MORGAN COUNTY
Morgan County track and field sent 13 athletes to the Class AAA state meet in Albany this past week.
Out of all the Bulldogs that made it to Albany for the state meet, three placed in four events.
Senior Josh Jones won his third-consecutive state title in the 300-meter hurdles. He ran a time of 38.41 seconds in the prelims but followed that performance up with a 33.38-second mark in the final.
The Morgan County boys’ team also had senior Jacere Cooper place in the shot put and discus events. Cooper’s personal record in the shot put with a mark of 51-11:00 was good enough for third place. He also finished fourth overall at the state meet in the discus event with a throw of 150-03.
“I am extremely proud of Josh and Jacere,” Bulldogs’ head coach Dusty Hawkins said. “They are both going to be greatly missed [next season]. Both have been influential leaders for our program.”
The Morgan County girls’ team had one athlete place, with sophomore Kymora Smith placing sixth overall in the final long jump event on Saturday with a mark of 16-09.00.
“Kymora did a fantastic job this season,” Hawkins said. “She ended up placing sixth in her event.”
Overall, Morgan County sent 13 athletes to Albany and three placed. Outside of Cooper, Jones and Smith, Ja’Mari Mundy, Camryn Scherer, Dallas Dickerson, Neko Lumpkin, Layla Veasley, Jada Keeley, Javeria Gresham, Jordan Gordan, Crayman Burke and Gabby Massey made it to state.
Both Morgan County squads had a successful 2023 season. Each captured the Region 4-AAA title and sent numerous runners to the state sectionals meet, which was before the state finals in Albany.
“I am proud of the team’s progress throughout the course of the season,” Hawkins said. “We had a lot of freshmen - both boys and girls - that contributed this year as well. It was promising to see.”
Freshmen, such as Dickerson, Gordon, Lumpkin, Gresham and Sadie Barlett, among others, return in 2023. Plus, numerous athletes who are rising juniors and seniors are coming back to Morgan County.
Hawkins, who is in his second year at the helm at Morgan County, saw a lot of his Bulldog runners set personal records in 2023. He also got to see a lot of the other underclassmen grow and mature as athletes.
However, the team was led by seniors such as Jones, who is an Arkansas State signee, and Cooper.
“We’re going to have to replace those two and it’s going to be hard. But I believe we have the tools to do that,” Hawkins said. “We also have a lot of younger guys and girls that are coming back.”