Start girls, Bowsher boys repeat as City track and field champs

May 14—After a one-year hiatus, the Start girls and Bowsher boys track and field teams took up where they left off by repeating as champions of the City League.

On Thursday at Start, the Spartans girls team won 11 of the 12 running events and 12 of the 17 events overall. Start finished with 184 points, while Rogers was second (105), followed by Scott (51), and Bowsher (49).

Start senior Jimesha Ragland, whose nickname is "Little Bit," took home four medals.

"I like the sound of it. I missed the sound of it," Ragland said of the medals clanging around her neck after the meet. "I'm proud of the team today. We got first in most of our events, and I'm excited."

Ragland won the 100 and 200 sprint events, and she also was part of the Spartans' first-place 400 and 800 relay teams.

In 2019, Start coach Ric Turner guided the Spartans to the school's first CL girls title since 1982. Turner said missing last season was tough.

"It had been 32 years. They really wanted to go back to states [last spring]," Turner said. "These kids just wanted it. It was a hungry group. I've never seen kids so hungry to be good. It's a special group. Each of these ladies did well. I'm proud of them," Turner said. "I try to make track fun. We stay relaxed and joke around a lot. They enjoy it."

In the 100, Ragland sprinted to the win in a personal best time of 12.47 seconds, while teammate Laryah Worthy was second in 12.78.

"I used to just run and never noticed how fast as I was," Ragland said. "Now that I'm senior, I can tell I'm a little bit faster than most people. But I'm humble with it. I just go about my day."

Ragland took first in 26.05 in the 200.

"Taking a year off was tough because I wanted to go back to states. I felt like our junior year we would have done well," Ragland said. "I think we'll make it back to states this year."

Start's Sinai Douglas won the 1,600 and 3,200. Douglas posted a time of 12:32.41 to win the 3,200. In the 1,600, Douglas placed first (5:32) and her teammate Aneesa Perez was second (5:59.36).

Perez took first place in the 800 with a time of 2:45.56.

Start's Katrease Price earned 20 points for her team by winning the 100 hurdles and high jump.

"That was her first time in the high jump. She was injured last year, so that was huge for her," Turner said.

Price got 10 points for winning the high jump with a leap of 4-8, then earned 10 more points when she crossed first in the hurdling event with a time of 16.41.

The Spartans also won all three relay events.

Ragland, who was named the meet's track MVP, also led off for the Spartans' 800 relay team followed by Aniya Young, Worthy, and Cierra Fizer, which won with a time of 1:49.2.

The foursome also teamed up to win the 400 relay in a time of 50.6 seconds.

Start's Aryanni Harris won the 400 (67.29) and was the lead-off runner in the team's victorious 3,200 relay team. Harris teamed up with Madeline Meyers, Melaina Barboza, and Aryanna Harris to place first with a time of 11:59.89.

The Spartans capped their home meet with a win in the 1,600 as Jasmine Shuttlewood, Tamyah Worthy, Aryanni Harris, and Aryanna Harris clocked in at 4:35.89.

Turner said he switched the lineup of his relay teams because of injuries.

"We were looking forward to coming back and repeating last year. I feel sorry for the seniors that we lost and didn't get a chance for this," Turner said. "So I'm proud of these girls. We'll keep taking it one meet at a time."

The Rogers girls took first in three of the field events led by double event winner Mikaylah Marshall, who was named the field MVP.

In the shot put, Marshall took first with a throw of 36-4. In the discus, Marshall won with a toss of 102-10 1/2 . The Rams' Abigail Fredericks won the pole vault (7-7).

Clare Logan of Scott won the long jump (17-1 1/4 ). In the 300 hurdles, Tori Godfrey of Monclova Christian placed first in 52.56.

In the boys' meet, Bowsher lived up to the school's newly installed nickname, the Blue Racers. Bowsher won seven events and amassed 161.5 points, while Rogers finished second (86.5), followed by Waite 79 and Start 77.

Bowsher senior Allen Gustrowsky took first individually in the 800, 1600, and 3200 and also led the Blue Racers' 3200 relay team to a title.

"It's nice to do well individually, but it is a team sport as well," Gustrowsky said. "So I'm really happy our team took the win today."

Bowsher coach Keith Hershey said missing last year's meet due to the coronavirus pandemic was difficult.

"Then we started this school year without kids in the classroom. We started running before we actually started school. It wasn't an ideal situation, but I've never had a better team as far as work ethic," Hershey said. "I thought we had too small of a team number-wise, but they all scored well. I've never been more proud of a team. It was special."

Gustrowsky, who won the meet's track MVP award, took first in the 800 with a time of 2:14.44.

"For him to win four distance events is so hard to do," Hershey said. "I put him in the two-mile just to pick up some points. I did not expect him to win it. He had just run the 800. I just put him in and he went crazy."

In the 3,200 relay, Bowsher's team of Gustrowsky, Dylan Hershey, Cayden Taylor, and Malakye Smith took first (11:04.07).

The Blue Racers placed 1-2 in the 1,600, with Gustrowsky winning the event (4:49.44) followed by Dylan Hershey (4:50.06), who is one of the coach's twin sons.

Gustrowsky also won the 3,200 with a time of 10:42.35.

"I'm was really happy with how I did," Gustrowsky said. "It was a good day today. It took a lot of preparation. I kind of figured out what works and how I can recover quickly. You have to drink a lot of water and rest between events. It's a lot of trial and error."

Bowsher junior Marcash Johnson proved to be the fastest runner in the city when he took the 100-meter race with a time of 11.71 seconds. Johnson also led the Blue Racers' 800 relay team to victory.

In the 800 relay, Vincent Johnson, Marcash Johnson, Tabri Triplett, and Elias Triplett placed first (1:35.36).

Bowsher's Omarion Dotson took first in the shot put with a toss of 40-4 1/2 .

Start senior Kaleb Wanamaker, who sported a bright orange hairdo, took home three medals despite competing in track for the first time since the eighth grade.

Wanamaker, who was named the field athlete of the meet, was a double-event winner in the field events. In the high jump, Wanamaker placed first with a leap of 5-feet, 10-inches. He also won the long jump (20-3).

Wanamaker led the Spartans' 400 relay time to victory in a time of 46.43 along with Trayshaun Wilson, Crishon Clarke, and Jaycob Boose.

"It feels really good, especially this being my first year out," said Wannamaker, a standout in football and basketball who tore his ACL before his sophomore year. "I really tried to come in and win four events. But I had a mishap in the 4-by-2. I had trouble on the hand-off [the team finished second]. I really enjoyed it today."

Jordan Spears of Rogers won the discus with a throw of 98-1 1/2 . The Rams also took first in the pole vault as Corey Loeffler won with a vault of 13-6.

Waite's 1,600 relay team of Dylan Chavez, Donovan Reese, Tekle Rogers, and Caleb Eischen won the last event with a time of 3:58.63.

First Published May 13, 2021, 10:25pm