Lilvia Bradbury with Gordon Lee High School clears 5’4″ to win the Varsity Girls High Jump during the Chattanooga OPTIMIST Southeastern Track & Field Invitational at Walker Valley High School.CLEVELAND, Tenn. — GPS proved why it is the likely state favorite in Division II track with an impressive team victory at Friday’s annual Optimist Meet at Walker Valley.
Led by sprinter Destinee Lansden, the Bruisers beat second-place Baylor 167.5 points to 150. Lansden won all four events she entered — the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and the 4×100 relay, which she anchored. Senior Simone Busby won both the discus and shot put and Tori Kemp finished first in the 100 hurdles and second in the 300 hurdles for the Bruisers.
“I felt OK with my distance considering it’s still real early in the season,” Busby said. “I’ve been doing this for so long, at this time of year I’m just concentrating on my technique. The distance will come after that.”
Meanwhile, it was an evening of tough lessons learned for several of the area’s top boys’ track athletes.
Hixson has its best boys’ sprint relay teams in more than a decade, but a penalty on the baton exchange disqualified what would have been an impressive win. And McCallie’s Iman Isang, the area’s top hurdler, won the 110-meter event but mistimed his jump on the fourth hurdle in the 300, recovering to finish a disappointing third.