For Leon County Schools, the middle school track and field season is four weeks long. Four Thursdays, four athletics meets, then good-bye. In 2019 the fourth and final meet was the LCS League Championship, held in Tallahassee, Florida at the Godby High track on Thursday afternoon, 25 April 2019. For the eighth-graders, it was not only their last LCS track meet of the season, it was their last LCS middle school track meet ever.
Good-bye.
But the first event of the meet, the girls' 1600, went to a seventh-grader, Skye Williams of Montford. Williams turned in the fastest time of the season in the girls' four-lapper, running 5:44.85. Swift Creek eighth-grader
Stella Lewis took second in 5:54.27, and Deerlake eighth-grader
Maya Tang was third in 5:59.67.
Wyatt Townsend came to the starting line of the boys' 1600 as the defending champion in the event. In fact, the Deerlake eighth-grader had never lost a 1600-meter race at a Leon County Schools event, with a seven-race winning streak that went back to the beginning of the 2018 season. The streak continued. Townsend edged Swift Creek eighth-grader
Connor Edwards for the league title, 4:52.15 to 4:53.03. Fairview seventh-grader
Patrick Koon also went sub-5:00, placing third in 4:59.16. Townsend, Edwards, and Koon each posted their fastest 1600 performance of 2019 season.
| Winners of the Leon County Schools Middle School 1600, 2005 - 2019 |
|---|
| Date | Boys | Girls |
|---|
| | |
| 22 April 2005 | 5:20.22, Kurt Dietrich (Swift Creek) 7 | 6:01.06, Jana Stolting (Deerlake) 7 |
| | |
| 25 April 2007 | 5:09.13, Will Stanford (Raa) | 5:25.44, Rachel Givens (Raa) |
| 30 April 2008 | 5:03.45, Marcus Stallworth (Griffin) | 5:32.01, Carly Thomas (Raa) 8 |
| 29 April 2009 | 5:03.22, Trevor Touchton (Swift Creek) | 5:22.80, Cece Williams (Deerlake) |
| 28 April 2010 | 5:01.15, Jack Rutledge (Deerlake) | 5:35.67, Cece Williams (Deerlake) |
| 27 April 2011 | 5:06.09, Evan Wilson (Fairview) | 6:00.96, Madeline Horgan (Swift Creek) |
| 25 April 2012 | 5:07.76, Solomon Stevens (Cobb) | 5:52.49, Zoe Sheldon (Swift Creek) |
| 11 April 2013 | 5:12.95, Matthew Cashin (Raa) 8 | 5:43.83, Audrey Dogan (Raa) |
| 23 April 2014 | 4:55.23, Clayton Carlson (Swift Creek) 8 | 5:46.44, Lawton Campbell (Montford) 7 |
| 22 April 2015 | 5:03.90, Charles Hruda (Fairview) 8 | 5:20.42, Alyson Churchill (Swift Creek) 7 |
| 20 April 2016 | 5:17.34, Nile Bryant (Raa) 8 | 5:17.17, Alyson Churchill (Swift Creek) 8 |
| 19 April 2017 | 5:06.04, Jalen Brownlee (Fairview) 8 | 6:00.82, Lexi Gray (Swift Creek) 8 |
| 19 April 2018 | 5:02.21, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 7 | 5:44.02, Parker Matherne (Cobb) 7 |
| 25 April 2019 | 4:52.15, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 8 | 5:44.85, Skye Williams (Montford) 7 |
The Championships were held at Lincoln High School in 2005 and 2007.
Godby High School hosted the Championships from 2008 to 2019. |
Makayla Caldwell of Fairview won the girls' 100-meter hurdles for the second week in row, taking the League Championship race in 16.21. Cecilia Dixon of Swift Creek was second in 16:53, and Alexandria Kennedy of Fairview third in 17.03.
The boys' hurdle race belonged to Juvon Pettway of Swift Creek. Pettway went 15.02 for the win, outleaning Le'Kel Manna of Nims, runner-up at 15.08. Cade Swart of Deerlake placed third in 15:49.
Danae Baker of Raa had won the girls' 100-meter dash at the first two meets of the season but missed the race in the third meet. At the championship meet, Baker was present at the starting line and first across the finish line, taking the title in 13.01. Griffin's Teona Hutson edged Naudia Williams of Montford for second, 13.36 to 13.37.
Sheldon Richardson of Nims ran the fastest 100-meter dash of the 2019 LCS season, 11.65, to win the boys' race. Zhantavious Mills of Cobb was second in 12.03, just ahead of a battle for third. Keyon Brown of Fairview got that place with a 12.09, while Centel Deshazier of Cobb and Travis Morris of Nims tied for fourth at 12.10.
Channey Richardson of Cobb capped a perfect season in the girls' 400 by winning her fourth one-lap race in four outings, taking the championship in 62.90. Madison McNeill of Deerlake was second in 63.29, and Javionah Bolden of Nims third in 63.68.
Ja'Marie Clemons of Cobb posted a 52.02 in the boys' 400, the fastest mark in the event of the 2019 LCS middle school season. His Cobb teammate, Malek Jackson, was runner-up in 53.02, with Rhyder Poppell of Montford third in 54.94.
The 400 was followed by the first relay of the evening, the girls' 4 x 100-meter relay. The Cobb girls passed the stick once around the track in 52.50, their best time of the season and fast enough to win the championship in the event. The Raa girls were second in 52.93, with Fairview a close third in 53.06.
The Nims boys had won the 4 x 100 in each of the three previous meets, but at the LCS Championship the Cobb boys had the edge, going 46.94 for the title. The Nims team was second in 47.68, and Raa squeaked by Swift Creek for third, 49.01 to 49.03.
Alima Hemenway had skipped the third meet of the LCS season after winning the girls' 800 at the first two meet. Taking a week off didn't seem to hurt the Swift Creek eighth-grader at all, though. Hemenway won the championship race, outkicking Swift Creek's
Stella Lewis 2:41.55 to 2:41.57. Montford sixth-grader Mariona Heartsfield was third in 2:43.13, with Deerlake's
Maya Tang fourth in 2:45.70.
Cobb's Ja'Marie Clemons hadn't had much time to rest after winning the boys' 400 before he was rushed onto the starting line of the 800. Not much time, but enough. Clemons won the two-lap race in 2:09.65, finishing just ahead of the 2:10.12 posted by runner-up Justin Greenwood of Fairview. Their times were the two best marks of the 2019 LCS season. Swift Creek athletes
Connor Edwards and Corey Stavres took third and fourth, running 2:17.07 and 2:17.70.
27.55 was the best girls' 200-meter dash of the 2019 LCS season, and 27.55 was the winning time that Gabria Cottrell of Raa ran in that event at the Championship Meet. Naudia Williams of Montford was second in 27.82, with Fairview's Alexandria Kennedy a close third in 27.90.
Going into the boys' 200 at the Championship Meet, three sprinters had each won the event once during the season--Rico Watkins of Fairview, Sheldon Richardson of Nims, and Malek Jackson of Cobb. Watkins wasn't at the Championship, leaving Richardson and Jackson to race for the title. Richardson took it, running 23.75. Jackson edged Travis Morris of Nims for second, 24.31 to 24.33, with Keyon Brown of Fairview a close fourth in 24.38.
In the first three meets of the 2019 LCS season, the Fairview girls were a perfect three-for-three in the 4 x 400 relay. But at the fourth meet, the Championship, the Raa girls stunned the field with a 4:24.79, the fastest time of the season by more than five seconds. Fairview settled for second at 4:38.75, with the Swift Creek team third in 4:40.66.
In the boys' 4 x 400, three teams went under 4:00. Swift Creek was the fastest of those, taking first in 3:50.43. Cobb was second in 3:51.89, and Fairview third in 3:53.33.
Girls' 200-meter champ Gabria Cottrell of Raa earned her second title of the meet in the girls' high jump, leaping a winning 1.42 meters. Leah Homan of Deerlake was second with a mark of 1.37 meters. Three athletes tied for third at 1.27 meters--Nehemiah Jenkins of Nims, Gabrielle Powell of Fairview, and Daphne Story of Fairview.
Errol Quallo of Fairview won the boys' high jump for the third week in a row, equaling his season-best mark of 1.62 meters. Swift Creek's Juvon Pettway and 800/400 champ Ja'Marie Clemons of Cobb tied for second at 1.57 meters.
Fairview eighth-grader Alexandria Kennedy finished an undefeated season in the girls' long jump with a 4.89-meter win in the event. Ausunti Herring of Deerlake took second with a mark of 4.68 meters, and Raa's Danae Baker leaped 4.59 meters for third.
Asanti Stewart of Nims sent the six-pound shot 11.10 meters, more than a meter farther than any other athlete at the Championship, to win the girls' shot put. Raven Hall of Deerlake placed second with a mark of 10.03 meters, and Ka'Niya Fuller of Cobb was third at 9.83 meters.
Jordan Clark of Nims ended the 2019 LCS season with his fourth win in four outings in the boys eight-pound shot, taking the championship with a 13.09-meter hurl. It was the third time during the season that Clark had gone beyond thirteen meters; a mark that no other athlete had been able to touch. Kamari Strong of Fairview was second at 12.66 meters, and Alex Henry third at 11.76 meters.
When the final event was over, the Fairview girls had 77 points, making the Falcons the first-place school in the girls' team standings. Swift Creek was second in the nine-team field, just ahead of the 66 points posted by third-place Raa.
The boys' team standings were close, but Nims outscored Cobb by one point to take the championship, 90-1/2 to 89-1/2. Swift Creek edged the Fairview boys for third, 74 to 73-1/2.
The scores were tallied, the Championship Meet was over, and so was the season. Some of the athletes would be back in 2020, but the eighth-graders would have moved on, perhaps to compete for their high schools. 2019, though, was no longer living contests on the track and in the field. The season was fading memories and records on scraps of paper.
Leon County Schools
2019 Middle School Track & Field Winners |
|---|
| Boys |
|---|
| Event | 4 April 2019 | 11 April 2019 | 18 April 2019 | 25 April 2019 |
|---|
| 1600 | Wyatt Townsend
(Deerlake)
5:01.0 | Wyatt Townsend
(Deerlake)
5:01.15 | Wyatt Townsend
(Deerlake)
4:56.62 | Wyatt Townsend
(Deerlake)
4:52.15 |
|---|
| 800 | Justin Greenwood
(Fairview)
2:10.9 | Keveon Ruffin
(Nims)
2:12.10 | Ja'Marie Clemons
(Cobb)
2:13.36 | Ja'Marie Clemons
(Cobb)
2.09.65 |
|---|
| 400 | Ja'Marie Clemons
(Cobb)
54.8 | Kenneth Jenkins
(Raa)
54.65 | Malek Jackson
(Cobb)
53.51 | Ja'Marie Clemons
(Cobb)
52.02 |
|---|
| 200 | Rico Watkins
(Fairview)
23.5 | Sheldon Richardson
(Nims)
24.26 | Malek Jackson
(Cobb)
24.55 | Sheldon Richardson
(Nims)
23.75 |
|---|
| 100 | Zhantavious Mills
(Cobb)
11.8 | David Hogan
(Swift Creek)
12.01 | Sheldon Richardson
(Nims)
11.73 | Sheldon Richardson
(Nims)
11.65 |
|---|
| 100 Hurdles | Le'kel Manna
(Nims)
14.4 | Juvon Pettway
(Swift Creek)
15.59 | Mikael Myrick
(Raa)
15.71 | Juvon Pettway
(Swift Creek)
15.02 |
|---|
| 4 x 400 | Swift Creek
3:49.2 | Fairview
3:53.03 | Fairview
3:54.51 | Swift Creek
3:50.43 |
|---|
| 4 x100 | Nims
46.7 | Nims
46.07 | Nims
45.39 | Cobb
46.94 |
|---|
| 8# Shot | Jordan Clark
(Nims)
13.23m | Jordan Clark
(Nims)
12.55m | Jordan Clark
(Nims)
13.54m | Jordan Clark
(Nims)
13.09 |
|---|
| HJ | Ja'Marie Clemons
(Cobb)
1.52m | Errol Quallo
(Fairview)
1.62m | Errol Quallo(F)
Juvon Pettway(SC)
1.57m | Errol Quallo
(Fairview)
1.62m |
|---|
| LJ | Keyon Brown
(Fairview)
5.55m | Kenneth Jenkins
(Raa)
5.78m | Kenneth Jenkins
(Raa)
5.73m | Michael Ash
(Swift Creek)
5.73m |
|---|
| Girls |
|---|
| Event | 4 April 2019 | 11 April 2019 | 18 April 2019 | 25 April 2019 |
|---|
| 1600 | Maya Tang
(Deerlake)
5:48.5 | Maya Tang
(Deerlake)
5:51.87 | Stella Lewis
(Swift Creek)
5:50.39 | Skye Williams
(Montford)
5:44.85 |
|---|
| 800 | Alima Hemenway
(Swift Creek)
2:39.7 | Alima Hemenway
(Swift Creek)
2:40.15 | Skye Williams
(Montford)
2:39.07 | Alima Hemenway
(Swift Creek)
2:41.55 |
|---|
| 400 | Channey Richardson
(Cobb)
62.8 | Channey Richardson
(Cobb)
63.19 | Channey Richardson
(Cobb)
62.80 | Channey Richardson
(Cobb)
62.90 |
|---|
| 200 | Dyani Steward
(Cobb)
27.9 | Gabria Cottrell
(Raa)
27.59 | Alexandria Kennedy
(Fairview)
27.59 | Gabria Cottrell
(Raa)
27.55 |
|---|
| 100 | Danae Baker
(Raa)
12.0 | Danae Baker
(Raa)
12.97 | Naudia Williams
(Montford)
13.39 | Danae Baker
(Raa)
13.01 |
|---|
| 100 Hurdles | Alexandria Kennedy
(Fairview)
16.0 | Angel Roberts
(Raa)
17.67 | Makayla Caldwell
(Fairview)
16.78 | Makayla Caldwell
(Fairview)
16.21 |
|---|
| 4 x 400 | Fairview
4:31.5 | Fairview
4:29.97 | Fairview
4:35.08 | Raa
4:24.79 |
|---|
| 4 x100 | Raa
52.8 | Raa
52.12 | Cobb
52.60 | Cobb
52.50 |
|---|
| 6# Shot | Jade DuBose
(Nims)
9.69m | Asanti Stewart
(Nims)
11.39m | Ka'Niyah Fuller
(Cobb)
9.97m | Asanti Stewart
(Nims)
11.10m |
|---|
| HJ | Nehemiah Jenkins
(Nims)
1.45m | Kinsleigh Hunter
(Griffin)
1.57m | Gabria Cottrell
(Raa)
1.47m | Gabria Cottrell
(Raa)
1.42m |
|---|
| LJ | Alexandria Kennedy
(Fairview)
4.85m | Alexandria Kennedy
(Fairview)
5.11m | Alexandria Kennedy
(Fairview)
4.90m | Alexandria Kennedy
(Fairview)
4.89m |
|---|
Links
#2522
In Albany, Georgia on Saturday morning, 27 April 2019, Will Tomlinson won the second annual Saved By The Bell 5K, running 20:55. Kelly Cleary was the first woman in the race, placing seventh overall in 23:35.
8th annual BFD Catfish Crawl 5K and one-mile fun run. 8:00 AM CT. M and B Train Park, North Main Street and Railroad Avenue, Blountstown, Florida 32424. 2017 
11th annual United Country Memorial Day 5K. 8:00 AM ET. Valdosta Early College Academy, 1605 Azalea Drive, Valdosta, Georgia. 2018 
Monticello Kiwanis' 41st annual Melon Run 5K. 8:15 AM ET. First United Methodist Church Family Ministry Center, 325 West Walnut Street, Monticello, Florida 32344. 2018 
37th annual Firecracker 5K and one-mile Sparkler Run. 7:30 AM ET one mile / 8:00 AM ET 5K. 
40th annual Boston Mini-Marathon. 8:00 AM ET. Commercial Bank, 124 West Jefferson Street, Boston, Georgia 31626. 2018 
Swine Time 5K. 8:30 AM ET. Swine Time Fairgrounds, New Street, Climax Georgia. 2016 
11th annual Trent Trot 10K, 5K, and one-mile fun run. 8:00 AM ET one mile / 8:30 AM ET 10K, 5K. 
27th annual Run For The Cookies 5K and one-mile fun run. 8:30 AM ET one mile / 9:00 AM ET 5K. Tallahassee Community College Lifetime Sports Center, 444 Appleyard Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32304. 2019 
32nd annual Shamrock Scurry 5K and one-mile fun run. 8:00 AM ET one mile / 8:30AM ET 5K.
11th annual Race The Tortoise 5K. 8:00 AM ET. 