STARKVILLE – Junior pole vaulter Veronica Dunne readied herself in the final of the girls pole vault during Tuesday’s Starkville Invitational.
Already holding the school record in pole vault, Dunne reset her own record with a mark of nine feet, six inches, winning the event for the Yellow Jackets.
With eight local schools participating in the event, including Starkville, Starkville Academy, Heritage Academy, Caledonia, Columbus, New Hope, Starkville Christian and Noxubee County, the Jackets stood out amongst the rest, dominating the competition.
Overall, Starkville won 17 of 36 total events, finishing atop the boys and girls team results, but it was a strong showing from the entirety of the Golden Triangle.
“We enjoyed having all of the teams on our campus,” SHS boys track coach Tory Reeves said.
The Jackets won eight events on the boys side, highlighted by senior Sterling Scott, who won in both long jump and triple jump.
Scott finished with a 21-foot, 1.5 inch mark in long jump and a 47-foot, 0.5 inch mark in triple jump.
Connor Rogers finished off the jumping trifecta with a first place finish in high jump, clearing six feet on his best attempt.
On the track, Stewart Grady won the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.82 seconds, Scott McDonnell won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:04.47 and the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:45.88, Giles Jones won the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:28.33. The quartet of Willie Harkins, Mekhi Edwards, Omarian Owens and Stewart won the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:38.88.
“We had great weather for the meet and had lots of good competition,” Reeves said. “The wind had a little bit of an effect on some of the times, but all in all it was a good day.”
The girls won nine events on Tuesday, beginning with junior Zariyah Edwards, who won in both discus with a throw of 95 feet, five inches and in shot put with a throw of 33 feet, five inches.
In track events, Jocelyn Randle won the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.68 seconds, Addyson Vickers won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:03.49, Emma Clair Spradling won the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:12.60 and Starkville won two relays.
The team of Indya Sparks, Randle, Emerald Owens and Taniya Turner won the 800-meter relay with a time of 1:45.53 and the team of Jariyah Lowe, Jamaica Young, Ra’una Robinson and Randle won the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 4:43.24.
Starkville also took home first place in triple jump as Ariel Conner finished with a mark of 30 feet, 4.5 inches.
“The meet went well,” SHS girls track coach Tony Minor said. “It was good fun. Everyone performed well, I was pleased with our results overall, and now we are starting to prepare for our district meet on April 14.”
Caledonia
First place finishers from Caledonia included: (Boys) Ethan Ramirez in discus, Logan Burges in pole vault and Micah O’Daniel in the 110-meter hurdles; (Girls) Liberty Hughes in high jump and Ella Shepherd in both the 800-meter run and 3200-meter run.
Noxubee County
First place winners from Noxubee County included: (Boys) Bryson Kelly in shot put, Lekyleron Dancy in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, the quartet of Ladareoun Mosley, Dequadrion Welch, Jaylon King and Martavius Wicks in the 400-meter relay and the quartet of Artez McCrary, King, Dancy and Welch in the 800-meter relay; (Girls) Dynastii Andrew in the 100-meter hurdles.
New Hope
First place finishers for New Hope included: (Girls) Jakayla Smith in the 300-meter hurdles and the quartet of Amber Salone, Madison Taylor, Devin Hill and Deaireal Williams in the 3,200-meter relay.
Starkville Academy
First place finishers for Starkville Academy included: (Boys) Alex Friedhaber in the 300-meter hurdles; (Girls) Abby Winston in long jump.
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