FLOWERY BRANCH -- Ethan Hargrove's legs and lungs were already burning, but with just 150 meters to go the sophomore knew he had no choice but to demand more of his body -- and it didn't let him down.
Kicking into top gear, the Flowery Branch 800 meter runner exploded down the stretch to pull off a come-from-behind victory and claim a title at Thursday's Hall County Championships -- a meet that saw the Falcons edged out by Riverside Military Academy for the boys crown and the Lady Falcons claim their own title.
"I just focused on me and prayed to God that I had it in me; I also had a lot of motivation from my friends and teammates cheering me on," said Hargrove, who finished in 2:04.73, just in front of teammate Walker Peterson after they both hauled down Gainesville's Jorge Galvan. "This feels great -- actually I hurt right now, but I still feel pretty good."
That proved the case with a number of competitors in a competition that has taken on plenty of import for both athletes and coaches. (NOTE: For a look at top three finishes in each event, simply scroll down.)
"This means a lot; I love the environment, and it was a great day," Gainesville's Hunter Mallard said.
It was great indeed for the Red Elephants sophomore, who not only snagged the pole vault title but also set a personal record by clearing 14-feet-8 on his third attempt after clinching the crown by clearing 14-6 -- also on the third attempt.
"This is amazing, oh my gosh... When I cleared the bar at 14-8 it just felt golden," said Mallard, the top-ranked vaulter in Class AAAAA, who battled North Hall's Gil Hoffman -- the No. 1 vaulter in Class AAAA -- for much of the evening. The difference proved the 14-6 mark, as Hoffman scratched -- by the closest of margins -- on all three attempts at the height. "Gil is great, and I have to thank him; I do my best when I have competition."
There were nip-and-tuck battles throughout the afternoon, and both team competitions saw plenty of jockeying, especially on the boys side, as Riverside held off Flowery Branch by just 4.75 points -- a point-difference that could have been made up during one event. Yet the Eagles proved tenacious, finishing second in the final event of the night -- the 4x400 meter relay -- to ensure the title.
"I thought we would be in contention to win here at Hall County," Riverside coach Jim Myers said. "We tried to play into our strength, which is the sprint events."
Riverside claimed both the 200 and 400 meters thanks to Dante Tate, while Malik Faulk took first in the 110 hurdles and Tucker Pearson first in the 300 hurdles. Riverside also claimed the 4x100 relay. Chris Howard also proved key for the Eagles, as he clinched gold medals in the triple jump, shot put, competed in the winning 4x100 team and took third in the 100 meters.
"It feels great to win the county championship," Howard said. "I'm happy to be able to contribute to our team's effort."
North Hall's Trini Puente showed her dominant versatility as well, winning the 200 meters, 100 hurdles and long jump and anchoring the Lady Trojans' second place 4x100 relay squad.
"I was feeling OK coming into today; I just wanted to win as much as I could," said Puente, who broke her own school record in the long jump, leaping 16-11.5 to beat her old mark by three-and-a-half inches.
North Hall also received a stellar effort from senior Harper Seymour, who dominated the discus and shot put. Yet their efforts could not help the Lady Trojans overhaul the Lady Falcons, who won five events but posted 12 more finishes inside the top three.
"Times weren't our main focus today. Today we just wanted to go out and compete, and we had a total team effort today," Flowery Branch track coach Richard Ramsey said. "We told them today was kind of a mid-term. And it was a good indicator of what we can do the second half of the season. A lot of kids were willing to take on different roles today and do what we asked, and that's encouraging.
"Our team's got big goals and big visions, but you've got to take care of your backyard first before you can concentrate on region and, hopefully, state."
With the season now trending toward warmer weather and the postseason, athletes will certainly have those meets in mind each time they take the field for competition -- and Ramsey hopes that Thursday's county championships provided a little taste of what is to come, for all involved.
"We want the Hall County meet to grow and build and be a big-time event," Ramsey said. "This was a great way to kick off the second half of the season."
HALL COUNTY TRACK and FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday, at Flowery Branch High
TEAM RESULTS
BOYS
1. Riverside Military, 137.25
2. Flowery Branch, 132.5
3. Gainesville, 115. 25
4. North Hall, 92.5
5. West Hall, 45.25
6. Chestatee, 38.5
7. East Hall, 34
8. Johnson, 27.75
GIRLS
1. Flowery Branch, 171.5
2. North Hall, 156
3. Gainesville, 115
4. West Hall, 72.5
5. Chestatee, 72
6. East Hall, 20
7. Johnson, 12
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
BOYS
100 meters
1. Cortez Davis, Flowery Branch (FB), 11.22
2. Jacques Ash, East Hall (EH), 11.29
3. Chris Howard, Riverside Military Academy (RMA), 11.52
200 meters
1. Dante Tate, RMA, 22.69
2. Cortez Davis , FB, 23.06
3. Kieron Graham, FB, 23.16
400 meters
1. Dante Tate, RMA, 50.96
2. Jared Mathews, West Hall (WH), 52.16
3. Myron Dabney, Gainesville (GHS), 52.62
800 meters
1. Ethan Hargrove, FB, 2:04.73
2. Walker Peterson, FB, 2:06.16
3. Jorge Galvan, GHS, 2:06.27
1,600 meters
1. Quintin Miles, North Hall (NH), 4:27.91
2. Grant O'Callaghan, FB, 4:29.36
3. Juan Ortega, GHS, 4:33.13
3,200 meters
1. Jake Shewbert, FB, 9:47.97
2. Corson Teasley, NH, 10:00.39
3. Juan Ortega, GHS, 10:12.44
110 hurdles
1. Malik Faulk, RMA, 15.47
2. Tucker Pearson, RMA, 15.55
3. Kyle King, FB, 15.80
300 hurdles
1. Tucker Pearson, RMA, 40.80
2. Malik Faulk, RMA, 42.01
3. Kyle King, FB, 42.44
4x100 relay
1. RMA A, 43.64
2. FB A, 43.69
3. WH A, 44.15
4x400 relay
1. FB A, 3:30.20
2. RMA A, 3:32.75
3. WH A, 3:34.87
High jump
1. Ryan Broome, NH, 6-0
2. Kyle King, FB, 5-10
3. Malik Gill, NH, 5-8
Pole vault
1. Hunter Mallard, GHS, 14-8
2. Gil Hoffman, NH, 14-0
3. Juan Soto, Johnson (JHS), 12-06.00
Long jump
1. Rodney Lackey, GHS, 20-0.25
2. Larkin White, East Hall (EH), 19-5
3. JJ MacCalston, RMA, 19-4
Triple jump
1. Chris Howard, RMA, 42-6
2. Messiah Dorsey, GHS, 41-4
3. Marvin Rosario, Chestatee (CHS), 41-0
Shot put
1. Chris Howard, RMA, 50-3
2. Jamel Dabney, GHS, 46-1
3. Prince Story, RMA, 42-1
Discus
1. David Schofield, NH, 136-1
2. Jamel Dabney, GHS, 130-8.25
3. Imoter Mngerem, RMA, 130-8
GIRLS
100 meters
1. Olivia Bradley, NH, 13.02
2. Tanisha Watson, GHS, 13.14
3. Alyssa Greene, FB, 13.24
200 meters
1. Trini Puente, NH, 26.73
2. Heather Moore, FB, 27.20
3. April Huckleberry, FB, 27.89
400 meters
1. Heather Moore, FB, 1:01.88
2. April Huckleberry, FB, 1:02.37
3. Kiana Mitchell, GHS, 1:05.65
800 meters
1. Kayla Kelley, GHS, 2:32.91
2. Mariah Millsap, FB, 2:34.29
3. Hennebry Waters, NH, 2:35.35
1,600 meters
1. Mariah Millsap, FB, 5:37.24
2. Makayla Ellis, NH, 5:39.46
3. Mattie Bohanan, NH, 5:44.46
3,200 meters
1. Lindsey Grater, CHS, 12:03.70
2. Cassie Ward, FB, 12:08.52
3. Makayla Ellis, NH, 12:19.14
100 hurdles
1. Trini Puente, NH, 15.99
2. Summer Boone, FB, 16.68
3. Destiny Trouilliere, FB, 16.81
300 hurdles
1. Destiny Trouilliere, FB, 50.91
2. Summer Boone, FB, 50.93
3. Jada Harrison, GHS, 51.12
4x100 relay
1. GHS A, 51.31
2. NH A, 51.66
3. FB A, 52.41
4x400 relay
1. FB A, 4:24.19
2. GHS A, 4:33.23
3. NH A, 4:43.34
High jump
1. Mia McKensey, WH, 5-0
2. Maddie Hetzel, FB, 4-10
3. Kayla Kelley, GHS, 4-8
Pole vault
1. Victoria Lewis, FB, 9-0
2. Mackenzie Satterfield, WH, 8-0
tie, Mary Seid, NH, 8-0
Long jump
1. Trini Puente, NH, 16-11.5
2. Tanisha Watson, GHS, 15-8
3. Kia Gomez, GHS, 14-9
Triple jump
1. Kayla Kelley, GHS, 32-5
2. Destiny Trouilliere, FB, 31-8
3. Ashley Grant, FB, 30-8
Shot put
1. Harper Seymour , NH, 38-1
2. Kristine Hunter, WH, 31-9
3. Rebecca Bowen, NH, 30-4
Discus
1. Harper Seymour, NH, 107-9.5
2. Rebecca Bowen, NH, 82-6.5
3. Megan Kelling, WH, 79-4.5
Thursday
December 12th, 2024
10:40AM
