Seven locals claim track and field state titles

Steven Gilmore Jr. added another championship to his resume on Saturday, winning the 4A boys’ long jump at the state’s track and field championship. Gilmore Jr. flew 23 feet to best Lower Richland’s Tyler Webber by an inch and win the title.

York’s Ben Watkins was another local male that won a 4A state title, topping the pole vault field, while Indian Land freshman Kaitlyn Rodman won the 3A girls’ 1600 meters. Megan Flynn won the 1A girls’ 3200-meter run, one of four events she ran in on Saturday at Spring Valley.

Northwestern girls filled the top-three spots on the podium in the 5A high jump, with Victoria Wilform besting two of her teammates. And Fort Mill’s Jessica Brewer won the 5A girls’ pole vault by a half-foot, while Aaron Rice smoked the 1A boys’ 100-meter dash field to claim the gold in that event.

Local top-three finishers

Rock Hill

▪ The Bearcats’ boys’ 4x100-meter relay unit placed second behind Hillcrest.

▪ The girls’ 4x800-meter relay also claimed a silver medal finish (9:41.66), 16 seconds behind a dominant Riverside championship unit.

▪ Junior Pressley Perry finished third in the 5A girls’ pole vault (10 feet, 6 inches).

York

▪ Senior Ben Watkins won the 4A pole vault state championship by clearing 14 feet.

▪ The Cougars’ 4x100-meter relay finished third in the 4A boys’ race.

Great Falls

▪ Aaron Rice finished his prep track career with a state championship in the 1A boys’ 100-meter dash (11.19). Rice beat a good field by 0.21 seconds.

▪ Sophomore Seth Hinson was runner-up in the 1A boys’ shot put (43 feet, 11 inches).

▪ Ninth grader Landon Digh finished third in the 1A boys’ 3200-meter run (11:12.18).

Indian Land

▪ Freshman Kaitlyn Rodman won the 3A girls’ 1600-meter run (5:16.90), and finished third in the 3200-meter race (11:44.10).

▪ Marlin Davis placed third in the 3A boys’ 100-meter dash (11.04), a split second ahead of Strom Thurmond’s Javin Holston. Davis, a junior, bagged his second bronze of the day in the 200 (22.04).

Northwestern

▪ Northwestern claimed the top three spots in the 5A girls’ high jump. Victoria Wilform (5 feet, 8 inches) bested teammates Ivana McLamb (5 feet, 6 inches) and Amber Ferguson (5 feet, 4 inches).

▪ The Trojans’ 4x400-meter relay team won the 5A boys’ state championship (3:19.88), smoking the field and second-placed Hillcrest by nearly four full seconds.

▪ Senior Trenece Johnson finished second in the 5A girls’ shot put (39 feet, 2 inches).

▪ Sophomore Ivana McLamb finished third in the 100-meter hurdles (15.39).

▪ Sophomore Fentrell Cypress won third place in the 5A boys’ long jump, his 22-foot, 10-inch leap edging Byrnes’ Kevin Bigelow for the bronze.

▪ Another Trojan sophomore finished third in the boys’ high jump, Jawan Strong (6 feet, 6 inches). He narrowly lost out on the championship in a tight top-three.

▪ Senior Jessica Young threw her discus 117 feet, 1 inch to place third in the 5A girls’ discus.

Lewisville

▪ Sophomore Megan Flynn and seventh grader Ashley Flynn had busy Saturdays. Megan won the 1A girls’ 3200-meter run (13:29.75), followed by her seventh-grade sister (14:17.92). Megan finished second in the 1A girls’ 1600-meter run (5:51.29), while Ashley finished behind her in third (6:23.55). Megan also placed second in the 800 meters (2:43.03).

<bullet>Senior A.J. Robinson placed second in the 1A boys’ long jump (21 feet, 8.5 inches), missing out on first place by a half-inch. Robinson also finished second in the triple jump (43 feet, 5.5 inches).

Fort Mill

▪ Junior Jessica Brewer won the 5A girls’ pole vault, clearing 11 feet, a half-foot better than second-placed Brianna Stamps, from Wando.

▪ Junior Anna Brewer finished runner-up in the 5A girls’ 400-meter run (1:03.85).

South Pointe

▪ Steven Gilmore Jr. edged Lower Richland’s Tyler Webber to win the 4A boys’ long jump title (23 feet).

▪ Ninth grader Haley Bishop finished second in the 4A girls’ 100-meter dash (12.26), just behind Westwood senior Diamond Rush.

▪ Junior Adisan Funke placed second in the 4A girls’ discus (127 feet, 6 inches), two feet behind champion Cailah Hicklin from Lower Richland.

▪ Another Stallion freshman, Nyah Marshall, finished third in the 4A girls’ high jump (5 feet, 2 inches).

▪ Senior Quaneshia Craig took a bronze medal from the 4A girls’ triple jump (37 feet), narrowly missing out on a higher finish.

Nation Ford

▪ Junior Angelnique Bryant crossed the line third in the 5A girls’ 100-meter dash (12.29).

This story was originally published May 14, 2017 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Seven locals claim track and field state titles."