High school track and field state championships: Dalton's Escobar wins at adapted meet as several locals have strong showings
May 16—The Georgia High School Association state track and field championships wrapped up on Saturday, and athletes from several local schools competed in the statewide showdown:
Dalton's Escobar wins in ambulatory discus, shot put; Hefner, McKeehan, Staton compete in 5A meet
Dalton's Kenneth Escobar brought home state championships in ambulatory boys discus throw and shot put from the Adapted Track and Field State Championship meet in Rome.
The adapted meet hosted state championships in adapted and ambulatory events across all classifications. State champions were crowned in boys and girls discus and shot put, as well as wheelchair races and wheelchair shot put. According to the GHSA, "An ambulatory student-athlete must have a permanent orthopedic, neuromuscular, visual, or other physical disability." Escobar was the only competitor in each of the two events he won.
At the Class 5A meet in Columbus, Dalton's Kameron Staton finished eighth in boys long jump in the state, while Sawyer McKeehan was the 15th-place finisher in boys pole vault. Emma Hefner was 16th in girls triple jump.
Northwest, Southeast have productive time at 4A meet
Northwest Whitfield had a pair of athletes finish third in their respective events at the Class 4A state championship meet at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany.
Emily Lane grabbed third place in the state in girls discus, while Gage Voyles was the third-place finisher in boys high jump. Northwest's Gavin Ollis finished 14th in a preliminary heat of boys 800-meter run. The boys 4x800-meter relay team, made up of Ollis, Voyles, Been Cleek and Harrison Daniel, finished 15th in the state.
Southeast Whitfield's weekend at the 4A meet was highlighted by Jesse Watkins, who finished seventh in the state in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.95 seconds.
The Southeast boys 4x800 relay team (Kevyn Chavez, Jorge Paredes, Christian Rivera and Johnny Silverio) grabbed 11th in the state. Chavez finished 16th in 3,200-meter run. Paredes and Rivera both competed in a preliminary round of the 800-meter run, with Paredes taking 12th and Rivera taking 16th, but neither moved to the finals.
Southeast's Sandybel Ramos finished 15th and short of the finals in girls 800-meter run, and Alexys Hines was 14th in a preliminary round of girls 100-meter hurdles. The Southeast girls 4x800-meter relay team finished 16th in the state.
Creek's Wiggins competes in throwing events
At the Class 3A state championship meet in Albany, Coahulla Creek's Robbie Wiggins grabbed 13th in the state in boys shot put and 16th in discus.
Manny Dominguez finished 12th in the boys 200-meter dash preliminaries and fell short of advancing to the finals.
Murray's Johnson, North Murray's Young and Schmidt place at state
North Murray's Keyla Young placed eighth in girls long jump at the Class 2A state championship meet in Powder Springs. Young also nabbed 14th in the classification in triple jump, while teammate Rachel Schmidt was 15th in the preliminaries of the girls 400-meter dash.
Murray County's Kylee Johnson finished 11th in the state in girls discus.
Christian Heritage's Voiles competes in discus
At the Class A Division II state championship meet in Columbus, Christian Heritage's Mollie Voiles finished 15th in the state in girls discus.
