Members of the Franklin County High School boys and girls track and field teams competed in the Class AA Middle sectional meet Thursday and Friday at Fairview High School with three qualifying for the state meet.
Sophomore Brandon Walker and freshman Briley Taylor finished first in their respective high-jump events Friday to clinch berths to the state meet while sophomore Na’Kayjah Holman placed second in the girls long jump on the same day to earn her spot. All three will be appearing in the state meet at the high school level for the first time.
The top two finishers in each event advanced to the Class AA state championship meet with an additional two at-large state berths available per event for the next best performances across all three of Tennessee’s Class AA sectionals.
Taylor continued a strong freshman campaign with a first-place finish in the girls high jump as she cleared the bar at a top height of 5 feet.
Watertown’s Shayla Allison also matched that mark, but Taylor had the edge on scratches for the event, giving her the top placement overall for the day.
Walker entered the high-jump area next and claimed first place in the boys version of the event with a top height of 6 feet.
Walker and Station Camp’s Zeke Rowland both cleared the bar at that height, but like Taylor, Walker had the edge in the final tiebreaker to complete a sweep of the high jump for Franklin County.
Holman narrowly missed out on giving Franklin County another first-place finish as her best attempt of 17 feet, 4 inches in the long jump put her just 0.75 inches behind Upperman’s Meiah Moss for the top spot.
Holman finished five inches ahead of Hume-Fogg’s Gabby Hoskins for second place and an automatic berth to the state meet.
Other performances and placements for Franklin County athletes at the sectional meet included:
— Daniel Heath, boys pole vault, 11 feet, 6 inches, third
— Danica Stovall, girls triple jump, 31 feet, 10.5 inches, third
— Catie Hanger, Briley Taylor, Na'Kayjah Holman and Danica Stovall, girls 4x100-meter relay, 51.59 seconds, fourth
— Kenyon Fuqua, boys 200-meter dash, 23.13 seconds, fourth
— Tyson Kennerly, boys pole vault, 10 feet, fourth
— Lily Heath, girls triple jump, 31 feet, 0.5 inches, fourth
— La'Karis Brown, girls high jump, 4 feet, 8 inches, fifth
— Coastlon Ringer, boys 400-meter dash, 52.78 seconds, fifth
— Kenyon Fuqua, boys high jump, 5 feet, 6 inches, fifth
— Brandon Walker, boys triple jump, 40 feet, 1 inch, fifth
— Luke Kelleher, boys 110-meter hurdles, 17.15 seconds, sixth
— Luke Kelleher, boys 300-meter hurdles, 42.92 seconds, sixth
— Shelby Walker, girls pole vault, 7 feet, sixth
— Paisley Millraney, Shelby Walker, La'Karis Brown and Lily Heath, girls 4x200-meter relay, 1:57.92, seventh
— Marisol Ibarra, girls discus throw, 84 feet, 2 inches, seventh
— Parker Hill, Eli Kelleher, Luke Kelleher and Monte Johnson, boys 4x200-meter relay, 1:37.33, eighth
— Paisley Millraney, Shelby Walker, Jena Hand and Jada Hand, girls 4x400-meter relay, 4:59.02, eighth
— Daniel Heath, Owen Stewart, Josh Smith and Jayden Smith, boys 4x800-meter relay, 9:24.58, ninth
— Danica Stovall, girls 100-meter dash, 12.88 seconds, ninth (tie)
— Na’Kayjah Holman, girls 100-meter dash, 12.88 seconds, ninth (tie)
— Randall Taylor, Monte Johnson, Edquintin Scott and Kenyon Fuqua, boys 4x100-meter relay, 45.76 seconds, ninth
— Lily Heath, girls long jump, 14 feet, 11 inches, ninth
— Monte Johnson, boys triple jump, 38 feet, 3 inches, ninth
— Lily Heath, girls 100-meter hurdles, 17.69 seconds, 10th
— Edquintin Scott, boys 100-meter dash, 11.29 seconds, 10th
— Coastlon Ringer, boys long jump, 19 feet, 3 inches, 10th
— Coastlon Ringer, boys 100-meter dash, 11.34 seconds, 12th
— Marisol Ibarra, girls shot put, 26 feet, 12th
— Na’Kayjah Holman, girls 200-meter dash, 27.5 seconds, 13th
— Kaylin Hill, girls high jump, 4 feet, 13th
— Briley Taylor, girls long jump, 13 feet, 4 inches, 13th
— Alex Domincio, Parker Hill, Jayden Smith and Brandon Walker, boys 4x400-meter relay, 4:01.04, 14th
— Jena Hand, girls 300-meter hurdles, 54.28 seconds, 14th
— Chase Trigg, boys 300-meter hurdles, 44.12 seconds, 14th
— Tyson Kennerly, boys triple jump, 35 feet, 10 inches, 14th
— Danica Stovall, girls 200-meter dash, 27.73 seconds, 15th
— Edquintin Scott, boys 200-meter dash, 23.89 seconds, 15th
— Briley Taylor, girls 200-meter dash, 28.17 seconds, 16th
— Paisley Millraney, girls 400-meter dash, 1:07.7, 17th
— Luke Kelleher, boys long jump, 17 feet, 9 inches, 17th (tie)
— Jena Hand, girls 100-meter hurdles, 19.1 seconds, 18th
— Catherine Money, girls 1,600-meter run, 6:24.78, 18th
— Audrey Stewart, girls 1,600-meter run, 6:25.91, 19th
— Catie Hanger, girls 100-meter dash, 13.44 seconds, 20th
— Jayden Smith, boys 1,600-meter run, 4:56.36, 20th
— Parker Hill, boys 400-meter dash, 55.33 seconds, 20th
— Josh Smith, boys 800-meter run, 2:13.69, 20th
— Austin Heath, boys long jump, 17 feet, 2 inches, 21st
— Billie Rose Johnson, girls 1,600-meter run, 6:45.57, 22nd
— Shelby Walker, girls 300-meter hurdles, 1:03.5, 23rd
— Audrey Stewart, girls 800-meter run, 2:58.17, 25th
— Eli Kelleher, boys 400-meter dash, 57.4 seconds, 26th
— Garrett Kuhar, boys 800-meter run, 2:23.4, 26th
— Ella Steele, girls 400-meter dash, 1:32.21, 29th
— Billie Rose Johnson, girls 800-meter run, 3:08.64, 29th
— Cristian Fravel, boys 1,600-meter run, 5:30.41, 30th
— Mason Phillips, boys 1,600-meter run, 5:52.27, 33rd
Brandon Walker, Briley Taylor and Holman will next compete in the Class AA state championship meet on May 21 at Middle Tennessee State University. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
