Danny Federico
reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com
Lafayette High School welcomed athletes from Branford and Hamilton County High Schools on Tuesday, March 18, for its first home track and field meet of the season.
Lafayette junior Blake Pilkington led the way for the Hornets on the track, securing victories in the boys’ 100-meter dash at 11.64 seconds, 200-meter dash at 24.84 seconds, and 400-meter dash at 53.64 seconds. Fellow athlete Joseph Smith, a senior, also earned top honors in the 110-meter hurdles at 17.04 seconds and tied for first in the high jump with teammate Jordan Murphy, also a senior, both clearing 1.7 meters. Murphy continued his standout performance by claiming first place in the long jump at 5.94 meters and triple jump at 12.57 meters. Sophomore Henry Stewart also took the number one spot in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.04. In the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay events, the Hornet boys took first place once again, clocking in at 46.75 seconds and 4:49.7, respectively.
Buccaneer Anthony Bailey, a junior, claimed top spots in the 800-meter and 1600-meter run events with times of 2:23.9 and 5:10.5, respectively. He was joined by teammate Matthew Lynn, also a junior, who placed in the top of the 3200-meter dash with a time of 12:51. Seniors Cole Peyton and Sebastian Waugaman also claimed number one spots in the shot put and discus events with 11.99 meters and 35.15 meters, respectively. The Buccaneer boys rounded out their wins by placing first in the 4x800-meter relay with a time of 9:32.4.
On the girls’ side, the Trojans had number one placements in four categories. In the 100-meter dash, freshman Mya Mosley clocked in with a time of 13.24 seconds. Jordan Johnson, a sophomore, took first place in the 200-meter dash at 28.14 seconds. She also claimed the top spot in the long jump event with a mark of 4.67 meters. Rounding out the placements for the Trojans was eighth-grader Zion Wallace, who came in first place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:15.04.
For the Branford girls, eighth-grader Leiah Thompson took the top spot in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:12.64, and sophomore Anna Moore took first place in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:30.54. In the 1600-meter run, junior Kayleigh Wardle earned top honors with a time of 6:11.7. Wardle also took first place in the 3200-meter dash with a time of 13:33.1. In the 100-meter hurdles, junior Samantha Ray claimed first place with 18.18 seconds. Rounding out the Buccaneers girls’ afternoon of wins were top placements in the 4x100-meter, 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relays with times of 55.14 seconds, 4:43.8 and 10:49.3, respectively.
Four Hornets claimed additional first place wins to round out the afternoon for the girls. In the high jump event, sophomore Sophia Kendrick took first with a mark of 1.45 meters. Sophomore Havyn Richardson took the top placement in the triple jump event with a mark of 8.69 meters. Jada Copeland, also a sophomore, claimed first place in the shot put event with a mark of 8.69 meters. Claiming the last top honor was senior Destiny Ramirez, who had a mark of 25.12 meters in the discus event.
