Seniors say goodbye to track, six Warriors move to sectionals
Junior Aliyah Mickens earned several points on Wednesday and Friday, advancing beyond regions in two events. Mickens placed fourth in the 200-meter dash (25.33 seconds) and ran a leg of the girls 4×100-meter relay to help the team secure third place (48.38 seconds).
In one of its final meets of the 2016 season, the NC varsity track and field team competed in the Region 4AAAAAA championships at Marietta High School on April 20 and 22.
Both the boys and girls teams failed to break into the top three overall team finishes, placing fifth and seventh, respectively. Although most NC athletes finished their 2016 seasons at the regional meet, a select group of warriors placed top four in their events and will continue to the sectional meet on April 30.
Senior Stephan Gardener placed fourth in the 800-meter run (1:55.15), shaving 2.74 seconds off of his previous personal record. Adding to the NC senior boys attending sectionals, DJ Render qualified after placing first in the long jump (22-10.5).
Senior Stephan Gardener ran a personal best in the 800-meter run finals (1:55.15), placing fourth and advancing beyond regions. Gardener’s top four finish gained him a spot at the sectional meet on April 30, where he will compete for state championship qualification.
Junior Ashley Hunter will join Gardener and Render at sectionals after placing fourth in the 100-meter dash finals (12.68 seconds). Aliyah Mickens, NC junior, also advanced beyond regions after placing fourth in the 200-meter dash (25.33 seconds).
Hunter, Mickens, senior Kiera Elston, and junior Cailen McGee placed third in the 4×100-meter dash (48.38 seconds), allowing them to advance beyond the regional meet. Despite only qualifying for five events at the sectional meet, NC athletes finished with impressive performances in several regional finals.
Elston trailed Hunter by 0.03 seconds in the 100-meter dash (12.71 seconds), finishing fifth in the region. Building upon her 100-meter performance, Elston also took fifth in the 200-meter dash (25.60 seconds).
Filling NC’s lack of strong hurdle runners in recent seasons, Junior N’Deah Dismuke finished eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (19.97 seconds). Joining Dismuke’s efforts to improve the hurdles squad, sophomore TJ Johnson took seventh in the 300-meter hurdles (44.92 seconds) and eighth in the 110-meter hurdles (17.73 seconds).
The NC distance team also featured qualifications for finals, including junior Miah Dale’s eighth place finish in the 800-meter run (2:35.97). After finishing the event’s preliminary racing with a new personal record of 2:31.80, Dale explains her “next goal for the 800 is to get down to 2:25.”
Sophomore Abby Jeske took ninth place in the 1,600-meter run (5:44.32). Beyond her 1,600-meter performance, Jeske also competed as first leg of the NC girls 4×800-meter relay A team.
In the 1,600-meter run, sophomore Abby Jeske and freshman Lindsey O’Neill battled for ninth (5:44.32) and tenth (5:49.41) places, respectively. On the boys’ side, sophomore Anthony Graham took eleventh place in the 3,200-meter run (10:45.39).
Exceptional regional finishes from NC’s field athletes consisted exclusively of seniors competing for their final times as warriors. Manny Pelzer finished fifth in the shot put (46-4.75) and sixth in the discus (121-9). In pole vault, Jacob Drobney took sixth place (9-0). Franchesca Voltaire took fifth in the long jump (15-9.5). In shot put, Ashton Husbands through a season best to finish fifth (31-1.75) and Kianna Franks placed sixth (31-1).
Describing NC’s overall contentment with the team’s accomplishments this season, Dale feels the athletes look forward to next year because the “team was able to bond and [they] all improved.”
Riley O’Neill is pumped to finish her senior year at North Cobb by joining The Chant. When she isn’t at cross-country and track practices or organizing...
