The 2008 Hammond track season was a success, capped by solid showings by the girls and boys teams at the SCISA championship meet.
The Skyhawks girls put on a determined push for the championship, but came up 5.33 points short of the winning total posted by neighboring Heathwood Hall. The Hammond boys placed third with 66 points.
Both teams scored big in the relay events. The Skyhawks girls and boys both finished first in the 400- and 1600-meter relays. Moreover, the boys placed second in the 3200 relay, the girls third.
The girls 4x100 crew of Amber Bennett, Elizabeth Blackmon, Danielle Cantey and Rossi Theodore combined to give Hammond its fifth straight win in the event at the annual season finale, and set a new record. The 52.0 time topped the record of 52.01 set by the Skyhawks foursome that began the run in 2004. Rachel Price, Alexandra Little, Jenny Priester and Theodore handled the legs on the winning 1600 team.
Theodore came away with four medals. In addition to the two golds in the relays, she picked up a silver in the 400 and a bronze in the 200.
Mason Castles, Margaret Deans Fawcett and Madison Kocher were Hammond’s other female gold medallists. Castles won the 1600, and finished second in the 800, Fawcett claimed the top price in the 3200 and Kocher continued her domination of the pole vault event. It was the fourth straight win for Kocher, a junior who has set a new SCISA mark each time out since her first win in 2005. She placed third as a seventh-grader in 2004. Since 2005, her winning vaults have gone from 7-6 to 9-6 to 9-10 to 10-6.
In other performances of note, Elizabeth Davidson was second in the 110 hurdles, Mary Etta Castles placed second behind Kocher in the pole vault and Sarah Dobbs finished third in the 3200.
On the boys side, Cliff Ayers and Aaron Walters culled big points to lead the way. Ayers successfully defended his high jump title and ran a leg on the winning 1600 relay team. Walters anchored the winning 1600 relay effort and led off the triumphant 400 relay performance, and also picked up a bronze medal in the 200.
Otherwise, Steven Harvin was second in the 200 and ran on the 400 relay team, Zach Wainwright scored in three individual events and was on the 400 relay team, Taylor Smith placed in the 800, joined Walters, Ayers and A.D. Briggs on the 1600 relay and teamed up with Arthur Corontzes, Thomas Hydrick and Bradford MacGillivray on the silver medal 3200 relay team.
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