The Ware County boys track and field team won their first ever region championship this season. At the Region 2-AAAAA meet in April, the Gators finished 15 points ahead of New Hampstead to win the title. Two athletes took first place and won the region championship in their event: Sharod Cobb, who set a school record in the 300-meter hurdles, and Austin Sweat, who won the pole vault. The top four finishers in each event qualified for sectionals held at Eagles Landing. Among those who qualified were Hudson Spurlock in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, and the pole vault; Ernest Jones in the 110 hurdles; Matthew Hamilton in the 800; and Logan Millard in the 1,600 and 3,200. Shaquan Bellamy and Charles Jones qualified in the high jump, and Trey Cobb went to sectionals for the discus and shot put. Sharod Cobb qualified in the 400. Also qualifying for sectionals were the Gators’ 4×100 relay team and the 4×400 relay team.
The Lady Gators finished as the region runner-up.
“The girls competed hard, but we fell short of achieving our goal as Region Champs,” Alesia Gibson, head coach, said. “Several of the girls left everything they had on the track, and several young ladies set personal records.”
Four athletes won their events and claimed region championships: Kayla Youngblood in the pole vault, Traveshia Birden in the discus, Waynisha Coleman in the shot put, and Chyna Bacon in the 300 hurdles. Region runners-up included Birden in the shot put, Bre Etheridge in the triple jump, Tyteyannah Bailey in the long jump, Jordan Williams in the 100, and Shanya Washington in the 1,600.
Third place qualifiers included Hannah Boggan in the pole vault and high jump, Arviniec McDonald in the 100, and Shayna Washington in the 800.
Fourth place qualifiers were McDonald in the 200, Latreona Holmes in the triple jump, the 4×100 relay team, and the 4×400 relay team.
“All the student-athletes worked hard and played a part in the region,” Gibson said.
Qualifiers advanced to the AAAAA Sectional B, which included Regions 2, 4, 5, and 8. The top eight finishers in each event qualified for the GHSA State Track and Field Championship. The Lady Gators qualified in 17 events at sectionals and then had four athletes qualify for state. Kayla Youngblood was second in the pole vault, Traveshia Birden was fourth in the shot put and the discus, Hannah Boggan was fourth in the pole vault, and Waynisha Coleman was seventh in the shot put.
For the men, the Gators had six state qualifiers, including Sharod Cobb, who was second in the 300 hurdles; junior Tre Cobb, who was fourth in the shot put; Charles Jones and Shaquan Bellamy, who qualified in the high jump; Austin Sweat, who was fifth in the pole vault; and Hudson Spurlock, who qualified in the 110 hurdles.
Boggan finished sixth in the pole vault at the state mee,t while Birden was third in the shot put. Sharod Cobb was seventh on the 300 hurdles for the boys team. The state championship meet was held over two days at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton, Georgia.
Successes this year included school records by senior Sharod Cobb in the 400 at 50.53 and in the 300 hurdles at 40.64. Junior Matthew Hamilton set a new school record in the 800 at 2:02.60.
“Overall, we (coaches Gibson, Andrews, Nelson, Spurlock, Eichfled, Hudson, and Bob), are very proud of all of our student-athletes’ performances,” Gibson said. “We would like to express our thanks to Ms. Phillis Poller, Dr. Turner, Mrs. Spurlock, coach Abrams, Mr. Ronnie Coley, coach Stevenson, coach Youngblood, coach Shields, Mrs. Merck, the WCHS Administrators, the WCHS Teachers, the YMCA, and the Wingfoot Club for their help and support.”
SE-SF-0617-Ware
By Rob Asbell
Photography by RC Photos
Gators Take Region Track Title
