POTTS CAMP — History was made here Saturday as Charleston High School swept the Class 2A North State Track and Field Championships, both the Tigers and Lady Tigers winning first-place trophies.
While both CHS track teams have been victorious at North State individually through the years, 2023 is believed to mark the first time in program history that the two squads have won north half championships during the same season.
In final team standings, the Charleston ladies more than doubled second-place finisher Leflore County’s scoring output, slamming them 153.50 to 69 to earn the top spot. Other top finishers among the 19 participating teams were Choctaw County, 68 points; Baldwyn, 68; Myrtle, 54; North Side, 40; East Union, 40; and East Webster, 38.
The CHS men won the male division with 113 team points while North Side finished second with 98. Other top competitors among the 18 teams competing on that side of the ledger were Choctaw County, 86 points; Leflore County, 84; Calhoun City, 47; East Union, 37.50; Potts Camp, 36; and O’Bannon, 34.
The Lady Tigers are the defending North State champions, while the male unit finished second in 2A north half standings a year ago.
In addition to two nice trophies, the big takeaway from Saturday’s meet is that both Charleston squads will be sending a nice contingent of athletes to compete at the State Track and Field Championships this Saturday.
Class 2A will compete May 6 at the Woody Barnett Track and Field Complex at Pearl High School. Meet admission is $12, and the facility gates open at 9 a.m.
Both CHS teams turned in top-5 performances at the state meet in 2022, with the girls finishing a very close second, 5 points behind the first-place winner, and the boys ending up in fifth place among 27 teams.
Jeff Hollingsworth, who shares girls coaching duties at CHS with Mandy Moore, said he is proud of the way the unit has performed in this follow-up season.
“The girls have come together and worked hard in each of their events and we have outperformed everyone in the North in 2A,” he said. “Now it’s time to see if our hard work has paid off ... The girls and coaches are hungry for this state championship.”
Hollingsworth said this year’s girls team “is another special group like we had back in 2012 and 2013, when we went back-to-back state champions.”
Those Class 3A wins were the first and, to date, only state championships in the sport for Charleston High School, but Hollingsworth believes the 2023 girls have a “good chance” if they “go out and perform to our abilities in each of our events.”
The CHS boys track team’s best showings at state have been second-place finishes in 2004 and 2016.
LaDon Taylor, who shares Charleston boys coaching chores with Kameron Myers and is the East Tallahatchie School District athletic director, noted that “all the coaches are just really proud of how both teams have performed this year,” adding, “We hope we can go Saturday and have one more performance like we’ve had so far this year and bring home that trophy.”
At 2A South State Monday, Heidelberg won the women’s competition with 116.50 points, followed closely by Puckett with 116. Velma Jackson was the men’s victor with 117 points. Amite County (100) and Heidelberg (99) trailed not far behind.
Charleston High will be well represented at the state track meet, because 16 CHS girls performed well enough in the north half to qualify for 13 events at Pearl. A total of 13 CHS boys qualified for state in nine events.
In some individual events, more than one CHS athlete will compete by virtue of top-four finishes at Potts Camp.
Girls will compete in:
» 4x800 meter relay, in which Sariyah Boyd, Jada Leavy, De’Moria Shannon and Janiya Taylor finished third with a time of 11:52.54
» 100-meter hurdles, in which Kamoria Gary finished third with a time of 17.18 and teammate Tamoria Shannon was second at 17.74
» 100-meter dash, where Amia Wright won first place with a time of 12.51 and Alena Collins finished fourth at 13.16
» 4x200 meter relay, where a lineup of Diekyra Bradford, Alena Collins, Kamoria Gary and Tykeria Davis won third place with a time of 1:51.69
» 4x100 meter relay, in which Diekyra Bradford, Alena Collins, Tykeria Davis and Amia Wright won first place at 50.83
» 400-meter dash, where Keasia Goliday won fourth at 1:05.11
» 300-meter hurdles, where Tamoria Shannon was first with a time of 48.99 and Diekyra Bradford finished fourth at 51.29
» 200-meter dash, where Amia Wright was first at 26.02 and Alena Collins finished fourth at 27.59
» 4x400 meter relay, in which Keasia Goliday, Cynterria Jones, Jada Leavy and Alysun Mcintyre captured third place at 4:35.37
» Shot put, in which Ta’neriea Brooks finished first with a toss of 31-01
» Discus throw, during which Shaniya Moore was second with a throw of 81-02
» Triple jump, where Amia Wright was second with a time of 33.06
» Pole vault, where Lordriann Thomas was fourth at 6-06
Boys will compete in:
» 4x200 meter relay, where Brandon Henderson, De’ondre Riley, Kyntorris Williams and Mac Crawford captured first with a time of 1:31.46
» 4x100 meter relay, where Brandon Henderson, Lamarion Brown, De’ondre Riley and Omar Wilson won first place with a time of 44.69
» 400-meter dash, where Kyntorris Williams took first with a time of 53.08
» 200-meter dash, where Brandon Henderson was second with 23.71
» 4x400 meter relay, where Quinterrius Goliday, Terrence Marco, De’ondre Riley and Kyntorris Williams won first place with 3:37.24
» High jump, where Terrence Marco was third at 5-10
» Discus throw, where Zack Kimble was third at 114-00 and Cameron Anderson fourth at 109-09
» Triple jump, won by Terrence Marco, 44-02.75
» Pole vault, where Jaden Williams, Timothy Kirk and Jaylon Brooks finished second, third and fourth, respectively, all at 8-00
