Baylor School’s Selena Popp clears 5’2″ to win the high jump event during the Chattanooga Optimist Southeastern Track and Field Invitational at Walker Valley High School on Friday.CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Her day’s work began around 1 in the afternoon, but a little more than six hours later, standing in her warmup suit and cheering on teammates, Baylor senior Selena Popp looked as if she had barely broken a sweat.
One of the area’s most versatile track and field athletes, Popp used Friday’s Optimist Meet at Walker Valley as a gauge for where she stands heading toward the Spring Fling. Even though she said she really didn’t push herself Friday, Popp served notice that she will again be a state contender in several events by winning the 100-meter hurdles and high jump and finishing second in the 300 hurdles and third in the long jump.
“The toughest part is trying to stay loose between events,” said Popp, who helped the Lady Red Raiders win the team points title as well. “I had to sit around for about an hour between the 100 hurdles and the high jump and about a half hour between long jump and 100 hurdles, so my legs would tighten up, which made it tough.
“But this is a good way to judge yourself against a lot of really good athletes around the state and see what you need to work on.”
There were 38 teams and 569 athletes in Friday’s event, and while a dozen area athletes won events, only two besides Popp took home first-place medals in multiple events. McCallie’s C.J. Fritz won the boys’ 100 and anchored the first-place 4×100 relay, also helping the Blue Tornado win the boys’ team title, while Signal Mountain’s Chaz Hawkins won the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.