The Pulaski County track and field team traveled to Radford High School Friday to compete in the 2023 All-American Relays. Despite constant rain and wind to make the day outside a tougher one, the program brought both the men’s and women’s titles back to Pulaski County.
For the Cougars, it was a good first step toward defending their 2022 Class 4 State Championship. They finished the day in first place out of 14 teams with 120 points, almost double the points of second place Radford with 65 points. Liberty-Bedford was third with 43 points. George Wythe was fourth with 40 points. Roanoke Catholic finished fifth with 39 points. Giles was sixth with 35 points. Patrick County was seventh with 32 points and Narrows was eighth with 23. Christiansburg finished ninth with 21 points. Princeton was 10th with 20. Eastern Montgomery (18), Fort Chiswell (13), Salem (10), and Carroll County (10) rounded out the bottom of the field.
Individually, several Cougars stood out with big showings.
Joel Burchett III earned first place in the 100-meter (11.61) and 200-meter (23.74). He also earned 17th in the long jump (18’1”), and ninth in the triple jump (37’ 5”).
Burchett was also ran the second leg of the 4x400-meter race with Cole Boone, Silas Sweet, and Marcus Reed that turned in a time of 3:52.72 to earn another first place finish.
Two other Cougar teams ran the same 4x400-meter race. The team of Davis Neel, Bryant Nottingham, Khalib Horton, and Brett Jones finished third with a time of 4:11.73. The team of Cayden Comer, Matthias Wright, Josh Secrist, and Tanner Linkous finished sixth with a time of 4:41.91.
Diego Turner continued his winning ways with first place finishes in the shot put (50’ 7”) and discus (135’ 8”). His effort in the shot put have qualified him immediately for the State Championship meet later in the season.
Cole Boone earned first place in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:59.20. That effort has also qualified him for the State Championship meet.
Davis Neel earned first in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43.19. He also earned first in the 110-hurdles with a time of 16.35.
Brett Jones took second in the 100-meter with a time of 11.85. He also took third in the 200-meter (24.47) and 16th in the long jump (18’ 5”).
Carter Simmers took second in the 3,200-meter race with a time of 11:41.25. Zaiden Morris finished fourth in the same race at 13:11.12.
Marcus Reed was second in the 400-meter race with a time of 56.64. He also took sixth in the 200-meter at 24.84. He also took 19th in the long jump at 17’ 8.5”.
Kiontre Hayden finished third in the shot put with a 43’10.5” throw.
Silas Sweet was third in the 300-hurdles with a time of 47.10. He also took ninth in the 200-meter race at 25.28.
Aiden Moore finished fourth in the shot (42’1”) and ninth in the discus (95’3”).
Tanner Linkous took sixth in the 1,600-meter race at 5:29.43. Dylan Harris finished 17th at 6:02.97. Cayden Comer was 20th at 6:16.76.
Bryant Nottingham took 10th in the 200-meter (25.33), 12th in the 100-meter (12.37), and 12th in the long jump (18’ 11.5”).
Kahlib Horton was 14th in the long jump (18’ 5.75”) and 15th in the 200-meter at 26.29.
Roshawn Hill was 21st in the 200-meter (28.10) and 35th in the 100-meter (13.59).
Josh Secrist was 13th in the 800-meter with a time of 2:43.79. Matthias Wright was 14th at the 2:44.63 mark.
Sean Wines took 15th in the shot put with a 35’ 2.5” throw. Trevor Wright was 19th with a throw of 33’ 6.5”. Dylan Nester took 35th in the discus with a throw of 55’. Zach Gallimore was 36th in the 100-meter race with a time of 13.61.
“We’ll have a ton of personal records coming out of this,” sprints and jumps coach Hunter Thomas said. “Conditions were terrible. Just happy with the way everyone competed despite the conditions and how everyone was there in support for one another. Can’t wait for what’s to come this season.”
For the Lady Cougars, the group was smaller, but the effort wasn’t. They finished the day in first place out of 13 teams with 74 total points. Giles took second place with 72 points. Roanoke Catholic was third with 68 points. Liberty (Bedford) was fourth with 61 points. George Wythe was fifth at 51 points. Fort Chiswell took sixth with 32 points. Radford finished seventh at 31 points. Eastern Montgomery was eighth with 24 points. Princeton was ninth with 20. Patrick County was 10th with 16 points. Carroll County (13), Narrows (12), and Christiansburg (10) rounded out the field.
Olivia Viers earned first place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.87. She also took first in the long jump with a 15’ 11.75” effort. She finished second in the triple jump at 32’.
Nadia Jackson took first in the 100-meter race with her time of 13.27. She also won the 200-meter race with her 27.47 time. She added a 12’ 11” long jump effort to earn 17th place.
The 4x100-meter relay team of Shai-Anne Lyman, Keslyn Secrist, Olivia Viers, and Nadia Jackson earned first place with a time of 53.42.
Kahlan Dishon took second in the discus with a throw of 90’ 7”. She also took third in the shot put with a throw of 26’ 7”.
Shai-Anne Lyman was seventh in the 200-meter race with a time of 31.05. She also took 18th in the long jump with a 12’ 8” leap.
Keslyn Secrist finished eighth in the 100-meter race at 14.23. She was also ninth in the long jump at 14’ 3.75”.
Margie Lyman was eighth in the 200-meter race with a 31.13 time. She finished 9th in the triple jump at 28’ 3.25” and 13th in the 400-meter at 1:18.48.
Abrionna Hill was 11th in the 200-meter with a 33.35 time. She was also 18th in the 400-meter race at 1:29.55.
Kendra Trail was fifth in the shot put with a 24’ 2” throw. Eleanor Speed was 12th in the 800-meter race at 3:31. Jaelyn Robertson was 14th in the 100-meter at 15.09 and 20th in the long jump at 12’ 6”. Nadia Jackson was 17th in the long jump at 12’ 11”.
Onna Sanchez was 19th in the 200-meter race at 38.73 and 32nd in the 100-meter race at 18.11. Kianna Comer was 25th in the 100-meter with a time of 16.01.
“All of our throwers showed a lot of resilience being able to perform well given adverse weather conditions,” throwing coach Josh Fleenor said. “Being able to score 46 points as a collective group is a great start to the outdoor track season.”
“My main goal was to come into the outdoor season with the same energy at the indoor regional meet and we did just that,” assistant coach Hannah Alexander said. “This team’s demeanor blew me away! Everywhere you looked there were Cougars cheering and winning! We’ve got a long season ahead of us, but I’m confident that we are going to continue to grow and improve.”
Distance and Head Coach Mark Carper was pleased with what he saw.
“Great way to open the season for both teams," he said. "Not ideal weather, but the team hung in until the end and is coming together nicely.”