In all, area athletes and relay teams brought in nine state titles in Saturday’s Class 4A meet, almost half of those from Nease competitors.Ways clocked a 13.53 in the 110 hurdles to win by more than half of a second. Ditto in the 300 hurdles, where he had a nation-leading 36.26, well in front of runner-up Markel Jones . Both of Ways’ times were personal-bests, with his time in the 300 coming in just in front of Chris Brinkley of Fort Bend Marshall for the fastest in the nation this year.
Rheinhardt Harrison capped his career with another state championship, winning the 800 in 1:48.62. Harrison did the distance double last year, winning titles in the 1600 and 3200. Nease’s Alexandra Bohanon won a state title in the javelin to put the bow on a stellar day for Panthers athletes.Also in the boys competition, Creekside won the 3200 relay in 7:46.86 and Bartram Trail’s Samuel Martins cleared 14-3.25 to win a state title in the pole vault.
The Mandarin girls brought in a pair of state championships, a shot put crown by DaMoni Kelly and the other in the 400 by Terren Peterson . Kelly added a fifth-place effort in the discus. Mandarin’s depth was stout, with the Mustangs placing five athletes and a relay team in the top five of their events. As a team, Mandarin finished third.
In the adaptive class, White’s Mitrasha Reed was a dual champion, winning the 200 and 800 wheelchair events.5. Maya Till , 10-10.5. DaMoni Kelly , 132-4.