By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
Northern Beaufort County will be well-represented at the SCHSL Track & Field State Championships this week in Columbia.
Whale Branch is sending 19 individuals and six relays to compete in 38 events in the Class 1A meet Thursday at Lower Richland, and Beaufort High will send 21 individuals and four relays to compete in 34 events in the Class 4A meet Saturday at Spring Valley. Battery Creek also has a contingent of five athletes qualified in six events for the Class 3A meet Saturday at Lower Richland.
The Warriors should be well-positioned to compete for team titles in Class 1A, especially on the girls side, where Kynew Barnwell is seeded first or second in three events — the 100- and 400-meter hurdles and the long jump — Talaijah Bartley is seeded in the top three in both hurdles races, Destiny Pryor is top-three in the 100 and 200, and Kaylyn Caldwell qualified in three events. Whale Branch’s girls are also seeded first in the 4×100 and 4×800 relays and fourth in the 4×400, and Erin Rivers is seeded first in the discus. On the boys side, Whale Branch’s Keith Chisholm qualified in three events, and Xavier Chaplin is seeded third in both the discus and shot put.
The Eagles also have their sights set on bringing home some team trophies with a large group of boys and girls making the trip to Columbia. Jayla Daise leads a promising Beaufort girls team, having qualified in all three throws and secured the No. 1 seed in the shot put, while teammates Charlize Antia, Anaiya Houseal, and Keasia Walker also qualified in multiple events. Zyrin Odom, Nash Mills, Alvin Wilson, and Kacy Fields all qualified in multiple events on the boys side, and the Eagles are seeded first in the 4×800 relay.
Tanner McCracken leads the Battery Creek contingent, having qualified in the shot put and discus — one of three Dolphin boys to qualify in the discus.
SCHSL State Track Qualifiers
CLASS 4A
Beaufort (21 athletes + 4 relays in 34 events)
Isaiah Price: 100M
Zyrin Odom: 400M + LJ
Christopher Gordon: 400M
Nash Mills: 800M + 3200M
Xzavier Lacefield: 800M
Charlie Bennett: 800M
Trae Campbell: 800M
Gavin Moore: 3200M
Zion Smart: 400 hurdles
Eric Smart: LJ
Alvin Wilson: SP + Discus
Kacy Fields: SP + Javelin
4×400 boys + 4×800 boys
Charlize Antia: 800M + 1600M
Anaiya Houseal: 100 hurdles + HJ
4×400 girls + 4×800 girls
Heaven Dagin: PV
Anna Lyles: PV
Keasia Walker: LJ + TJ
Angel Johnson: TJ
Jayla Daise: SP + Discus + Javelin
Jakiyah Major: SP
Acionna Lowe: Discus
CLASS 3A
BCHS (5 athletes in 6 events)
Derrick Smalls: 800M
Margaret Ames: PV
Tanner McCracken: SP + Discus
Devin Broaddus: Discus
Anthony Phelan: Discus
CLASS 1A
Whale Branch (19 athletes + 6 relays in 38 events)
Destiny Pryor: 100M + 200M
Larmore Pryor: 200M
Faith Eugene: 200M + 400M
Ariehanna Wiltshire: 1600M
Alani Crawford: 3200M
Talaijah Bartley: 100 hurdles + 400 hurdles
Kynew Barnwell: 100 hurdles + 400 hurdles + LJ
Grace Bing: 100 hurdles + 400 hurdles
Kaylyn Caldwell: 100 hurdles + LJ + TJ
4×100 girls + 4×400 girls + 4×800 girls
Kandyce Karney: LJ + TJ
Janiah Pryor: TJ
Erin Rivers: Discus
Jakhi Pusha: 100M
Ja’leal Polite: 200M
Jonas Foskey: 1600M
Keith Chisholm: 110 hurdles + 400 hurdles + TJ
4×100 boys + 4×400 boys + 4×800 boys
Xavier Chaplin: SP + Discus
Bradford Thompson: SP + Discus
Dorien Alston: Discus