Off to the Races: Atlanta boys cruise; Lady Leopards charge at Runnin' Rabb Relays

Atlanta's Ri'Chonda Harris competes in the girl's 4x200 on Saturday during the Runnin' Rabb Relays at Rabbit Stadium in Atlanta, Texas.
Atlanta's Ri'Chonda Harris competes in the girl's 4x200 on Saturday during the Runnin' Rabb Relays at Rabbit Stadium in Atlanta, Texas.

ATLANTA, Texas-Legendary Atlanta coaches Gordon Pynes and Ben Scharnberg were on hand to watch the host Rabbs run past their opposition in the 21st annual Runnin' Rabb Relays.

Atlanta's boys piled up 194 points to easily outdistance Liberty-Eylau's 125 total. Tatum followed at 95, with Texas High fourth at 91 and Kaufman fifth with 90.

Despite losing points to their junior varsity, Liberty-Eylau girls won their division over Atlanta, 145 to 125. Gilmer was a distant third at 85, followed by Kaufman 84 and Texas High 79.

"I've had this group of seniors since they were freshmen, and I can't tell you how proud I am of them for competing as hard as they did," Atlanta coach Nick Miller said. "We're working hard to get our program back to where it was, and these kids are getting better each meet."

photo

Ann Clemmer mug shot for elections page

Atlanta's boys finished second in all three relay events, posting season best times.

The Rabbs were third after the field events and 3200 meters. Their charge was ignited by a 1-2 finish in the 100 by Jawan King and Reggie Blaylock.

Curtis Smith won the 400 and teammate Luke Anthony was third.

Their point total continued to climb when Calvin Rowe and Josh Edwards placed second and third in the 300 hurdles, respectively. Desmond Webster and Ahmad Dickerson were second and third in the 200, respectively.

Trin Taylor of Atlanta was individual high-points with 26, 10 coming in the long jump when he prevailed with a leap of 21-6.

L-E took home six gold medal efforts, including the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Kevin Florence, Orion Thompson, Korbyn White and Duan Johnson won the shorter relay in 42.6. The same group won the 4x200 in 1:28.99.

The Leopards had a small lead after the field events thanks to wins by Zanoah Arnold in the shot put (45-2 1/2) and Decorian Phillips in the triple jump (45-4).

Hurdler Nakori Harris won gold in both the 110 (16.0) and 300 (40.68).

Two records tumbled in the girls' division.

L-E trailed the Lady Rabbs, 102 to 76 after the 4x200. That's when Helensia Green eclipsed a 12-year-old record in the 400 with a time of 58.39.

The Leopards pulled away with a 2-3-4 finish in the 300 hurdles, and a 1-2-3 in the 200 by Lamiah George, Skylier Bailey and Danielle Thomas.

Ironically, Aaliyah Thompson ran for L-E's junior varsity and won the 300 in 47.74. The same thing happened in the 100 hurdles when Taoni Reynolds, a member of the L-E jayvee, won in 15.88, while her varsity teammates placed second and third.

Atlanta's Teshuna Sheppard established a new record in the triple jump by clearing 38-11 1/2. Surprisingly, she was disappointed after the event.

"I know I should have jumped farther," Sheppard said. "I jumped over 39 feet in my last meet."

Sheppard, a silver medalist at last year's 4A state meet, will be attending the University of Central Arkansas next fall on a track scholarship.

L-E's girls were fourth after the field events and 3200 finals. It looked bad for the Leopards when they finished third in the 4x100, and didn't even qualify for the 4x200. Their dominance in the sprints and hurdles made up for those disappointments.

The Leopards were less than a second off the meet record in the 4x400 when Lamiah George, Lauren George, Green and Bailey won in 4:02.11.

Atlanta's boys also won the junior varsity division with 155 points. Kaufman was second at 122, and Linden-Kildare's varsity third with 116.

See top three places in each event in today's section.

Upcoming Events