State champs from Tri-County crowned at SC track title meet. ‘I’m happy with everything’
While the rest of the crowd rose to its feet — with remote shouts rising into a roar as one of the best races of the weekend unfolded in real time — Devon Sibley had his eyes closed.
The Fort Mill junior track athlete had done all he could. He was the second leg in the 4x800-meter relay team that was competing for a 5A state championship at Spring Valley High School in Columbia on Saturday, and instead of watching his anchor teammate, senior Jackson Dawson, round the race’s final corner, he was turned the other way with his eyes shut: Out of breath, his face pale and legs a bit wobbly, he clasped his palms together and nervously directed his head up to the sky — as if he was passing a proverbial baton to God to finish the relay race his team had started.
“I knew Jackson was gonna get it,” Sibley later told The Herald, out of breath and with a big smile. “But I just needed that extra assurance.”
By the time Dawson was 50 meters away from the finish line, Sibley dared to turn his head. He saw Dawson gain on the leader, the senior’s arms churning like he was trying to beat up the wind. Then he saw that Dawson had moved level with his competitor. Then he saw Dawson move past him, slowly separating himself more and more.
Soon, Dawson was alone — only the finish line in front of him and a loud crowd surprised by his come-from-behind sprint around him.
And soon after that, it all sunk in: Fort Mill, in the second track event of the 5A state championship meet on Saturday, had a group of state champions.
Alec Lootens, Sibley, Oliver Jaeckli and Dawson (anchor) ran a 7:57.43.
After their triumph, the four excitedly talked over each other and finished each other’s sentences when explaining how earning the title felt.
Jaeckli: “Because of COVID, we didn’t have a season. So finally getting to run once (with this team) was worth it. That ring — that’s all I wanted.”
Lootens: “After missing a year, and in a year like this, we proved to ourselves that we could do this. We also broke our school record this year, which was around for 10, 11, 12 years.”
When asked about their close loss in the 2020 cross country championships, where Fort Mill finished in second, they all chimed in.
“That’s what made this one so motivational,” Lootens said. “It didn’t feel good when we got second.”
Sibley added: “We had that stick through us all through track season. And we weren’t going to let it happen again.”
Northwestern boys, Nation Ford girls finish second overall in 5A
Those Fort Mill champions were just a few of many track and field athletes from York, Chester and Lancaster counties to win state titles. This year’s 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A state champions hailed from Lancaster to Catawba Ridge and several places in between.
But the Northwestern boys and the Nation Ford girls squads had the best team performances of anyone in the Tri-County.
The Trojans finished 5A state runners-up with 56 points, six behind the Dorman state champions. They saw many key contributions on Saturday:
▪ Channing Ferguson, who’s going to USC Upstate next year, made an impact everywhere. He finished third in the 110-meter hurdles (14.55); second in the high jump (clearing 6-8); second in the long jump (22-10.50); and fourth in the triple jump (45-05.50).
▪ Mason Thomas finished with a 9:36.98 in the boys 3,200 meters — good enough for second place. The senior made a stellar comeback in his race on Saturday, pacing himself from the eighth spot after the first lap and moving up to the second spot by the race’s final turn.
▪ Gavin McFadden, a Converse College commit, finished second in the 200 meters (21.69). The senior told The Herald post-run that he and his team had been eyeing the scoreboard online all day — and the team knew they had a shot until the end, he said.
“It’s bittersweet, man,” McFadden said of competing in his last state championship. “These last four years have been going by fast. At one point this year, we didn’t even think we’d have a track season due to the pandemic. So I’m just thankful for this.”
The Nation Ford Falcons also saw spectacular performances in their second-place finish behind state champion Hillcrest:
- Katie Pou locked in her latest — and final — state championship of her decorated running career at Nation Ford High. The senior, who’s committed to running at UPenn in the fall, added a state championship in the 3,200-meter run (11:24.21) and a second-place finish in the 1,600-meter run (5:05).
“I just wanted to come out here and have a fun day and really enjoy it, take in all these last moments and races with my team,” Pou told The Herald with a big smile and a gold medallion around her neck. “It’s been six years, and it’s the culmination of all that. And being here with my team one last time is really awesome.”
- Camryn Lorick, who’s headed to Coastal Carolina to compete in track in the fall, won a state title in the high jump at 5 feet, 6 inches. She also finished third in the 100-meter dash (11.99) and third in the 200-meter dash (24.7) — all of which, she said, were personal bests.
“That felt great because I hadn’t cleared that in a while,” Lorick said of soaring of the 5-foot-6 bar. “It was good to clear that. I’m happy with everything.”
Catawba Ridge’s Sam Rich dominates again
Sam Rich is giving the Catawba Ridge running program a formidable prestige.
On Friday at Spring Valley, the junior finished with two state championships: one at 1,600 meters (4:10.53) — which is a good enough time for 27th best in the nation — and another at 3,200 meters (9:19.67). These titles add to the cross country championship he won in the fall.
Besides Rich, Catawba Ridge had three other individuals finish in the top half of the field: Jonathan Hairston was fourth in the 400 meters (50.62), Forrest Rozelle was fourth in the pole vault (12-00), while Thomas Maxwell was fourth in the shot put (49-06.50).
In all, the Copperheads finished fourth as a team in the 4A boys’ state championships.
“It’s a new school and it’s my first year here,” Rich said. “Just kind of helping this program build, it’s really cool.”
Other 5A, 4A SC title track and field highlights
▪ Johntavis Ross of South Pointe won a state championship in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday with a 55.97. The junior, who’s been competing in track competitively since the ninth grade, showed impressive resilience in the win when he bounced back from an eighth place finish in the 110 meter hurdles. That result only motivated him further, he said post-race: “It did motivate me — a lot.”
▪ Rock Hill’s Tierra Frazier, a USC commit, finished second in the 100 meters with an 11.92, and second in the 200 meters with a 24.19. She was matched by teammate Jada Jones, who notched a 55.25 in the 400-meter dash, which was also good enough for second place. Rachel Arwood finished third in the 800 meter run with a 2:20.34, and the Rock Hill 4x100 meter team finished third with a 47.46.
▪ Grant Witherspoon of Indian Land, a Wofford commit, finished third in the 110 hurdles (15.53) and fourth in the 400 hurdles (56.70).
▪ Taylor Thomas at Clover, who said she was just “so proud” of herself to be able to compete on Saturday, finished fourth in the girls’ discus (107-7), sixth in the javelin (95-7) and fifth in the shot put (34-09.75). She was also a state champion in basketball earlier this year.
▪ York’s TJ Barrett finished seventh in the triple jump with a 41.11.
▪ In other 4A news, Jeremiah Hicks of Lancaster finished fourth in the triple jump (42-11.5); Sydney Jackson of South Pointe was second in the discus (115-00); and York’s Madison Griffin finished fourth in the 100 meter dash (12.64).
Results from 3A, 2A, 1A
In the 2A meet at Lower Richland, the Andrew Jackson Volunteers had one competitor in the boys division finish in the top half of the field in an event: LaKyle McIlwain was fourth in the 110 hurdles in a time of 15.85 seconds.
In the 1A competition at Lower Richland, the Lewisville Lions placed two participants in the top four: In the boys division Deven McCrorey was second in the high jump when he cleared 6-0. In the girls competition Harmony Evans was fourth in the 100 meters in a time of 13.22 seconds.
Quaniya Spencer of the Great Falls Red Devils finished fourth in the girls competition in the high jump (4-6).
Sam Copeland contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated which college Channing Ferguson is attending in the fall. He is signed to USC Upstate.
This story was originally published May 22, 2021 at 6:58 PM.
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