The Tallassee boys and girls track teams competed in the 4A Section 2 meet over the weekend at Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The boys finished third overall and qualified nine athletes for the upcoming state meet held annually at the Sportsplex in Gulf Shores.

On Friday, the boys 4×100 meter relay team ran a school record 42.61 in the preliminary race qualifying them as the top seed going into Saturday’s final.

Sprint coach Mark Baynes said, “Our boys 4×1 team has been chasing a sub 43 for two years now and they finally got it. We were all proud for them and breaking the school record in the process was just icing on the cake.”

Another THS record was taken down on Friday as well, this time by 400-meter sprinter Mark Griffin who ran a 50.87 replacing former Tiger great Irmon Kirt’s record of 51.05. Griffin finished in second just missing the section gold by .01 second.

The THS 110-meter hurdlers also showed out with all three of their entries automatically qualifying for the state meet with top five finishes. Tra’mel McCoy won the gold with a 15.2. Maliki Griffin won bronze with a PR 16.1. Shawn Ward ran a personal record 16.9 to grab the fourth spot.

This sectional also showcased the talents of THS senior Jayquavious Terry. Jay qualified for the state meet in all four events in which he entered. He was a part of the record-breaking 4×1 team, finished second in the 200 meters, third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump.

“Anytime you have a four-event qualifier, it’s definitely something special, head coach Danny Worley said. “Jay showed up to practice all year and worked hard and he’s even gotten some college offers.”

Malasia Jackson, Isabella Lara and Natalie Ward ran for the THS girls’ team with all three recording personal records in their events highlighted by Jackson’s eighth place finish in the 400-meter dash.

“These kids have accomplished a lot this year and we’ve had to overcome some obstacles as well,” Worley added. “We’re going to take nine of them to the beach and hopefully there will be some PR’s and medals won. Go Tigers!”

Sectional Results/State Qualifiers

Jay Terry – 4×100 (2nd), 200m (2nd), TJ (3rd) LH (4th)
Tra’mel McCoy – 110h (1st), 300mh (1st), TJ (2nd)
Jaiden McKenzie – 4×100 (2nd), 100m (5th), 200m (5th)
Shawn Ward – 110mh (4th), 300mh (4th)
Joseph Hooks – 4×100 (2nd)
Trent Morris – 4×100 (2nd)
Mark Griffin – 400m (2nd)
Maliki Griffin – 110mh (3rd)
Jayden Griggs – Javelin (2nd)