Gilmer High’s track athletes are set for the final meet of the season.
GHS was in Atlanta last Saturday for Class 3A’s ‘B’ sectional, and Lady Cat Taylor McCormick walked away as the high jump champion. Also punching their ticket to state were Bobcats Will Kiker, Matthew Grice and John Keener.
Sectionals included teams from Regions 5, 6, 7 and 8. Athletes who placed in the top eight of their respective event qualified for state.
McCormick, the reigning high jump state champion, was back in peak form. Her jump of 5’ 4” was 6 inches better than her mark from the week before. It allowed her to defeat White County’s Maci Shelnut by 4 inches.
McCormick and Shelnut were the top two finishers at state last year, and it appears they are set for a rematch.
Kiker qualified for state in the pole vault a season ago and holds the school record at 14’. He has not competed in the event this season, but that has not hindered his success.
His sectional placements and distances allowed him to continue his season at state in the shot put (49’ 10 1/2”, third place), discus (144’ 2”, fifth), long jump (20’ 8 3/4”, sixth) and triple jump (41’ 6 1/2”, eighth).
Bobcats Grice and Keener qualified for state in the pole vault. The first-place height was 12’, and both Grice and Keener cleared 11’. Grice was awarded fifth place because it took him fewer attempts and Keener was seventh.
GHS competed in four other events at sectionals but fell shy of state berths. Amayah Jones’ throw in the shot put of 30’ 4 3/4” placed 10th, and she finished 13th in the 200-meter dash at 29.16.
In the 4x100 relay, Lady Cats Jones, Abbie Elliott, Kayleigh Robbins and Josephine Royer clocked in at 55.87 for 15th. In the 4x400, Bobcats Michael Little, James Beach, Christian Sumner and Keener shaved nearly 8 seconds off their time from a week prior and crossed the finish line in 3:40.73 for 13th place.
The Class 3A state meet will be held at Albany’s Hugh Mills Stadium Thursday through Saturday, and all of Gilmer’s athletes will compete on the first day. Kiker will start with the shot put and triple jump at 10 a.m., and McCormick will begin her title defense at noon. Grice and Keener will start the pole vault at 2 p.m., and Kiker’s remaining events of the discus and long jump are scheduled for 4 p.m.