Sullivan East’s Eads, Daniel Boone’s Varghese, Science Hill’s Crigger Mine Gold at State Track Meet

Sullivan East’s Eads, Daniel Boone’s Varghese, Science Hill’s Crigger Mine Gold at State Track Meet
2017 Class A/AA State Shot Put Champion Hunter Eads of Sullivan East. TriCitiesSports.com photo.
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
May 26, 2017

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Sullivan East’s Hunter Eads and Daniel Boone’s Ben Varghese took state gold at the 2017 TSSAA State Track Meet Friday afternoon and evening at the Dean A Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.

Eads won the Class A/AA shot put event with a toss of 50-1¾ inches. He’s the first male thrower ever to win a state title for East.

“Our school really celebrates its state champions,” said Eads. “So it’s something I’ve looked forward to since my sophomore season. I look forward to having my banner up there with the other Sullivan East state champions.”

Eads is also the fifth Patriot state titlist in track and field over the last five years, joining Cliff Hawkins (2012 Decathtlon) and Luke Meade (2015 3200 Meters, 2016 800 Meters, 2016 1600 Meters).

Eads was the top qualifier coming into the event and wanted to post a solid number early.

“I had some butterflies, but I got that number on my second throw, which was good because I was getting tired after the discus and the shot back-to-back.”

The number on his first throw, 49-3¼, would have been good enough to take the event as well. A pair of scratches followed in his last two attempts but no other competitor had mustered a toss within two feet of Eads’ mark.

“I was able to put the pressure on the rest of the field,” added Eads, who earlier had finished fourth in the discus (131-4). “It was a good way to go out as a Patriot.”

Ditto for seniors Ben Varghese of Daniel Boone and Alex Crigger of Science Hill.

After four years of knocking on the door of a state title in both cross country and track, Crigger burst through to win the Class AAA 1600 meter state championship.

Leading from the outset, Crigger, a University of Tennessee signee, had enough left on the final lap to cross in 4:17.97, holding off Cookeville’s Conner Hawkins who finished at 4:19.43.

While Varghese managed just a sixth place in the 1600 meters, the ETSU signee showed his mettle with a gritty comeback to defend his Class AAA 3200 meter state title.

Varghese erased a ten-second deficit at the halfway point to finish with a time of 9:13.42 and win by five seconds of Henry County’s Titus Winders.

Varghese started the day with a leg on Boone’s 4x800 meter relay team that finished third, giving him three all-state performances, enough to lift the ‘Blazers to a fifth-place finish in the team competition with 29 points. It was the fourth straight top five finish for Boone.

Ryan Jacomet started the effort with a fourth-place in the pole vault on Thursday, clearing 13-6. Noah Shelton jumped 6-4 in the high jump Friday to place fourth.

Unfortunately, a stomach virus continued to plaque Dobyns-Bennett senior Bryce Barrett. The University of Nebraska signee ran despite illness in the sectional meet two weeks ago, but could not do the same on Friday.

Barrett, the defending state champion in the 400 meters and three-time state champion overall, finished 14th in the 400 (51.16) and ninth in the 200 (22.80) before giving way to Kinden Reyes in the 4x400 meter relay.

“That’s a tough way for Bryce to go out,” said Dobyns-Bennett coach Bob Bingham. “I know he’s disappointed, but if that’s the worst thing that ever happens to him, he’ll be alright.”

Reyes stepped in and helped Dee Wiliams, Jordan Murray and Jeamy Williams to a sixth-place finish at 3:22.96.

“Really special what Kinden and those guys were able to do,” added Bingham. “Their time was right at what we won it with two years ago. That’s a really neat story right there.”

Williams posted an impressive fifth place (50.07) in the 400 meters and ran a sub 49-second leg on the 4x400 meter relay.

“Again, Jeamy has kind of been behind the scenes,” continued Bingham, “but he won’t be for long.”

Other area athletes notching all-state honors were hurdlers Fletcher Hickman of Cherokee and Sullivan South’s Ethan Ward. Hickman finished seventh in the Class AAA 300 meter hurdles (40.00) while Ward placed fourth in the Class A/AA 110 meter hurdles (15.72).

Porter Bradley of University High was fifth in the Class A/AA 3200 meters (10:23.34) and Unicoi County’s Andrew Bowen placed fifth in the Class A/AA pole vault (11-6).

Bearden junior Joshua Sobota won the shot put with a heave that landed completely clear of the competition area and was eventually measured at 63-8¼.

Sobota, however, had an even more impressive throw in the discus, uncorking a state record 190-3, topping the previous mark set two years ago by Gallatin’s Brett Neelly at 189-1. Sobota’s mark was over 41 feet clear of runner-up Landon Harrell of Heritage (148-9).

Former Kingsport resident Stone Page finished fourth in the discus at 146-2 for Franklin.

Memphis Central nipped Brentwood, 62½ to 60, for the Class AAA boys’ title while Knox Catholic took the Class A/AA boys’ championship.

2017 TSSAA Boys State Track & Field Championships
Dean Hayes Soccer & Track Stadium
May 22-25, 2017

CLASS AAA

TEAM RESULTS – 1. Memphis Central 67½; 2. Brentwood 60; 3. Hillsboro 39; 4. Houston 37; 5. Daniel Boone 29; 6. Bearden 28; t-7. West Creek 26, Cordova 26; t-9. Cleveland 25, Siegel 25; t-20. Dobyns-Bennett 13; t-23. Science Hill 10; t-51. Cherokee 2.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Decathlon – 1. Rashad Haynes, Memphis Central, 6477; 2. Jett Kinder, Brentwood, 6357; 3. Kyle Costner, Brentwood, 6309.

Long Jump – 1. Isaiah Norman, Cordova, 23-4¼; 2. Jalen Tate, West Creek, 22-6½; 3. Keegan Jones, Cleveland, 22-4¾; 14. Aziz Dunn, Dobyns-Bennett, 19-10¾.

Triple Jump – 1. Jalen Tate, West Creek, 48-3½; 2. Courtney Thomas, Memphis Central, 45-5; 3. Dahndray Holmes, Rossview, 44-3.

High Jump – 1. Emilio Martin, Blackman, 6-5; 2. Shawn Stacy, Bearden, 6-4; 3. Tanner Dobyns-Bennett, 6-4; 4. Noah Shelton, Daniel Boone, 6-4.

Shot Put – 1. Joshua Sobota, Bearden, 63-8¼; 2. Spencer Goode, Bradley Central, 56-7½; 3. Michael Redding, South-Doyle, 50-8¾.

Discus – 1. Joshua Sobota, Bearden, 190-03; 2. Landon Harrell, Heritage, 148-9; 3. Isaiah Martin, West Creek, 147-0.

Pole Vault – 1. Cole Shea, Mt. Juliet, 14-6; 2. Jett Kinder, Brentwood, 14-0; 3. Garrett Lee, Brentwood, 14-0; 4. Ryan Jacomet, Daniel Boone, 13-6.

100 Meters – 1. Michael Scruggs, Riverdale, 10.963; 2. Donovan Whitmore, Siegel, 10.968; 3. Rashad Haynes, Memphis Central, 10.99.

200 Meters – 1. Donovan Whitmore, Siegel, 21.83; 2. Elijah Dryer, Ravenwood, 22.14; 3. DeQuan Dallas, Melrose, 22:16; 9. Bryce Barrett, Dobyns-Bennett, 22.80.

400 Meters – 1. Sir Newton Lee, Memphis East, 48.18; 2. Brendan Elrod, Cumberland County, 48.24; 3. Xavien Hughes, Germantown, 49.03; 5. Jeamy Williams, Dobyns-Bennett, 50.07; 14. Bryce Barrett, Dobyns-Bennett, 51.16.

800 Meters – 1. Colin Jones, Houston, 1:54.53; 2. Keaton Jones, Houston, 1:54.85; Kenton Bachmann, Hardin Valley, 1:54.99; 10. Alex Crigger, Science Hill, 2:01.89.

1600 Meters – 1. Evan Crigger, Science Hill, 4:17.97; 2. Conner Hawkins, Cookevile, 4:19.43; 3. John Elrod, Wilson Central, 4:22.56; 6. Ben Varghese, Daniel Boone, 4:27.63.

3200 Meters – 1. Ben Varghese, Daniel Boone, 9:13.42; 2. Titus Winders, Henry County, 9:18.42; 3. Silas Winders, Henry County, 9:27.40.

110 Meter Hurdles – 1. Benjedi Casseus, Cleveland, 15.23; 2. Kyle Costner, Brentwood, 15.30; 3. Zeke Westfield, Walker Valley, 15.40; 11. Reese Cornett, Dobyns-Bennett, 15.84.

300 Meter Hurdles – 1. Courtney Thomas, Memphis Central, 38.43; 2. Damon Hodge, Hillsboro, 38.74; 3. Josh Owten, Memphis Central, 38.97; 7. Fletcher Hickman, Cherokee, 40.00.

4x100 Meter Relay – 1. Hillsboro, 42.48; 2. Memphis East, 42.50; 3. Cordova, 42.57; 11. Science Hill, 43.57.

4x200 Meter Relay – 1. Hillsboro, 1:27.04; 2. Memphis Central, 1:27.25; 3. Melrose, 1:27.84; 10. Dobyns-Bennett, 1:29.70.

4x400 Meter Relay – 1. Germantown, 3:20.84; 2. Houston, 3:21.36; 3. Hillsboro, 3:21.44; 6. Dobyns-Bennett, 3:22.96; 10. Science Hill, 3:25.97.

4x800 Meter Relay – 1. Houston, 7:58.51; 2. Blackman, 8:03.53; 3. Daniel Boone, 8:06.53.


CLASS A/AA

TEAM RESULTS – 1. Knox Catholic 66½; 2. Maplewood 55; 3. Pearl Cohn 47; 4. CPA 37½; 5. Liberty Tech 31; 6. Austin-East 31; 7. Page 27; 8. East Nashville 26½; 9. L&N Stem Academy 23; 10. Red Bank 22; 17. Sullivan East 16; t-36. Sullivan South 5; t-43. University High 4; t-49. Unicoi County 3.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Decathlon – 1. Ryan Charles, CPA, 5739; 2. Joachim Kennedy, Hume-Fogg, 5593; 3. Jaque Ross, Dyersburg, 5308.

Long Jump – 1. Joseph Norwood, Brainerd, 22-4½; 2. Quinton Poole, Creek Wood, 22-4¼; 3. Kortland Martin, Humboldt, 22-3.

Triple Jump – 1. Jaylen Foster, L&N Stem Academy, 44-5; 2. Jaque Ross, Dyersburg, 43-6; 3. Deanthony Hill, Mitchell, 42-8.

High Jump – 1. Ryan Charles, CPA, 6-4; 2. Timetrick Hodges, Maplewood, 6-4; 3. Raishun Morris, Hillcrest, 6-2.

Shot Put – 1. Hunter Eads, Sullivan East, 50-1¾; 2. Rodderick Cummings, East Nashville, 47-11½; 3. Elijah Simmons, Pearl Cohn, 47-10¼.

Discus – 1. Donald Johnson, Page, 146-4; 2. Ian Williams, Alcoa, 142-11; 3. Evan Grooms, Greeneville, 137-7; 4. Hunter Eads, 131-4.

Pole Vault – 1. Garrett McQuain, Lipscomb Academy, 13-6; 2. Bobby Willingham, CPA, 13-0; 3. Paul Schwarzentraub, L&N Stem Academy, 13-0; 6. Andrew Bowen, Unicoi County, 11-6.

100 Meters – 1. Jeremy McDowell, Maplewood, 11.08; 2. Kedrick Wilbanks, Red Bank, 11.09; 3. Kendrick Wilbanks, Red Bank, 11.31.

200 Meters – 1. Jeremy McDowell, Maplewood, 22.00; 2. Walter Miller, Millington Central, 22.19; 3. Nickson Pierre, Pearl Cohn, 22.77.

400 Meters – 1. Nickson Pieree, Pearl Cohn, 48.47; 2. Emmanuel Bynum, WEB DuBois, 48.87; 3. Walkter Miller, Millington Central, 49.69.

800 Meters – 1. George Goodwyn, Knox Catholic, 1:58.51; 2. Timothy Thacker, Grace Christian, 1:58.97; 3. Jhon-wes Walker, Covington, 1:59.63.

1600 Meters – 1. George Goodwyn, Knox Catholic, 4:31.20; 2. Jake Renfree, Knox Catholic, 4:32.74; 3. Thomas Porter, Signal Mountain, 4:33.06.

3200 Meters – 1. Jake Renfree, Knox Catholic, 10:05.39; 2. Devin Sullivan, Knox Catholic, 10:09.66; 3. George Goodwyn, Knox Catholic, 10:22.46; 5. Porter Bradley, University High, 10:23.34.

110 Meter Hurdles – 1. Brevin Sims, Chattanooga School of Arts & Sciences, 14.84; 2. Michael McMahan, Page, 14.85; 3. Malik Mcadory, Fairley, 15.26; 4. Ethan Ward, Sullivan South, 15.72.

300 Meter Hurdles – 1. Rodney Castille, Liberty Tech, 37.55; 2. Brevin Sims, Chattanooga Arts & Sciences, 38.49; 3. Kiyontae Warren, Austin-East, 38.84.

4x100 Meter Relay – 1. Maplewood, 41.61; 2. Austin-East, 41.80; 3. Pearl Cohn, 42.10.

4x200 Meter Relay – 1. Austin-East, 1:27.62; 2. Pearl Cohn, 1:27.68; 3. Liberty Tech, 1:28.23.

4x400 Meter Relay – 1. Knox Catholic, 8:17.66; 2. Craigmont, 8:22.85; 3. City University School of Liberal Arts, 8:29.49.

4x800 Meter Relay – 1. Liberty Tech, 3:20.48; 2. Maplewood, 3:20.58; 3. Pearl Cohn, 3:22.55.

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