It didn’t take long for Wednesday’s TSSAA Class A/AA East sectional track and field meet to turn into Patriots Day.
Led by senior Lennex Walker, Arts & Sciences earned six first-place finishes at Chattanooga Christian School and had a total of eight athletes qualify for next week’s Spring Fling state championship meet.
Walker and freshman teammates Alayah Dozier and Brevin Sims accounted for all of the wins by CSAS. The Patriots’ success was especially impressive considering the school does not have a track of its own for athletes to practice.
Despite temperatures hovering near 90, Walker won all four events she competed in: triple jump, long jump, 100-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles.
“I’m so glad this day is over,” said Walker, who will compete in next week’s state pentathlon as well. “I’m ready to go back to my bed and lay down with some ice bags. This was a very tough, draining day because of the heat, so a lot of getting through it was just being mentally tough.
“I looked back over my shoulder in that last event, and once I saw I had a good lead, I slowed down and just made sure I didn’t fall.”
Only the top two finishers in each event are guaranteed spots in next week’s state meet, but there are at-large bids. Dozier won the 400-meter run and could give CSAS another event qualifier after finishing a close third in the 200. Sims won the 110 hurdles and also qualified with a close second-place finish in the 300 hurdles.
Red Bank sprinter Kedrick Wilbanks, who won a state title in the 100-meter dash last year, had the top qualifying time in that event Wednesday at 11.02 seconds, just ahead of his twin brother Kendrick (11.05). Kedrick Wilbanks also won the 200, and he and his brother, along with Chance Henderson and Calvin Jackson, qualified with a second-place finish in the 4×100 relay.
“We’ve got some things to tighten up before next week, but we’ll get those fixed,” Kedrick Wilbanks said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do and what I can do in those events at the state level.”
Brainerd’s Joseph Norwood won the long jump.
In girls’ competition, Signal Mountain senior Camryn Bowman easily won in discus and shot put. She won a state title in the former and finished second in the latter at state last year.
“This time of year, everything is about trying to set a personal record and win a championship,” said Bowman, an East Tennessee State University signee.
The CCS girls’ 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams each took first place, and Cassie Curry, who is a part of the 4×200 team, also won the high jump.
“We have a good chemistry on our relays, and even though we have a couple of freshmen on those, they don’t run like freshmen,” Curry said. “We’re pretty confident with what we can do next week.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.