Fractions of an inch and tenths of seconds were all that stood between Darlington’s Middle School boys' track team and the Area title on April 29. Unfortunately, Rockmart pulled ahead leaving the Tigers in the No. 2 slot. The girls finished No. 3 behind Pepperell and Rome.
"The boys turned in their most dominant performance in recent history, crowning Area champions in the 1600, the 4x100 relay, the 4x400 relay and second-place finishes in the 1600, the 800, and the 200," said head coach Jason Turner. "Along the way, school records were set in the 1600 by Jesse Baker, the long jump by Cedric Spivey and Cameron Gibson, and the 4x400 relay team. Cameron also broke the 200-meter record."
These performances helped the Tigers score 85 points for one of their best Area finishes in the last 10 years.
“Our girls’ program has been strong lately, finishing second in the Area in each of the last three years,” Turner said, "but we had a special group of boys this year who are talented, hard-working and extremely competitive. If they stay together, they have a chance to do some great things in Class A in the coming years.”
Baker’s record-setting run of 5:13 broke Connor McWhorter’s three-year-old record of 5:19 and helped the Tigers to an early lead. He followed that with a third-place run in the 800 behind Erik Griffiths, who took second in the 800 and 1600. Griffiths also finished third in the 400.
But it was Gibson who shined the brightest for the Tigers. Running on the second leg of the 4x100 relay team, he helped Spivey, Ivy Duggan and Shaquielle Calhoun win the Area title after Rockmart was disqualified for an exchange violation. That foursome leaves as Area champions – the first for Darlington in more than a decade – and the school record, turned last week with a time of 46.99 seconds.
Earlier in the day Gibson watched Spivey break Jay Stephens’ long jump record (17 feet, 10 inches, 2007), then leaped past that with a jump of 18 feet, 10.5 inches. But Gibson’s most impressive performance came in the 200 when he dashed his way to a time of 23.68 seconds, bettering Duggan’s record of 24.84. That earned Gibson a second-place finish. Duggan broke the 25.7 record last week, a mark that stood at the Middle School since 1994 by John Foss ('98).
The most thrilling event of the night was the 4x400 relay. Duggan’s blazing third leg gave Myles Englis a lead he would hold, and the Tigers brought home the Area title in that event and set the school record with a time of 4:03.82. Joining Duggan and Englis were Spivey and Kendrick Rhea.
Also placing for the boys were Calhoun (second – shot put, fourth – 100), Spivey (sixth – long jump), Spencer Jones (sixth – triple jump and 400) and Duggan (fifth – 200).
The girls’ three-year string of second-place finishes came up a half-point short to Rome, which was outdistanced by Pepperell. The Lady Dragons once again won the Area with 102 points.
“I think our girls are disappointed they came out third, but this was easily the strongest team we’ve had in a long time," Turner said. "Considering how big and deep Pepperell and Rome are, I think we can be very proud of our performance. There’s no shortage of talent among our girls, either. They will have a chance to make a lot of noise with some already talented girls in our Upper School if they stay with the program.”
Kenzie Major had a great night for the Lady Tigers, scoring 24 points in three individual events – including an Area title in the 400 – and also anchoring the 4x400 team that shattered the 1996 school record of 4:49.6. Major, Allison Wetherington, Allie Hurley and Lindsay Evans cruised to a time of 4:40.0, erasing the names of Ana Monroe Fitzner, Katie Van Es, Lindsay Harbin and Diana Hamlin.
Major finished second in the high jump, third in the triple jump and turned a lap of 64.85 seconds to win the 400, narrowly missing the record Megan Betts (’05) set in 2001 (63.9).
Wetherington was equally dominant, running by teammate Ansley McDurmon’s record (5:40.1) in the 1600 with a title-clenching time of 5:34. McDurmon bested her own personal record with a time of 5:35, giving the Lady Tigers a one-two finish in that event. The Wetherington-McDurmon duo came up with big points again for the Lady Tigers in the 800, finishing second and third, respectively. Wetherington was nudged at the finish line for second but walked away with another school record. Her time of 2:34.55 broke the mark set in 1993 by current Lower School teacher Jennifer Brewster (’98), 2:40.
Also placing for the Lady Tigers were Alea Vick (fifth – 100 hurdles, 4x400 and 100 meters, fourth – 4x100), Carolyn Kipp (third – long jump, fifth – high jump, fourth – 4x100), Mary Bailey Jones (fifth – triple jump, fourth – 4x100), Hurley (fifth – 400), Anna Cantrell (fifth - 4x400), Greer Broyles (fourth – 4x100), Bailey Brock (fifth – 4x400) and Maggie Beth Atha (fifth – 4x400).
