Carthage Track Teams Sweep District 16-4A Meet + Tatum Narrowly Misses Boys Title

CARTHAGE -- The Bulldogs' team win Thursday at the District 16-4A track meet featured one of the best high school football players in America in Keaontay Ingram and a bevy of other potential college prospects, but the victory also proved athletes come in all shapes and sizes.

Long distance runner Brayden Sowell was the real hero. His second-place finish in the 1600 meter run, the second-to-last event, ultimately pushed Carthage to a five-point win over Tatum for the league championship.

The Eagles led the meet by one point ahead of the 1600 meter run.

"We had a 15-point lead going into today," Carthage boys coach Darren Preston said, referring to the team standings after Wednesday's field events at Bulldog Stadium. "But we knew Tatum had a lot of depth in their running events and felt like it would take some key guys to come through for us. Our 4 x 100 ran really well, set a tone, and we had some guys come through.

"They came back, though. Our kids competed hard and competed to the very end. That's what I'm proud of."

Tatum, which earned no points in the 1600 meter run, came back to win the 4 x 400 meter relay for 20 points. Carthage finished second by .55 seconds and earned 16 points for a 181-176 victory.

The Dawgs still would have won the meet with a third-place relay finish thanks to a fifth-place finish by Mark Hanks in the 1600 meter event, but a fourth-place finish would have sunk the entire team. Rusk's group, which clinched fourth in the relay, hit the line eight seconds after Carthage.

It all added up toward the fairly dramatic ending. First-place finishes in other events by Ashton Hicks, McCain Jones, Tanner Elliot, Jase Dixon and Ingram -- the latter three starters on Carthage's 2016 Class 4A state championship football team -- would have been soured without late efforts from the distance runners.

Still, the meet was not the be-all or end-all.

The top four finishers in each event advanced to the area meet next week at Spring Hill to face the top four finishers per event from District 15-4A.

After the area event comes the regional meet. Then the state meet.

Carthage advanced 19 individual competitors for the area meet as well as three relay teams. Tatum survived with 17 individuals and three relay teams that get to see another day.

Henderson will send nine individuals and three relay teams to Spring Hill. Center advanced eight individuals plus two relay teams.

Rusk advanced seven individuals and one relay team. Therefore, its odds of accumulating enough points to win the area meet are the lowest among the five district members.

"You try to get to that point in the district meet and start trying to peak at this time to advance," Preston said. "That's where we are."

Carthage Girls Cruise To Meet Win

The Lady Dawgs did not endure nearly as much drama in their push for the District 16-4A crown on the girls' side of the event.

Twenty-nine individuals scored at least a point by nature of finishing sixth or better in any given event while 24 individuals and all three relay squads qualified for the area meet in a combined win of 205-165 against second-place team finisher Tatum.

Carthage's effort negated a lackluster day at the very top of the podium. Just three individuals plus the 4 x 400 meter relay team won first-place medals.

"We were 32 points down going into the running today," Lady Dawgs coach Leven Barker said. "To flip the script and win by the margin we won by, it says a lot about our girls and the track program we have here in Carthage."

Tatum won a meet-best five individual events and qualified 14 people plus all three of its relay squads for the area meet.

Henderson finished third in points and in terms of area meet qualifiers with eight individuals and all three relay squads advancing. It won the 4 x 100 meter and 4 x 200 meter relay events.

Center qualified four individuals and all three of its relay teams. Rusk advanced four individuals toward a last-place finish in the team standings.

"It was a team effort today," Barker said. "It took every one of our kids to come back and win that thing. We feel really good about all of them."

TCU Signee Van Zandt Wins 300 Meter Hurdles

Henderson star Lakendrick Van Zandt thought it would be in his best interest to skip his senior year of track to get ready for his freshman football season at TCU.

The Horned Frogs staff had other ideas, and their encouragement helped the Lions to a win in the boys' 300 meter hurdle event in Carthage.

Van Zandt won the hurdles by more than a second with a time of 39.53. He had already qualified for the area meet with a fourth-place, 20-foot-11 long jump during field competition Wednesday.

"The college coaches told me I should go ahead and stay in shape to get started," Van Zandt said. "The first week I ran, I ran like a 42 or something. The worst ever. Every week since, I've just tried to get better, bigger and faster. The 300 hurdles get easier as I go."

TCU anticipates Van Zandt to contribute as a defensive back.

Van Zandt was two-way starter at Henderson and more well-known as a running back. He also contributed on the Henderson basketball team.

His days at home are numbered, but there are still some track event championships to chase before calling it a career.

"This is big to me," Van Zandt said. "After senior football season, most people assume you're done. But I started out strong, feel like I need to finish strong, and I want to set an example for the younger guys on the team."

District 16-4A Meet

At Bulldog Stadium, Carthage

BOYS

Team Standings

• 1, Carthage -- 181
• 2, Tatum -- 176
• 3, Center -- 98
• 4, Henderson -- 87
• 5, Rusk -- 69

4x100 meter relay

• 1, Carthage (D'Travis Duncan, Ashton Hicks, Keaontay Ingram, Titus Marshall) -- 42.38
• 2, Tatum (DD Boyd, Omari Dickerson, Chris Jenkins, Cedric White) -- 43.43
• 3, Center (JaCarlos Hall, Adrian Johnson, Devin Randle, Ja'Kadric Watts) -- 43.50
• 4, Henderson (Kourtland Jackson, DQ Murphy, Keaunta Dunham, Lakendrick Van Zandt) -- 43.57
• 5, Rusk (Johnny Long, Sam Thomas, Darrian McDuff, Samaj Johnson) -- 44.27

4x200 meter relay

• 1, Atlanta (Austin Brown, Kelton Young, Trin Taylor, Desmond Webster) — 1:28.730
• 2, Whitehouse (Jalen Williams, Trey Epperson, Javier Neal, Kaleb Ford-Dement) — 1:29.995
• 3, Liberty-Eylau (Kevin Florence, Orion Thompson, Korbyn White, Duan Johnson) — 1:31.070
• 4, Chapel Hill (Montel Hood, Demarcus Attaway, Simon Olivedo, Hunter Branin) — 1:33.490
• 5, Bullard (Brett Timme, Ty Crayton, Tre Crayton, D’Juan Martin) — 1:33.830
• 6, Pine Tree (Maliq Owens, Sylva Stewart, Davon Coleman, Kenny Jackson) — 1:34.710

4x400 meter relay

• 1, Tatum (DD Boyd, Omari Dickerson, Chris Jenkins, Alex Medford) -- 3:22.40
• 2, Carthage (Kelvonte Dixon, Tarik Rascoe, Ashton Hicks, Roshabrius Garrett) -- 3:22.95
• 3, Henderson (Daniel Garcia, Matthew Childers, Josh Mapps, Tremayne Lewis) -- 3:30.06
• 4, Rusk (Ladarian Polk, Samaj Johnson, Anthony Hunter, Damarrian Greenwood) -- 3:30.73
• 5, Center (Jacob Garcia, Devin Randle, JaTerious Evans, Octavius Evans) -- 3:39.93

3200 meter run

• 1, Antonio Chavez, Center -- 10:38.09
• 2, Alex Huerta, Center -- 11:02.90
• 3, Mark Hanks, Carthage -- 11:17.49
• 4, Jose Gonzalez, Henderson -- 11:24.15
• 5, Jake Wedgeworth, Carthage -- 11:31.55
• 6, Landaverde, Tatum -- 11:42.60

1600 meter run

• 1, Antonio Chavez, Center -- 4:49.55
• 2, Brayden Sowell, Carthage -- 4:50.15
• 3, Alex Huerta, Center -- 5:00.24
• 4, Zane Cunningham, Rusk -- 5:05.47
• 5, Mark Hanks, Carthage -- 5:06.73
• 6, Jose Gonzalez, Henderson -- 5:09.13

800 meter run

• 1, Alex Medford, Tatum -- 1:57.86
• 2, Tarik Rascoe, Carthage -- 1:58.22
• 3, Brayden Sowell, Carthage -- 2:02.91
• 4, Jacob Garcia, Center -- 2:06.80
• 5, Mark Hanks, Carthage -- 2:12.79
• 6, Koby Henry, Rusk -- 2:13.26

400 meter dash

• 1, Ashton Hicks, Carthage -- 48.43
• 2, Alex Medford, Tatum -- 49.85
• 3, Chris Jenkins, Tatum -- 50.92
• 4, DD Boyd, Tatum -- 51.10
• 5, Octavius Evans, Center -- 51.70
• 6, Semaj Johnson, Rusk -- 51.74

200 meter dash

• 1, Stanley Williams, Tatum -- 22.87
• 2, Adrian Johnson, Center -- 22.99
• 3, D'Travis Duncan, Carthage -- 23.27
• 4, Tremayne Lewis, Henderson -- 23.85
• 5, Sam Thomas, Rusk -- 23.89
• 6, Malcolm Davis, Tatum -- 24.41

100 meter dash

• 1, Stanley Williams, Tatum -- 10.93
• 2, DQ Murphy, Henderson -- 11.09
• 3, Cedric White, Tatum -- 11.18
• 4, Roshabrius Garrett, Carthage -- 11.22
• 5, Sam Thomas, Rusk -- 11.30
• 6, Titus Marshall, Carthage -- 11.31

300 meter hurdles

• 1, Lakendrick Van Zandt, Henderson -- 39.53
• 2, Damarian Greenwood, Rusk -- 40.85
• 3, Josh Mapps, Henderson -- 41.36
• 4, Nicholas Moore, Carthage -- 41.90
• 5, Joran Smith, Tatum -- 42.69
• 6, Ladarian Polk, Rusk -- 43.13

110 meter hurdles

• 1, Macian Jones, Carthage -- 15.20
• 2, Tariq Gray, Henderson -- 15.25
• 3, Jordan Smith, Tatum -- 15.56
• 4, Nicholas Moore, Carthage -- 15.97
• 5, Damian Greenwood, Rusk -- 15.98
• 6, Josh Mapps, Henderson -- 16.20

Discus

• 1, Jase Dixon, Carthage -- 134-2 1/2
• 2, Drake Centers, Tatum -- 131-2
• 3, DT Smith, Tatum -- 125-5 1/2
• 4, Jermaine Lewis, Tatum -- 124-6 1/2
• 5, Rodrigo Leon, Center -- 120-1 1/2
• 6, Austin Russell, Carthage -- 119-8

Triple jump

• 1, Keaontay Ingram, Carthage -- 44-6 1/2
• 2, Kelvonte Dixon, Carthage -- 43-6 1/2
• 3, Matthew Childers, Henderson -- 42-11
• 4, Jadus Johnson, Center -- 41-5 1/2
• 5, Dee Bowens, Carthage -- 41-2
• 6, CJ Biggs, Tatum -- 41-2

High jump

• 1, Spencer Liles, Tatum -- 6-2
• T2, Demarian Greenwood, Rusk -- 6-0
• T2, Jordan Smith, Tatum -- 6-0
• T4, Dickerson, Tatum -- 5-10
• T4, Chad West, Carthage -- 5-10
• 6, JaMarcus Jacobs, Henderson -- 5-6

Pole vault

• 1, Connor Ellis, Rusk -- 12-9
• 2, Austin Parish, Carthage -- 12-6
• 3, Taylor Burns, Carthage -- 11-0
• 4, Hunter Goff, Rusk -- 10-6

Long jump

• 1, Octavius Evans, Center -- 21-9 1/2
• T2, Dickerson, Tatum -- 21-0
• T2, Jadez McDaniel, Carthage -- 21-0
• 4, Lakendrick Van Zandt, Henderson -- 20-11 1/4
• 5, Josh Mapps, Henderson -- 20-11
• 6, Kelvonte Dixon, Carthage -- 20-2 1/2

Shot put

• 1, Tanner Elliott, Carthage -- 45-3 3/4
• 2, Shay Rodgers, Tatum -- 45-1
• 3, Travis Pepin, Rusk -- 44-8
• 4, LaMarcus Harmon, Tatum -- 43-11
• 5, Adrian Johnson, Center -- 43-4
• 6, Drake Centers, Tatum -- 43-2

---

GIRLS

Team Standings

• 1, Carthage -- 205
• 2, Tatum -- 165
• 3, Henderson -- 127
• 4, Center -- 64
• 5, Rusk -- 42

4x100 meter relay

• 1, Henderson (LaKaylyn Jackson, Alaysha Hart, Ke'anya Ballard, Daylece Newsom) -- 49.39
• 2, Tatum (Alexus Smith, Ashton Brown, Essence Allen, Tia Mitchell) -- 49.79
• 3, Center (Jakayla Weathered, Patience Cherry, Mekayla Cartwright, Anijah Harper) -- 49.81
• 4, Carthage (Alli Capps, Cindrasha Boykin, Ashley Jeter, Denecia Jenkins) -- 50.77
• 5, Rusk (Keke Foreman, Raniyah Kennedy, Sarah Crysup, Ashanti Tilley) -- 53.92

4x200 meter relay

• 1, Henderson (Breana Foreman, Alaysha Hart, Ke'anya Ballard, Daylece Newsom) -- 1:44.77
• 2, Carthage (Denecia Jenkins, Zamoria McGrue, Julie Weidner, Jordan McLin) -- 1:46.45
• 3, Center (Jakayla Weathered, Anijah Harper, Patience Cherry, Malaisha Cartwright) -- 1:47.44
• 4, Tatum (Jada Shans, Ashton Brown, Alexus Smith, Kaila Harden) -- 1:47.94
• 5, Rusk (Keke Foreman, Raniyah Kennedy, Sarah Crysup, Ashanti Tilley) -- 1:53.51

4x400 meter relay

• 1, Carthage (Alli Capps, Chloe Newman, Cindrasha Boykin, Zamoria McGrue) — 4:05.61
• 2, Tatum (Ashton Brown, Essence Allen, Jada Shans, Tia Mitchell) -- 4:05.96
• 3, Henderson (Resha Hall, Jaclyn Garrett, Breanna Foreman, Shamonti Duncan) -- 4:25.12
• 4, Center (Patience Cherry, Anijah Harper, Marlen Angel, Bre Hightower) -- 4:35.80

3200 meter run

• 1, Caroline Rains, Henderson -- 12:45.07
• 2, Alyssa Hardy, Rusk -- 13:44.93
• 3, Haley Gray, Rusk -- 13:53.92
• 4, Peyton Jones, Carthage -- 14:07.21
• 5, Emily Edelen, Carthage -- 14:30.30
• 6, Barragan, Tatum -- 15:14.96

1600 meter run

• 1, Caroline Rains, Henderson -- 5:48.40
• 2, Alyssa Hardy, Rusk -- 6:15/24
• 3, Peyton Jones, Carthage -- 6:20.74
• 4, Emily Edelen, Carthage -- 6:21.72
• 5, Yaira Gomez, Henderson -- 6:27.49
• 6, Haley Gray, Rusk -- 6:32.86

800 meter run

• 1, Jada Shans, Tatum -- 2:28.52
• 2, Zamoria McGrue, Carthage -- 2:29.06
• 3, Emily Edelen, Carthage -- 2:45.57
• 4, Peyton Jones, Carthage -- 2:48.81
• 5, Yaira Gomez, Henderson -- 2:49.44
• 6, Barragan, Tatum -- 2:54.17

400 meter dash

• 1, Essence Allen, Tatum -- 1:00.18
• 2, Alli Capps, Carthage -- 1:01.99
• 3, Aleasha Mclinton, Carthage -- 1:02.52
• 4, Cindrasha Boykin, Carthage -- 1:04.56
• 5, Jaclyn Garrett, Henderson -- 1:05.78
• 6, Resha Hall, Henderson -- 1:07.15

200 meter dash

• 1, Daylece Newsom, Henderson -- 26.71
• 2, Tia Mitchell, Tatum -- 26.92
• 3, Alaysha Hart, Henderson -- 27.17
• 4, Julie Weidner, Carthage -- 27.44
• 5, Denecia Jenkins, Carthage -- 27.50
• 6, Jordan McLin, Carthage -- 27.59

100 meter dash

• 1, Malaisha Cartwright, Center -- 12.36
• 2, Jordan McLin, Carthage -- 13.07
• 3, Ke'anya Ballard, Henderson -- 13.10
• 4, Breanna Foreman, Henderson -- 13.18
• 5, Alexus Smith, Tatum -- 13.25
• 6, Julie Weidner, Carthage -- 13.35

300 meter hurdles

• 1, Chloe Newman, Carthage — 46.52
• 2, Ashley Jeter, Carthage -- 49.73
• 3, Mckenna Zett, Carthage -- 50.04
• 4, Windhom, Tatum -- 50.57
• 5, Keke Gardner, Center -- 53.26
• 6, Kassi Freeman, Henderson -- 53.42

100 meter hurdles

• 1, Chloe Newman, Carthage — 15.11
• 2, Ashley Jeter, Carthage -- 16.28
• 3, Ann Mills, Henderson -- 16.72
• 4, Mckenna Zett, Carthage -- 16.76
• 5, Jacey Carroll, Henderson -- 17.62
• 6, Windhom, Tatum -- 17.64

Discus

• 1, Allison, Tatum -- 120-8
• 2, Jada Garrett, Rusk -- 117-11
• 3, Alexus Smith, Tatum -- 114-0
• 4, Olivia Bryant, Tatum -- 103-8
• 5, Meryl Benson, Rusk -- 94.6
• 6, Cassie Hernandez, Henderson -- 83-4

Triple jump

• 1, Ramaya Davis, Tatum -- 36-4 3/4
• 2, Essence Allen, Tatum -- 35-2 1/4
• 3, Faith Landreneaux, Carthage -- 35-1
• 4, Cindrasha Boykin, Carthage -- 34-10 1/2
• 5, Malaisha Cartwright, Center -- 34-2 1/2
• 6, Bree Simpson, Carthage -- 33-11 1/2

High jump

• 1, Alli Capps, Carthage -- 5-2
• T2, Kristen Sneed, Tatum -- 5-0
• T2, Cindrasha Boykin, Carthage -- 5-0
• 4, Faith Landreneaux, Carthage -- 4-9
• T5, Shamonti Duncan, Henderson -- 4-8
• T5, Resha Hall, Henderson -- 4-8

Pole vault

• 1, Kristen Sneed, Tatum -- 8-6
• 2, Chloe Newman, Carthage -- 8-0
• 3, Callie Lawrence, Carthage -- 7-6

Long jump

• 1, Malaisha Cartwright, Center -- 17-4
• 2, Essence Allen, Tatum -- 16-11
• 3, Daylece Newsom, Henderson -- 16-1 3/4
• 4, Anijah Harper, Center -- 16-0 1/2
• 5, LaKaylynn Jackson, Henderson -- 15-10
• 6, Ke'anya Ballard, Henderson -- 15-8, 1/2

Shot put

• 1, Olivia Bryant, Tatum -- 36-8 1/2
• 2, Allison, Tatum -- 35-5 1/4
• 3, Colclough, Tatum -- 34-10 1/2
• 4, Makayla Rankin, Center -- 33-2
• 5, Destiny Buffin, Carthage -- 33-0
• 6, Jada Garrett, Rusk -- 31-8