Christian, 61; 2. Athens Academy, 50; 3. Riverside Military, 35. Zach Truitt won the 1,600 meters in a personal best time of 4:17.25, to lead the charge for Landmark, but right behind him was Graham Blanks of Athens Academy in 4:20.02. LenNeth Whitehead helped the cause for Athens Academy as well with a win in the shot put (64-7).
Girls: 1. Holy Innocents', 29; 2. Hebron Christian, 28; 3. Atlanta International, 26. Jada Ferrell's wins in the shot put (41-11) and triple jump (39-5), and Jackie Addy's third-place finish in the 1,600 meters (5:02.67) have the Lady Bears on top. Atlanta International is in the mix due to the 1-2 performance in the 1,600 meters by freshman Cara Joyce (4:57.90) and Reagan Mahoney (5:00.99).
Class AA in Rome (Valhalla Stadium)
Boys: 1. Bleckley County, 35; 2. Elbert County, 29; 3. Banks County, 19. Bleckley County picked up 24 points from Garrett Rogers' win in the 3,200 meters on Thursday and his second place finish in the 1,600 meters on Friday, and Jaylen Thigpen's third-place finish in the 1,600. Elbert County is within striking distance, led by Metrius Fleming's long jump title (24-½ ).
Girls: 1. Bleckley County 38 ½; 2. Elbert County, 29 ½; 3. Model, 23. Austin Perez's win in the 1,600 meters (5:26.6) and Emily Youngblood's fourth place finish in the event has Bleckley County out in front.
Class AAA in Albany (Hugh Mills Stadium)
Boys: 1. Jefferson, 46; 2. Westminster, 32; 3. Towers, 22. Robbie Head and Ryder Pagel led the way for Jefferson, winning the shot put (51-4) and the pole vault (14-6), respectively.
Girls: 1. Jefferson, 58; 2. Greater Atlanta Christian, 31; 3. Westminster, 26. The Lady Dragons jumped out to an early lead thanks in large part to three wins in the field: JoJo Smith in the high jump (5-2), Ellie Isaacs in the shot put (40-3 ½ ) and Anna Moore in the pole vault (11-4).
Class AAAA in Albany (Hugh Mills Stadium)
Boys: 1. St. Pius X, 39; 2. Chapel Hill, 23; 3. Mary Persons, 22 ½ . St. Pius X jumped out to an early lead on the strength of Tanner Duffin's double in the discus (187-01) and the shot put, where he set a meet record with a toss of 66-10 ½. Matthew Harris added to the Lions' total by winning the long jump (23-6 ½ ).
Girls: 1. Blessed Trinity, 32; 2. Chapel Hill, 30; 3. Marist, 28. The Lady Titans earned a slight lead over Chapel Hill, bolstered by the efforts of 3,200 meter champion Hannah Miniutti (11:09.87) and Sara Bailey, who finished fourth in the event. Chapel Hill's Kassidy Amerson-Fox won gold in the discus (125-4) and the shot put (40-3).
Class AAAAA in Carrollton (Grisham Stadium)
Boys: 1. Griffin, 36; 2. Carrollton, 31; 3. Starr's Mill, 25. Nick Nyman's silver medals in the 1,600 meters and 3,200, have Starr's Mill in contention.
Girls: 1. Woodland-Cartersville, 26 ½ ; 2. Veterans, 21; 3. Rome 19. McKenna Trapheagen and Rylee Evans placed second and fourth, respectively, in the 3,200 to help Woodland hold a slight lead.
Class AAAAAA in Carrollton (Grisham Stadium)
Boys: 1. Northview, 28; 2. Houston County, 24; 3. Dacula, 20 ½.
Girls: 1. Dunwoody, 36; 2. Forest Park, 25; 3. Winder-Barrow, 21.
Class AAAAAAA in Rome (Valhalla Stadium)
Boys: 1. Parkview, 34; 2. East Coweta, 23; 3. Peachtree Ridge, 18 ¾ . Brian Hauch set the tone for Parkview by winning the pole vault with a new classification record vault of 16-6 ½ . Kyle Harkabus paced East Coweta with his third 1,600 meter championship in three years, winning the event in a time of 4:16.44.
Girls: 1. Marietta, 35; 2. Walton, 30; 3. Campbell, 23. Ellie Hall's second place finish in the 1,600 meters helped the Blue Devils take hold of first place, but Elasia Campbell's win in the high jump (5-10) has Walton keeping pace.
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