DeKalb sweeps inaugural DCSD/APS middle school track meet
Two DeKalb County middle schools came away with girls’ and boy’s championship titles at the inaugural DeKalb County School District/Atlanta Public Schools Middle School Track Challenge held at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta on March 11.
Chamblee Middle School’s Lady Bulldogs and Bethune Middle School’s Lions took first-place honors with strong performances against 26 middle schools from DeKalb County and Atlanta.
Chamblee scored 68.50 points to outpace fellow DeKalb schools Champion and McNair, which tied for second with 40 points each. DeKalb’s Henderson (33, 5th), Redan (29.50, 6th) and Cedar Grove (19.50, 9th) all finished in the top 10 of the team standings.
DeKalb athletes won eight gold medals in the 12 events featured at the meet. Of the eight gold medals earned, Chamblee brought home two. Addison Morris won the 800-meter run (2:42.95) and Katelyn Avery won the high jump (4-02.00) for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs also won two silver medals via Elizabeth Harris in the 100-meter hurdles (18.56) and Elise Taylor in the long jump (15-01.25). Morris added to her medal haul with a bronze finish in the 1600-meter run (6:00.00) and the 4×200-meter relay team grabbed bronze (1:54.16).
Champion’s second place tie with McNair was aided by win in the 4×100-meter relay (52.20) and Sanaa Stanton’s win in the long jump (17-00.50). Champion also got a bronze medal in the shot put by Syriah Session (32-00.00).
McNair picked up a gold in the shot put as Kamora Whittlesey (31-10.00) won the event. McNair also collected silver medals from Rhimani Duffie in the 100 (12.98) and 200 (26.25)-meter dashes and the 4×200-meter relay (1:52.18). A bronze was also part of the haul for McNair as the squad picked up a third-place finish in the 4×400-meter relay (4:38.30).
Redan also garnered two of DeKalb’s eight gold medals finishing sixth overall. Kamerson Smith won the 400-meter dash (1:01.67) for Redan; the 4×400-meter relay team also captured first (4:34.10).
Salem capped the gold medal haul for DeKalb with a win in the 4×200-meter relay (1:51.16).
BOYS RECAP
The Bethune Lions picked up two gold medals of the seven brough home by DeKalb participants to aid the team in their 65-48 first place finish over Drew Charter Junior Academy.
The Lions won the 4×400-meter relay (3:49.93) and had a 1-2 finish in the long jump by Lorenzo Venson (19-01.50) and Rashad Silver (17:10.00). Two more silver medals came on performances by Tylar Wooten in the 800-meter run (2:17.12) and Jameel Hecter in the 100-meter hurdles (17:08).
Joining Bethune in the top 10 were Redan (37, 4th), Chamblee (35, 5th), Stephenson (32, 6th) and Champion (20, 9th).
Redan collected four medals, highlighted by a win in the 4×200-meter relay (1:36.50). The Raiders also picked up silver in the 4×400-meter relay (3:51.13) and a silver from Freddick Johnson in the shot put (37-08.00). The fourth medal was a bronze captured by Jeremiah Parker in the 100-meter dash (11.52).
Chamblee finished fifth and earned three medals, including Uria Hunt’s first place finish in the 400-meter dash (54.13). Ian Mathews finished second in the 1600-meter run (5:22.28), and the Bulldogs took third in the 4×400-meter relay (3:55.62).
Stephenson picked up two gold medals and one silver to accompish a sixth-place finish. Jordan Christie ran to gold in both the 100-meter dash (11.37) and the 200-meter dash (23.66). The silver came in the 4×100-meter relay (46.83).
Karan Fitzgerald played a big role in Champion’s ninth-place finish when he took the silver medal in the 400-meter dash (54.86). The Chargers also picked up bronze in the 4×100-meter relay (47.05).
Jackson Taylor of Druid Hills rounded out the gold medals for DeKalb with a win in the 1600-meter run (5:21.29).
