Tift teams 3rd at Andy Summers Invitational

Mar. 9—TIFTON — Tift County's track and field teams were solid Saturday, each taking third place at their own Andy Summers Invitational.

Lowndes' Vikings and Vikettes won their divisions. Valdosta's teams placed second. Eight schools competed at the meet.

"Overall, we performed well the entire track meet," said Javier Clark, who coaches track and field at Tift County. "We had multiple athletes set personal records during the track meet on Saturday, which provides us a great foundation to build on the remainder of the season."

Tift won five events.

Divinity Mitchell sped to victory in the 100 hurdles in 17.3 seconds, one second faster than second place. Cali Conner won both the high jump and pole vault for the Lady Devils. She cleared 4'10" in the former and 8 feet in the latter.

Mitchell had a second place finish in the 300-meter hurdles.

The Blue Devils excelled in field events as well.

Cade Anders won first in the shot put (45'4.5") and Ethan Jackson took the discus (124'1'").

A new school record was set in the 4x800 relay. Tift, using a hastily-assembled team of Aubrey Simpson, Trevor Gebhart, Damani Fudge and Bernard Tindall, ran in 10:27 for fourth place. Tindall, running the anchor leg, started his laps in fifth place, but overtook a runner from Colquitt County for fourth.

"We have multiple veterans that contributed greatly on Saturday, however, we also have a lot of freshmen and sophomores who stepped up and got us major points in their events," said Clark. " I believe as long as we continue to improve each day, we have a great opportunity to qualify multiple athletes for the sectionals and state track meets come May."

Tift's teams are mix of veterans and newcomers. The boys 4x800 relay, for example featured a junior, two sophomores and a freshman. Of those winning events, Conner, Anders and Mitchell are seniors.

The Andy Summers Invitational was the first major track and field event at TCHS in a year. Track was the last sport on the field locally in 2020. Their last event, a quad meet, was held March 12. Word was received during that meet that sports would be suspended starting March 13. No athletes returned to the fields for official games until August.

Clark said they are happy to be back.

"It feels great to be back out there with the kids and watching them compete at a high level. Since last year was cut so short, the kids who are competing have been embracing the moment and making the most of every opportunity."

Others scoring for Tift County Saturday were:

Girls 400: Makali Hall (4th).

Girls 1,600: Ava Wilson (3rd).

Girls 100 hurdles: Yazsmin Myers (5th).

Girls 300 hurdles: Myers (3rd).

Girls 4x100 relay: Myers, Conner, KaLiyah Barber and Nikhia Jones (5th).

Girls 4x400 relay: Miracle Brinson, Amaryah McKinnie, Trinity Hill and Barber (4th).

Girls pole vault: Wilson (5th).

Girls long jump: Anaya Brown (6th) and Mitchell (7th).

Girls triple jump: Shevany Pique (7th).

Girls shot put: Hill (4th).

Girls discus: Jamaria Johnson (7th).

Boys 800: J.D. Bengston (3rd), Gebhart (7th) and Fudge (8th).

Boys 1,600: Blair Golden (3rd).

Boys 3,200: Golden (4th) and Aidan Evans (7th).

Boys 300 hurdles: Zach Carter (6th) and Ivan White (8th).

Boys 4x100 relay: Bernard Tindall, Amarion Nelson, Carter and Jeremiah Williams (4th).

Boys 4x400 relay: Donterrius Whitaker, Tindall, Jalon Miller and Bengston (3rd).

Boys high jump: White (3rd).

Boys pole vault: Gebhart (4th), Andrew Taylor (5th) and Davis Garner (6th).

Boys triple jump: Tindall (3rd) and Kyrossity Robinson (4th).

Boys shot put: Liam Gray (7th).

Boys discus: Anders (4th).