Recent Pulaski County High School graduate Diego Turner made his final appearance as a Cougar at a State event Friday and Saturday, competing at the Class 4 track and field State Championship meet at Liberty University. He made the most of the opportunity, adding another individual title to his legacy.
Turner earned State gold in the shot put, an event he has dominated the past two seasons, with a throw of 57’2” to win his fourth consecutive State Championship in the event. His throw was nearly two feet further than second place senior Shinobu Hawk of Grafton High School and nearly four feet further than third place senior Jake Mele of Blacksburg.
Turner topped the event off with a bronze medal, third-place finish in the discus, throwing 148’ 10” to finish as an All-State athlete for the eighth time in his career. Hawk of Grafton took first place with an incredible throw of 173’ 5”. Chase Kibble of Loudoun County was second at 159’ 2”.
Freshman Cole Boone announced his presence to the VHSL elite with a second-place finish in the 800-meter race. His time of 1:55.56 just off the time of 1:54.04 by senior Leo Davis of Warhill. No other freshmen or sophomores were listed in the top 16 finalist.
Others who were in competition included senior Kiontre Hayden (shot put, 10th, 46’ 11”), senior Davis Neel (110-hurdles, 11th, 16.05), and junior Joel Burchett (100-meter, 50th, 11.98).
Pulaski County finished 10th overall as a team, with Deep Creek High School earning the State Championship. The top 10 overall teams are recognized as All-State teams.
Senior Olivia Viers earned All-State honors in the long jump. Her leap of 17’ 1.25” was good enough for fourth place overall. She also competed in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing 16th with a time of 16.39.
Sophomore Kahlan Dishon earned All-State recognition with a discus throw of 96’11”, good enough for eighth place overall.
Senior Kendra Trail finished 12th overall in the shot put, throwing 32’ .5”.
Tuscarora High School won the overall girls State Championship.
“We took eight athletes to the State competition,” Assistant Coach Hannah Alexander said. “We walked away with one individual State Championship, a State Runner-Up, and three students with five All-State recognitions. Obviously, we’d like more, but considering the low number of athletes that were able to compete, we think they held their own. We’ll be taking several of these athletes, along with a few more, to the national meet June 16 to give them a chance to experience that atmosphere before we start getting our minds ready for cross country next season.”
