H.S. TRACK: Marshall leads local track contingent with championship
MURFREESBORO – Jalen Marshall will leave Jackson Central-Merry as a very decorated individual.
He ran in four events in the Class A-AA state track meet as part of Spring Fling on Friday, and he took home the gold medal in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.79 seconds. He finished second in the 200-meter dash as well.
He was part of the Cougars’ 4 X 100 relay team that finished third place.
“We all just came in ready to do what we had to do,” Marshall said after running his fourth race of the day. The relay team didn’t place in the 4 X 200 after a dropped baton ended their race early.
Marshall’s gold medal was the first of consecutive races for him to run when the 4 X 200 race was immediately after the 100-meter dash. There wasn’t much time between the races as the Class AAA and Division II 4 X 200 relays were the only races separating Marshall’s races.
“That’s just part of what we do every day in practice,” Marshall said. “In practice, we run constant 200s over and over and over keeping our stamina up and trying to get faster and stay fast as you begin to tire out.”
Marshall and his relay teammates – Robert Patterson, Trayvone French and Tydarius Tyson – did their best to live up to the reputation JCM has established for itself in dashes and relay events in recent years.
“Eric [Chism] and Dez [Maclin] did a lot the last couple years winning state championships,” Marshall said. “It was a lot to live up to because they did so good when they got here.”
Madison’s relay team in the 4 X 800 – Blake Theus, Sam Tilleros, Harrison Holt and Wade Guthrie – finished third in the state with a time of 8:25.34.
“We came in wanting to represent our school well, and we gave it our all out there,” Holt said. “Holt said. “I’m proud of us for what we’ve accomplished today.”
Haywood sprinter DeShawn Toliver finished fourth, two spots behind Marshall, in the 200-meter dash.
“This was my first time up here, so I’ve been training hard to make a good showing,” said Toliver, who is a junior. “I want to come back up here next year and try to do better.”
Here’s a listing of how other rural West Tennessean’s did at the state track meet in Class A-AA.
• Haywood senior Kortavious Jones finished sixth in the 400-meter dash.
• Crockett County junior Jerry Rojas and South Gibson junior Sam Wehner finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 1,600-meter run.
• Jackson Christian sophomore Logan Riddle finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run, and Rojas finished eighth.
• JCM senior Maleic Clark finished sixth in the shot put.
• JCM finished No. 6 in the team rankings from the meet.
Brandon Shields, 425-9751