Cougar Boys Wear Region Crown

CHRISTIANSBURG — Austin Gibson was looking for a volunteer.
At the time, the first-year Covington track coach didn’t know how important that volunteer would be.
Kent Bullock stepped up to run a leg on the 4 x 400 relay that earned three team points in the last event of the Class 1, Region C track championships Tuesday at Christiansburg High School.
It turned out to be the winning margin.
The Cougars edged George Wythe by 2.67 points to win the regional title.
“We really didn’t know how close it was,” said Gibson. “Kent stepped up and really solidified our victory.”
The champions were led by the one-two punch of T.K. Tomlinson and De’Andre Heighter.
Tomlinson streaked to wins in both the 100 and 200 meters on the way to 27 points, while Heighter earned a pair of seconds — 110 meter hurdles and triple jump — and scored 22.
“T.K. has been doing his thing in the 100 and 200 all year,” said Gibson. “Mentally he is right there. I feel like he will even run better when the competition is better.
“With De’Andre, we knew it was going to be a battle with the George Wythe kid (Tyrus Green),” he added. “Both of them fell in the 300, but both of them got up and finished. For De’Andre to run a 45.3 after falling is crazy.”
Freshman Mitchell Tallman also won a Region C title with a 12-foot pole vault.
Eleven different Cougars scored and it took literally nearly every point.
“Obviously it’s a cliche, but it was a team effort all the way,” Gibson said. “We had some kids step up.”
Bath County’s Jacob Lindsay, the only Charger participating in track this spring, placed second in the 3,200 meters and will join a group of 10 Cougars at the Class 1 state championship meet Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, at East Rockingham High School in Elkton.
Makieah Mack and Paris Richmond both scored for the Covington girls Tuesday.
Mack placed fifth in the 100 meter dash, missing a state berth by one position.
Richmond was seventh in the long jump and eighth in the 200 meter dash.
“This group has been great,” said Gibson, who took over the team just before the season started.
“We had two coaches pass within 10 days,” he said, referencing the sudden deaths of CHS assistant football coach Boo Stewart and assistant junior varsity girls basketball coach Melvin Persinger.
“Quite a few of our athletes played for Boo and a couple of the girls played for Coach Persinger,” Gibson continued. “And that was only part of the adversity that this group of young men and young women dealt with. To accomplish what they’ve accomplished — nothing short of amazing.”
BOYS TEAM RESULTS

1. Covington         110

2. George Wythe         107.33

3. Auburn           93

4. Parry McCluer   88

5. Narrows           73.33

6. Eastern Montgomery   52.33

7. Rural Retreat   37

    Galax           37

9. Bland County   19

10. Craig County   11

11. Bath County     8

12. Highland County     3

BOYS INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

100 Meter Dash: 1. T.K. Tomlinison (C), 11.00; 2. Chad Blaker (N), 11.31; 3. Shane Ramsey (BL), 11.36; 4. Brady Masters (RR), 11.91; 5. Blake Brown (G), 11.95; 6. Kent Bullock (C), 11.98; 7. Dylan Owens (EM), 12.05; 8. Slater Ferguson (N), 12.08
200 Meter Dash: 1. T.K. Tomlinson (C), 22.22; 2. Chad Blaker (N), 22.90; 3. Brady Masters (RR), 24.10; 4. Jaquez Younger (GW), 24.12; 5. Lachen Streeby (RR), 24.26; 6. Reid Bowman (N), 24.32; 7. Terry Morgan (GW), 24.37; 8. Brady Fowler (GW), 24.46

400 Meter Dash: 1. Jaquez Younger (GW), 53.28; 2. Ryan Perdue (N), 53.64; 3. Terry Morgan (GW), 54.36; 4. Dawson Snidow (N), 55.14; 5. Landon Eastburn (N), 55.46; 6. Chris Sizemore (RR), 55.82; 7. Austin Angle (C), 56.93; 8. Joseph Wilkins (GW), 57.61
800 Meter Run: 1. Holden Robinson (GW), 2:06.48; 2. Holden Kerr (PM), 2:07.88; 3. Brendan Plogger (PM), 2:08.32; 4. Carter Bailey (A), 2:09.15; 5. Lance Elkins (EM), 2:20.36; 6. Nathan Swatsky (GW), 2:23.99; 7. Ben Tinsley (EM), 2:30.96; 8. Carter Kegley (GW), 2:41.86
1,600 Meter Run: 1. Dylan May (PM), 4:36.83; 2. Jacob Lindsay (BC), 4:59.26; 3. Andy Vaughan (A), 5:03.26; 4. Mitchell Scaggs (A), 5:05.70; 5. Chase Guynn (A), 5:07.70; 6. Corey Harden (BL), 5:18.67; 7. Jace Fallon (EM), 5:18.78; 8. Holden Robinson (GW), 5:19.25
3,200 Meter Run: 1. Dylan May (PM), 9:55.71; 2. Jamison Wall (N), 11:14.28; 3. Jacob Hurd (A), 11:24.89; 4. Ethan Forbes (C), 12:15.32; 5. Brandon Motter (C), 12:26.00; 6. Eddie Ruiz (EM), 12:56.98; 7. Sam Cerva (EM), 14:37.85
110 Meter Hurdles: 1. Tyrus Green (GW), 16.73; 2. De’Andre Heighter (C), 16.98; 3. Daniel Graham (A), 17.89; 4. Isaac Thompson (G), 18.14; 5. Gabe Crigger (RR), 18.15; 6. Ben Deplazes (CC), 18.97; 7. Luis Martinez (EM), 21.10
300 Meter Hurdles:?1. Isaac Thompson (G), 44.37; 2. Tyrus Green (GW), 44.89; 3. De’Andre Heighter (C), 45.39; 4. Nolan Lawrence (G), 45.41; 5. Ben Deplazes (CC), 45.92; 6. Darius Wayne (A), 46.66; 7. Gabe Fox (EM), 47.08; 8. Davion Tillison (GW), 49.10; 10. Mitchell Tallman (C), 49.45

4 x 100 Meter Relay: 1. Narrows, 44.79; 2. Covington (Kent Bullock, Ahmir Smith, De’Andre Heighter, T.K. Tomlinson), 45.32; 3. George Wythe, 45.49; 4. Galax, 46.38; 5. Rural Retreat, 51.76

4 x 400 Meter Relay: 1. Narrows, 3:36.67; 2. Parry McCluer, 3:37.68; 3. Auburn, 3:38.05; 4. Eastern Montgomery, 3:39.74; 5. Rural Retreat, 3:48.48; 6. Covington (Ahmir Smith, Kent Bullock, Austin Angle, Mitchell Tallman), 4:06.10

4 x 800 Meter Relay: 1. Parry McCluer, 8:33.50; 2. Eastern Montgomery, 9:18.10; 3. Covington (Ethan Forbes, Logan Pritts, Brandon Motter, Austin Angle), 9:57.32; 4. Rural Retreat, 11:33.70

High Jump: 1. Tyrus Green (GW), 6-0; 2. Trey Spence (EM), Davion Tillison (GW) and Landon Eastburn (N), 5-8; 5. Austin Angle (C), 5-8; 6. Jake Johnson (HC), 5-6; 7. Eric Bagley (G), 5-6; 8. Cody Roupe (EM), 5-4

Long Jump: 1. Shane Ramsey (BL), 20-8; 2. Davion Tillison (GW), 19-5; 3. Garrett East (EM), 19-5; 4. T.K. Tomlinson (C), 19-2; 5. De’Andre Heighter (C), 19-0½; 6. Tyrus Green (GW), 18-11½; 7. Dawson Snidow (N), 18-9½; 8. Trey Spence (EM), 18-5½

Triple Jump: 1. Davion Tillison (GW), 43-8; 2. De’Andre Heighter (C), 40-1; 3. Garrett East (EM), 38-9½; 4. Tyrus Green (GW), 37-11; 5. Camron Fisher (CC), 37-6¾; 6. Darius Wayne (A), 37-6; 7. Gabe Crigger (RR), 37-4; 8. Isaac Thompson (G), 36-2

Shot Put: 1. Zach McClellan (A), 49-0; 2. Shaun Smith Jr. (C), 44-11; 3. Colton Staton (PM), 44-10¼; 4. Brady Taylor (A), 43-10½; 5. Brenden Conley (PM), 42-11½; 6. Darian Williams (C), 42-7; 7. Drew French (A), 39-9½; 8. Orren Trey (PM), 39-1

Discus: 1. Jason VanBrocklin (PM), 134-2; 2. Colton Staton (PM), 116-9; 3. Forrest Vassar (PM), 111-7; 4. Josh Brown (G), 111-5; 5. Levi Stephens (A), 110-7; 6. Darian Williams (C), 110-7; 7. Zach McClellan (A), 103-11; 8. Orren Trey (PM), 100-3; 10. Shaun Smith Jr. (C), 94-0

Pole Vault: 1. Mitchell Tallman (C), 12-0; 2. Eddie Tickle (A), 11-0; 3. Malachi Spencer (A), 9-6; 4. Justin Smith (A), 9-0; 5. Chris Connelly (A), 8-6; 6. Andy Vaughan (A), 8-6

GIRLS TEAM RESULTS

1. Auburn        171

2. Eastern Montgomery118.5

3. Narrows          73

4. Parry McCluer  68

5. George Wythe  61

6. Rural Retreat  50.5

7. Galax          40

8. Covington            7

    Highland County            7

    Craig County    7

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

100 Meter Dash: 1. Dymond Moore (GW), 13.23; 2. Lauren Stuart (RR), 13.28; 3. Drea Betts (GW), 13.80; 4. Payton Vishneski (EM), 13.88; 5. Makieah Mack (C), 14.05; 6. Cameryn Paczosa (N), 14.16; 7. Emma Ryan (EM), 14.17; 8. Alyson Smith (A), 14.25

200 Meter Dash: 1. Essence Brown (G), 27.40; 2. Lauren Stuart (RR), 27.94; 3. Dymond Moore (GW), 28.18; 4. Alyson Smith (A), 28.84; 5. Drea Betts (GW), 28.86; 6. Cristen Blaker (N), 29.63; 7. Claire Deplazes (CC), 29.90; 8. Paris Richmond (C), 30.31

400 Meter Dash: 1. Jessica Musselman (A), 1:03.18; 2. Ellie Underwood (EM), 1:04.22; 3. Morgan Rosenbaum (A), 1:07.08; 4. Emma Spencer (N), 1:07.27; 5. Ashleigh Givens (A), 1:08.44; 6. Jade Streeby (RR), 1:08.47; 7. Bree Sale (A), 1:08.86; 8. Carli Osborne (EM), 1:12.93

800 Meter Dash: 1. Kensey May (PM), 2:25.33; 2. Morgan Dalton (GW), 2:29.49; 3. Anna Kuchan (A), 2:30.06; 4. Hailey Huffman (PM), 2:33.27; 5. Grace Hall (A), 2:34.20; 6. Paige Spade (N), 2:44.65; 7. Alexis Andrews (CC), 3:14.59

1,600 Meter Run: 1. Kensey May (PM), 5:13.84; 2. Caitlin Dominy (A), 5:21.14; 3. Morgan Dalton (GW), 5:34.43; 4. Lilly Messner (A), 6:04.03; 5. Sarah Weatherspoon (EM), 6:12.78; 6. Annalyse McHone (EM), 6:22.34; 7. Alexis Andrews (CC), 6:48.69; 8. Cloey Mazingo (PM), 7:09.93

3,200 Meter Run: 1. Sophie Dryden (PM), 12:07.50; 2. Annalyse McHone (EM), 13:44.66; 3. Hailey Wade (A), 13:57.22; 4. Faith Sutphin (A), 14:29.64; 5. Rachael Amirault (HC), 15:56.77

100 Meter Hurdles: 1. Kara Ashworth (A), 18.50; 2. Hailey Blankenship (N), 19.32; 3. Peyton Thompson (GW), 19.83; 4. Skyann Holloway (EM), 20:05; 5. Olyvia Bedwell (GW), 20.14; 6. Emily Beaver (N), 20.63; 7. Laikyn Ayers (G), 20.78; 8. Caroline Paschal (GW), 21.06

300 Meter Hurdles: 1. Laikyn Ayers (G), 52.01; 2. Valencia Harden (PM), 52.97; 3. Hailey Blankenship (N), 55.94; 4. Jessica Mussleman (A), 57.31; 5. Haley Hutchinson (EM), 1:01.16; 6. Emily Beaver (N), 1:01.88; 7. Taylor Laws (EM), 1:01.94; 8. Skyann Holloway (EM), 1:06.64

4 x 100 Meter Relay: 1. George Wythe, 53.32; 2. Galax, 55.35; 3. Auburn, 56.99

4 x 400 Meter Relay: 1. Eastern Montgomery, 4:36.44; 2. Auburn, 4:39.86; 3. Narrows, 4:52.24; 4. Rural Retreat, 4:57.93

4 x 800 Meter Relay: 1. Auburn, 11:24.15; 2. Eastern Montgomery, 13:23.80

High Jump: 1. Essence Green (G), 4-8; 2. Haley Howard (EM), 4-8; 3. Payton Vishneski (EM), 4-6; 4. Ellie Underwood (EM), 4-4; 5. Kylee Turman (A), 4-2; 6. Carli Osborne (EM) and Jade Streeby (RR), 4-2

Long Jump: 1. Lauren Stuart (RR), 16-9¼; 2. Payton Vishneski (EM), 15-8; 3. Emma Caldwell (N), 15-5; 4. Jessica Musselman (A), 15-4½; 5. Cameryn Paczosa (N), 15-3¾; 6. Emma Ryan (EM), 14-6½; 7. Paris Richmond (C), 14-6; 8. Madelyn King (RR), 14-6

Triple Jump: 1. Jessica Musselman (A), 34-8; 2. Payton Vishneski (EM), 32-11; 3. Madelyn King (RR), 31-6; 4. Emma Caldwell (N), 31-2¾; 5. Cristen Blaker (N), 30-9¼; 6. Haley Howard (EM), 30-3½; 7. Hailey Blankenship (N), 29-9½; 8. Emma Spencer (N), 29-9¼

Shot Put: 1. Tristen Clark (PM), 37-11½; 2. Madelyn Ritter (A), 32-7½; 3. Grayson Shields (PM), 31-8½; 4. Madison Smith (EM), 31-3; 5. Abby McGlothin (N), 30-7½; 6. Haley Howard (EM), 30-0½; 7. Grace Caudill (RR), 26-6; 8. Michaela Steele (N), 25-10

Discus: 1. Madelyn Ritter (A), 94-4; 2. Grayson Shields (PM), 90-3; 3. Madison Smith (EM), 82-1; 4. Grace Caudill (RR), 80-7; 5. Michaela Steele (N), 77-9; 6. Hannah Adams (HC), 76-2; 7. Abby McGlothin (N), 74-7; 8. Summer Huffman (CC), 74-1

Pole Vault: 1. Ashleigh Givens (A), 7-6; 2. Kara Ashworth (A), 7-6; 3. Bree Sale (A), 7-6; 4. Jessica Nagel (A), 6-6; 5. Kylee Turman (A), 6-0