Meet Rutherford County area's top boys track and field athletes

State and county championships were aplenty for the 2017 Daily News Journal All-Area Boys Track and Field Team.

Among the three finalists for All-Area Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year, there were two state championships and a combined seven county championships.

All-Area Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year Daniel Smith dominated the L.D. Agee County Track and Field Championships to help lead Oakland to the county title.

He won both the 1600- and 800-meter runs while anchoring the Patriots' 4x400 relay that also won a county championship. He competed in several events at state but was battling fatigue and illness, hampering his final results.

Fellow finalists Donovan Whitmore (Siegel) and Michael Scruggs (Riverdale) had quite a showing at both the county and state meets.

Whitmore, a senior, won the Class AAA state 200-meter dash, finished second (by a hundredth of a second) in the 100-meter dash and anchored the 4x100 relay squad that finished fourth at state.

Scruggs, a junior, captured the Class AAA state 100-meter dash title, competed in the 200-meter dash and also helped the Warriors' 4x200 squad place sixth at state.

Blackman freshman Emilio Martin won the Class AAA high jump. The Blaze 4x800 relay team finished second at state while several other area athletes medaled.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

FIRST TEAM

Running

Michael Scruggs
Riverdale, junior
Event: 100-meter dash
Why chosen: Captured the Class AAA state title (10.963), edging rival Donovan Whitmore by a hundredth of a second. Also won the county championship in the 100.

Donovan Whitmore
Siegel, senior
Event: 200-meter dash
Why chosen: Captured the Class AAA state title (21.83) after winning the event in the county championships.

Michael Vogt
Central Magnet, senior
Event: 400-meter dash
Why chosen: Won the county meet (51.25) while finishing fifth in the Class A-AA state meet (51.16).

Daniel Smith
Oakland, senior
Events: 800-, 1600-meter run
Why chosen: All-Area Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year had a huge part of Oakland winning the county championships, winning both the 800- and 1600-meter runs and also anchoring the 4x400 relay team that won first place. Competed in two events at state.

Charles Bennett
Blackman, junior
Event: 800-meter run
Why chosen: Finished 12th in the Class AAA state meet (2:02.89), the only area runner to reach state in the event.

Camren Warner
Blackman, senior
Event: 1600-meter run
Why chosen: Finished 11th in the Class AAA state meet (4:36.60) after taking third in the event in the county championships.

Dawson Reed
Siegel, junior
Event: 3200-meter run
Why chosen: Took seventh overall in the Class AAA state meet (9:56.27).

Brady Fry
Oakland, junior
Event: 110-meter hurdles, 300 hurdles
Why chosen: Won his heat and finished fourth overall in the Class AAA state meet in the 110 hurdles (15.42) after capturing the event at the county championships. Placed 14th overall in the 300 hurdles (42.22) after winning the county meet.

Relays

Siegel
(Marcus Hill, Elijah Walton, Denilson Whitmore, Donovan Whitmore)
Event: 4x100
Why chosen: Took fourth in the Class AAA state meet (43.09) after finishing first in the county championships.

Riverdale
(Jarek Campbell, Troy Hutson, K’shawn Miller, Michael Scruggs)
Event: 4x200
Why chosen: Won their heat while finishing sixth overall (1:28.84) in the Class AAA state meet after winning the county championships.

Blackman
(Michael Hasselbrink, Casey Clementz, Camren Warner, Charles Bennett)
Event: 4x400
Why chosen: Finished 13th in the Class AAA state meet (3:31.79) after taking second in the county championships.

Blackman
(Michael Hasselbrink, Casey Clementz, Camren Warner, Charles Bennett)
Event: 4x800
Why chosen: Earned a second-place finish at the Class AAA state meet (8:03.53) after finishing first in the county meet (8:30.28).

Field events

Bryan Abriol
Riverdale, senior
Event: Pole vault
Why chosen: Finished 14th in the Class AAA state meet (9-feet)

Nicholas Lockyear
Siegel, senior
Event: Long jump
Why chosen: Finished 14th in the Class AAA state meet (9-feet)

Troy Valdary
Oakland, senior
Event: Triple jump
Why chosen: Just missed medaling, finishing ninth at the Class AAA state meet (42-05.50) after winning the county championships (43-02).

Emilio Martin
Blackman, freshman
Event: High jump
Why chosen: Captured the Class AAA state title, jumping 6-5 in a jump-off to break a five-way tie. Won the county championships as well.

D’Andre Litaker
Riverdale, junior
Events: Shot put, discus
Why chosen: Medaled in the discus, finishing sixth (138-08) while taking 14th in the shot put (43-06) at the Class AAA state meet. Won the county championships in both events.

Caleb Bull
Siegel, senior
Event: Decathlon
Why chosen: Finished sixth in the Section 2 decathlon.

SECOND TEAM

100: Donovan Whitmore, Siegel, senior
200: Michael Scruggs, Riverdale, junior
400: Donovan Hammonds, La Vergne, junior
800: David Carlton, Oakland, junior
1600: David Carlton, Oakland, junior
3200: Canaan Anderson, Siegel, freshman
110 hurdles: Caleb Bull, Siegel, junior
300 hurdles: Caleb Bull, Siegel, junior
4x100: Riverdale
4x200: Stewarts Creek
4x400: La Vergne
4x800: Oakland
Pole vault: Caleb Bull, Siegel, junior
Long jump: Marqwell Odom, Riverdale, senior
Triple jump: Luke Bailey, Blackman, junior
High jump: Curtis Riggins, Riverdale, sophomore
Shot put: Caleb Staten, La Vergne, senior
Discus: Caleb Staten, La Vergne, senior
Decathlon: Troy Hutson, Riverdale