The GHSA Track and Field season has entered the the County Championship stretch of the season and the rest of April is comprised of remaining county championships, spring break meets and the upcoming region championships in two weeks. On a broad scale, these events will set the stage for sectionals that will take place statewide on May 5 just one month from today. From a narrow perspective, this month is an opportunity for individuals to continue improving and aiming for personal records as they strive to qualify for state and chase individual glory and team success.
In the past week, we have witnessed several major county championship meets with Cobb County, Fulton, Gwinnett and Clayton to name a few. The amount of teams in each of these meets is a great way to prepare for the upcoming region championships and there are also many region opponents that will have to face off again in region competition. The latter offers a look at who some of the favorites are heading into region competition and also gives us a better grasp on which teams will be strong contenders this year when the state meet arrives.
Marietta High School hosted the Cobb County Championship Meet last week and saw the Marietta boys and Pope girls earn top finishes in the deep 18-team field. For Marietta, it was the program’s fifth boys team championship in the last five years and 10th in the last 12. On the girls side, Pope was able to outgain defending champion Marietta (102) and runner-up McEachern (107) with 137 points and earn the program’s first-ever Cobb County Championship.
“This county is loaded, so any time you do anything near the top of it, it’s something to be proud of,” said Pope head coach Jerad Johnson to the Marietta Daily Journal. “We’ve got a lot of great talent and great teams here, so I’m just proud of the girls. We’ve got a great coaching staff that works their tails off and this is the best group of girls I’ve ever been around.”
Pope’s Lauren Woodall earned a first-pace finish in the 100 hurdles (13.46) to help fuel the Greyhounds. Individually, Walton’s Somto Igwilo and Campbell’s Peyton Butler swept the boys and girls 100 and 200 meter dashes, respectively. In the distance events, Marietta’s Mary Nesmith ran the fifth-fastest time in state history in the 3,200 with a 10:22.66—setting a new team record. She also placed first in the 1,600 meter on Saturday with a sub-five-minute mile.
Hughes hosted the Fulton County Championships on March 29. In that event, the Westlake girls (114) and Westlake boys (116.75) both earned first-place finishes over Hughes—with the girls accumulating 100 points and the boys finishing with 110 points. Westlake will be in Class 6A and Hughes will be in Class 5A so the Panthers and Lions will not have to go head-to-head at state this year. Lovejoy swept the Clayton County Championships this week and the Gwinnett County Championships were won by the Mill Creek girls and Buford boys.
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