Those of you that were able to attend the U of M HS invitational Saturday (3/17) were given the opportunity to see several high-level performances. Let’s start with the Track Meet itself. Coach Robinson (Head Coach) can honestly say he has a super team of NCAA Student-Athletes. These student-athletes were all over the track, moving hurdles, helping with field events, encouraging the competitors, and helping at the finish line (I especially liked the bell lap ringers). After one of the races, I watched as one of the U of M athletes kindly helped a weary competitor off the track and kept her moving and did not let go of her until she knew she was feeling ok. Nice touch U of M. The marketing campaign about student-athletes going professional in something other than the sport they compete is certainly on display at the U of M, these student-athletes were exceptional hosts and you can tell they’re proud of their Track venue! And the meet announcer… well, he just added that little extra with the on track interviews, the cheering on of so many competitors, and especially his way of getting the spectators into the action on the track. Several hours at a track meet and he just made the time that much better! Truly an exceptional and well-run meet. Look at the pictures on the TN Runner meet site and you’ll see some of these student-athletes in action.
Add to that the actual track and field events themselves and it made for an even more exciting day of Run, Jumps, and Throws. Thirteen meet records were broken with a total of twenty competitors 10 actually breaking the meet records in those thirteen events. Also there were 10 national elite performances, and 33 TN Runner Elites (https://tn.milesplit.com/standards/17) posted at the meet. There was also some very close calls on breaking more records, like 100/200 winner Brittany Chism breaking the 100 record and narrowly missing the 200 record of 25.51 by running a 25.52. Her 12.07 in the 100 was faster than the 12.33 she ran the previous week at the Jamboree. Tamara Wilson of Craigmont was just 0.08 away from a 400 record on her way to winning that event. A really impressive record came from Southwind girl sprinters posting a 48.36 in the 4x100 – well over a second faster than the record. Those Southwind girls then went on and won the 4x200 with a record breaking 1:43.03. How fast are these girls!
Just as the threat of rain started to pelt down rain drops, the boys 800M got under way. But just as the excitable meet announcer pointed out, it wasn’t doing a thing to slow down Kameron Long of Southwind. He started out the race with a commanding lead and had everyone wondering if he was about to die as he blistered the first lap and started his second. But not even a chance, another meet record was taken down as he finished with a 1:56.43 and soon after that, what little rain was falling, stopped. Following Kameron in were the Houston boys taking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and showing why they ran so well in winning the 4x800 relay earlier. The girls 4x800 was taken by Craigmont, improving their time from a week ago by over 30 seconds. Alden Dixon of Arlington ran his heart out in the 1600 and broke yet another meet record and a national elite ranking with a fast time of 4:24.83. Ronald Boyett of Houston was right on his tail as he also broke the meet record coming in second with a time of 4:26.42j.
I suppose with the potential for watching the fastest sprint events, there are a lot of track fans that look forward to when the boys sprinting events are on the track. Noah Arrindell, the young sophomore sprinter showed he can fly with a 10.78 (100M) and 21.94 (200M) and proving he is going to be tough to beat for the next three years! And after talking with Noah after his events, you know the polite and smiling speedster is just wondering himself how fast he can be. Of course, Bartlett (Dameccio Ewing) and Southwind (Roman White and Cedric Miller) are right on his shoulder and no doubt will have their game face on the next time they meet. All the better for those of us who are Track & Field fans!
As is the case with most relays, the boys and girls 4x400 relays were another electrifying event to watch. The Craigmont girls started the first lap with the lead and continued to build on that until they broke the meet record with a time of 4:06.93. That race was exciting enough but when the boys stepped up, the battle that broke out between Houston and Southwind proved even more thrilling! Each lap was a battle and not even sure how many times the lead changed until Arlington finally took the lead for good and won in a record time of 3:29.80. Southwind’s time of 3:31.23 also broke the record. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record myself but with twenty performances under record time, it’s hard not to!
The field events had no shortage of excitement either. Houston throwing star, Hunter Harris went over the record with his shot put of 51’9” and was followed by teammate Wade Wells (49’4”) and Avery Gennessy (48’5”) of Southaven. All three men broke the meet record Saturday. Hunter didn’t fare as well in the Discus, fouling out on his attempts but as the case is in the throws, he was only inches from sending out another huge toss. But no worries for Houston, as teammates Wade Wells (147’7”, 1st place) and Sam Kempka (117’5”, 3rd place) stepped up as usual. Southaven Avery Gennessy threw a 125’5” to take second. Houston vaulters did a 1-2-3 sweep in the pole vault with Jacob Shaheen vaulting 14’0” to lead the way for his teammates. Craigmont spring legged leaper, Jacobie Richmond followed her win at the Jamboree the previous week with a jump two inches higher and a new meet record of 5’6”. That High Jump record was previously held by Arlington class of 2011 standout and Southern Illinois athlete, Jasmine Johnson. Robneisha Lee (Munford, 1st in 17’0.25”) and Amber Parker (Bartlett, 2nd in 16’10”) are adding to the large group of long jumpers that look to make late May an exciting time to look forward to.
There is no doubt that I could write on for hours about this meet and the great performances. The bottom line, Track & Field is going to be very exciting this season! Thanks to Coach Fortenberry for the wealth of knowledge about the U of M facilities - all great information and an excellent venue for a meet – especially a High School Meet! If you are any kind of Track enthusiast, I would make sure you mark April 27 & 28 on your calendar – that’s the University of Memphis Invitational and would be a great meet to come and watch. And – no doubt – if you are a Memphis area athlete or coach, the U of M High School invitational should be on your calendar for next year – this is a MUST attend meet!