GREENE COUNTY
At the end of April, Greene County track and field was preparing for a region championship. Now, the Tigers are getting ready for this weekend’s GHSA Class A Division II state championship meet in Columbus.
Greene County’s boys’ team finished first in the Region 8 meet on April 25, while the Tigers’ girls’ team placed second. Head coach James Miller acknowledged how much better his group has gotten over the course of the season.
“I’ve seen much improvement from the beginning of the year to now, and I know we only have three more days to work toward the state meet, but we’re going to put them to use,” Miller said. “I’m really proud of the work everyone has put in, especially the girls’ team. They’ve developed so much over the course of the year to get the results they’ve gotten recently.”
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams had great outings at the region meet, where multiple Tigers finished inside the top three in their respective events.
The girls’ region meet was highlighted by the Lady Tigers’ performances in the 800 and 1600-meter runs, plus the long jump and discus events.
The Greene girls made a splash to start the event by having three Lady Tigers take the top three spots in the 800-meter run. Junior Quanas Benford placed first with a time of 2:51.08, followed by teammates Kimora Harper and Sherlyn Camacho in second and third, respectively.
Harper also dominated the 1600-meter race, finishing with a time of 6:48.95, while freshman Brianna Tirado also broke into the top three with a time of 7:24.49.
Another Greene County freshman, Felicity Thomas, finished at the top of her group in the long jump with a distance of 14-08.00.
Several other Lady Tigers finished in the top three of their events as the team continued its dominance into the later parts of the afternoon. Mylilrea Grimsley (triple jump), Malcayla Brown (high jump), Asia Tucker (100m hurdles) and Aheris Rowland (discus) all enjoyed successful outings in their respective events.
The Greene County boys’ team performed just as well and saw multiple athletes finish in the top three of almost every event.
Senior and Cumberland University football commit Arkiyus Wright shined in the 100 and 400-meter races, placing second place in both, while Jaden Dorsey finished right behind Wright in the 100-meter race to secure third.
Further, sophomore Doremus Alexander took second in the 200-meter run with a time of 23.12.
Greene County also had a pair of dominant hurdlers in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, as Cameron Carmicheal and Henry Mitchell finished second and third, respectively, in both events.
The day ended with Carmicheal helping the Tigers out in the high jump and triple-jump events after he finished second in both. Javius Cleveland placed right behind Carmicheal in the high jump, while Justin Hill finished fourth in the triple jump.
Both teams’ success carried into this past weekend when the Tigers traveled to Greenbrier High School for the GHSA Class A Division II sectional meet.
Greene County had multiple athletes from both teams earn top-10 finishes, with some runners placing as high as third in certain events. The Tigers also performed well in team relays, with a second in the 4X100 relay and a third in the 4X400 relay.
Overall, Greene County’s performance at sectionals earned a total of 15 boys and nine girls the chance to compete at the state meet this weekend in Columbus.
Miller said he believes both teams have a chance to do well and is confident they will represent Greene County High School to the best of their abilities.
“Every week, we run them hard at practices and tell them that the hard work will pay off in the end, and they’ve already seen some of that,” Miller said. “It’s a great achievement to make it to the state meet, and I’ve been telling all of our athletes to just do their best to represent Greene County.”