Pinewood Girls named GIAA Region 2AAA Track Champions, Boys Region Runner-up

 

By: Ella Johns, PCA senior

Pinewood’s varsity track teams traveled to Georgia Southern University on April 17^th to compete in the GIAA Region Championship. Schools that competed at the event included:  Pinewood (PCA), Bulloch Academy (BA), Westminster Schools of Augusta (WSA), Frederica Academy (FA), and St. Andrews School (SAS).

Pinewood’s girls were titled Region Champions with 205 points. BA came in second with 188 points followed by WSA with 102, FA with 16, and SAS with 8.  Head Coach Kasey Blaxton was also named the 2024 Region Coach of the Year.

For the boys’ competition, Pinewood was region runner-up with 144 points following behind WSA’s win with 153 points. BA finished with 141 points, SAS with 43, and FA with 43.

Ava Anderson, daughter of Will and Hannah Anderson of Register, claimed the AAA High Point Award for the girls as she scored 31.5 points in 5 combined track and field events.  She earned the title of Region Champion in 3 out of his 5 events including 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and the 400 meter relay “Winning region meant a lot to our team. We have been through a lot this season. Everyone pitched in and did what they could to earn points for the team, and it paid off. I’m thankful for my coaches for pushing me and my parents for always supporting me,” shared Anderson.

Jake Rogers, son of James and Cyndi Rogers of Claxton, claimed the High Points Award for the boys with a total point score of 34 points in 5 combined track and field events.  He earned the title of Region Champion in 4 out of his 5 events including long jump, 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and the 400 meter relay. “Our boys’ team really stepped up at the Region Tournament.  We had to overcome some injuries in key runners and had to substitute with younger guys who really came through for us.  While we came up just a few points short of winning region, I was very proud of how hard our team worked.  It was also a great honor to win the High Point Award and to be able to contribute to the team.  We are looking forward to the State Tournament this week”.

Those taking champion status thru 3^rd place, earned a spot at the state meet. State will be held at Brookstone School in Columbus, Georgia, this Thursday thru Saturday, April 25^th– 27^th. A full breakdown of events with each trackster’s placement, racing times and field distances is as follows:

Events:

Discus

Girls:

1^st – Jaeley MacGregor (101’7”)

3^rd – Lara Durrence (85’)

Boys:

2^nd – Kaedan Arnold (107’9”)

6^th– Wyatt Dasher (88’1”)

 

Shot Put

Girls:

1^st – Jaeley MacGregor (34’1”)

5^th – Lara Durrence (26’)

Boys:

5^th – Wyatt Dasher (35’1”)

7^th – Hudson Howard (33’5”)

 

Long Jump

Girls:

1^st – Carrington Dutton (15’4 ¾”)

4^th – Becky Edwards (15’1 ½”)

Boys:

1^st – Jake Rogers (22’2”)

4^th – Kaedan Arnold (19’1”)

 

Triple Jump

Girls:

1^st – Jorja Cowart (31’8 ¼”)

5^th – Ava Anderson (28’1”)

Boys:

1^st – Tyson Swindell (41’1 ½”)

2^nd – Kaedan Arnold (39’10”)

 

High Jump

Girls:

2^nd – Ever Downs (4’6”)

4^th– Payton Cowart (4’4”)

Boys:

1^st – Walker Todd (6’3”)

6^th – Pearce Dutton (5’8”)

 

Pole Vault

Girls:

3^rd – Laci Stone (7’6”) PR

4^th – Becky Edwards (6’)

Boys:

1^st – Jesse McLendon (10”6’)

2^nd – Johnny Fries (10’)

 

4×800 Relay

Girls:

1^st – A Team – Ginny Nutting, Payton Cowart, Ever Downs, Adelyn Ammermon (10:54)

4^th – B Team –Helen McDonald, Ella Johns, Jorja Cowart, Laci Stone (11:43)

Boys:

6^th – A Team – Grayson Brinkley, George Bradley, Kevin Wasson, Rans McCall (10:18)

7^th – B Team – Wesley Tippins, Cash Bland, Folsom Pound, Maddox Akins (10:49)

 

1600 Meters

Girls:

5^th – Helen McDonald (6:31)

 

100 Meters Hurdles

Girls:

1^st – Becky Edwards (16.99)

3^rd – Taylor Bland (17.10)

 

110 Meters Hurdles

Boys:

3^rd – Tyson Swindell (17.40)

5^th – Seth Dekle (19.07)

 

100 Meters

Girls:

1^st – Ava Anderson (13:04)

3^rd– Katelin Smith (13.21)

Boys:

1^st – Jake Rogers (10.94)

5^th – Walker Todd (11.72)

 

800 Meters

Girls:

3^rd – Adelyn Ammermon (2:35)

5^th – Payton Cowart (2:49)

Boys:

4^th – Cash Bland (2:21)

5^th – George Bradley (2:22)

 

4×100 Relay

Girls:

1^st – A team – Ava Anderson, Katelin Smith, Becky Edwards, Taylor Bland (51.73)

2^nd – B Team – Ever Downs, Carrington Dutton, Riley Nevil, Cassidi Lynn (54.05)

Boys:

1^st – A Team – Kaedan Arnold, Jojo Tippet, Walker Todd, Jake Rogers (44.56)

5^th – B Team – Pearce Dutton, Jesse McLendon, Tyson Swindell, Bryson Croft (46.74)

 

400 Meters 

Girls:

3^rd – Ginny Nutting (67.11)

4^th – Payton Cowart (68.09)

Boys:

4^th – Bryson Croft (55.24)

300 Hurdles

Girls:

1^st – Taylor Bland (50.30)

4^th – Riley Nevil (52.60)

Boys:

2^nd – Tyson Swindell (45.22)

5^th – Seth Dekle (47.50)

 

200 Meters

Girls:

1^st – Ava Anderson (27.42)

3^rd – Ever Downs (28.01)

Boys:

1^st – Jake Rogers (22.68)

4^th – Walker Todd (24.78)

 

3200 Meters 

Girls:

4^th – Ella Johns (16:53)

5^th – Priscilla Dillon (19:05)

Boys:

6^th – Maddox Akins (14:31)

 

4×400 Relay

Girls:

2^nd – A Team –Riley Nevil, Ginny Nutting, Payton Cowart, Taylor Bland (4:24)

4^th – B Team –Helen McDonald, Laci Stone, Ava Anderson, Jorja Cowart (4:45)

Boys:

3^rd – A Team – Kaedan Arnold, Bryson Croft, George Bradley, Jake Rogers (3:48)

5^th – B Team –Pearce Dutton, Walker Todd, Tyson Swindell, Kevin Wasson (3:57)