Lady Warriors win county meet

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 3, 2007 2:49 PM

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Eugenia Baker grabbed the umbrella and tried to shade herself from the bright afternoon sun. She switched the umbrella from hand to hand while stretched each leg before her heat in the 100-meter dash.

But nothing could cool down the hot-footed sprinter.

Baker blistered the 21-competitor field with a first-place time of 13.38 seconds -- nearly four-tenths of a second faster than runner-up Ciara Campbell of Goldsboro. Baker returned later in the day to claim the 200-meter dash and helped Eastern Wayne emerge the 2007 Wayne County Track and Field Championships queen.

"Eugenia has got a fierce determination about her and she likes to compete," said Eastern Wayne head coach Marvin Bowman. "She always tells me before a meet that she's nervous. I just tell her to calm down, run her race and get it done."

The Warriors prevailed in 10 of 17 contested events and accumulated an astonishing 218 points. Rosewood used its depth in the field events to finish second with 118 points, while Charles B. Aycock ended up third with 117 points.

Southern Wayne (51 points), Goldsboro High (48) and Wayne Christian (18) rounded out the six-team field. The Saints had two individual champions, while the Eagles -- a first-year program -- had one county winner.

In addition to Baker, senior basketball standout Yasmine Washington claimed the top spot in two events -- 800 run and long jump. Teammates Alicia Stevens (100 hurdles), Noelle Kelly (400) and Richelle Butler (shot put) each provided a first-place win.

"Richelle is an amazing young lady," said Bowman. "I am excited about her (success) in the shot put and she does a great job for us. She takes it serious whereas some girls don't take it as serious.

"Honestly, they really got up for this meet without me saying anything or encouraging them in any way. They were focused on winning this meet."

Eastern Wayne's 400-meter relay -- Jazmine Middleton, Kristin Alexander, Ami Sueki and Jasmine Neal -- turned in a season-best time of 54.74 seconds. The 800-meter quartet of Baker, Kelly, Alysa Artis and Cquanica Allen crossed the finish line in 1:50.7 seconds -- nearly nine seconds ahead of runner-up Southern Wayne.

The 800 relay is unbeaten in seven meets this season.

"They're an outstanding group," said Bowman. "The 400 relay ran their best time and that's encouraging for them."

Freshman Ashley Summerville collected Rosewood's lone county title with a personal-best leap of 30 feet even in the triple jump. The Eagles had three placers in the long jump, took positions 2-5 in the discus and had three finishers in the high jump and shot put combined.

Rosewood's top scorer in the track was Jamie Andrews, who ended up second behind Aycock's Megan Hales in the 3,200-meter run.

"I thought we performed well," said Eagles head coach Daniel Baynes. "We don't have a lot of experience (in running), but I've got some young speed.

"This is a great undertaking coming to a big meet like this when we're a little undermanned. You just have to perform the best you can perform."

Wayne Christian freshman Hanna Kaler performed beyond her ability in the warm and breezy conditions. She finished fifth in the 100-meter dash and mildly complained that her back, which she injured nearly two weeks ago, was bothering her.

Kaler rested for a bit and returned to run the 1,600. Once the starting gun sounded, she found a good pace and focused on her main objective -- Aycock's Hales.

"My coach told me to focus on the Aycock runner, and then I realized the girl from Goldsboro (Danielle Irby) was out there ahead of me," said Kaler. "I really had to push it."

Hales faded back to third, while Kaler nearly matched Irby stride for stride heading into the third turn. Kaler overtook Irby in the final 50 meters and sprinted toward the finish line. She collapsed from the muscle spasms in her back.

"That last sprint was all out effort," said Kaler. "That 1600 was pure effort because I just wanted to do it. That was great."

Irby, who placed third in the 800, drew praise from second-year Cougars coach Maxine Carr.

"Danielle ran her heart out today and worked really hard," she said. "She stepped up and did what I asked her to do. I think my girls did really well considering we have such a small team.

"It was a good meet overall."

Lavenia Lipford grabbed second behind Summerville in the triple jump, while Tiffany Burden took fourth in the long jump. The Cougars seized second in the 400 relay.

Aycock's foursome of Jordan Stackle, Hales, Crystal Lewis and Chantel Gaines triumphed in the 3,200-meter relay. Lewis, who ran the third leg, put the Golden Falcons in front when she passed Eastern Wayne's Kelly Gregorcyk between turns three and four.

Gaines ran a solid anchor leg as Aycock crossed the finish line in 11 minutes, 27 seconds.

Lewis won the 300 hurdles.

Southern Wayne's Clarice Sherard and Ebony Darden placed first in the discus and high jump, respectively. Sherard threw the discus 67 feet, 10 inches. Darden had a mark of 4-8.

The men's portion of the county track championships takes place today. Field events begin at 3:30 p.m. at Little Big Horn on the Eastern Wayne campus.

2007 Wayne County

Women's Track and Field

Championships

(at Little Big Horn)

Team scores

Eastern Wayne 218

Rosewood 118

C.B. Aycock 117

Southern Wayne 51

Goldsboro High 48

Wayne Christian 18

Individual event results

Shot put -- 1. Butler (EW) 30 feet, 31/4 inches; 2. Sherard (SW) 28-0; 3. Toler (CBA) 27-53/4; 4. Mozingo (EW) 26-43/4; 5. Shaw (Rosewood) 24-3; 6. Bell (SW) 22-7. High jump -- 1. Darden (SW) 4-8; 2. Stevens (EW) 4-4; 3. Holmes (RHS) 4-4; 4. Lewis (CBA) 4-4; 5. Campbell (RHS) 4-4; 6. McGowan (EW) 4-4. Triple jump -- 1. Summerville (RHS) 30-0; 2. Lipford (GHS) 27-61/4; 3. Hales (CBA) 26-63/4; 4. Dickerson (CBA) 24-6; 5. Hicks (CBA) 24-4; 6. Middleton (EW) 23-111/2. Long jump -- Washington (EW) 14-2; 2. Lofton (SW) 14-01/2; 3. Monroe (RHS) 13-81/2; 4. Burden (GHS) 13-6; 5. Summerville (RHS) 13-6; 6. McGowan (RHS) 13-0. Discus -- 1. Sherard (SW) 67-10; 2. Falcoun (RHS) 56-9; 3. Shaw (RHS) 53-111/2; 4. Cottle (RHS) 53-31/2; 5. Hall (RHS) 52-1; 6. Toler (CBA) 51-111/2. 3,200 relay -- Charles B. Aycock (Stackle, Hales, Lewis, Gaines) 11 minutes, 27 seconds; 2. Eastern Wayne 11:30; 3. Rosewood 12:48. 800 relay -- 1. Eastern Wayne (Baker, Kelly, Artis, Allen), 1:50.7; 2. Southern Wayne 1:59.1; 3. C.B. Aycock 2:05.1; 4. Rosewood 2:04.2. 400 relay -- 1. Eastern Wayne (Middleton, Alexander, Sueki, Neal) 54.74; 2. Goldsboro 56.74; 3. Rosewood 57.35; 4. C.B. Aycock 59.75; 5. Wayne Christian 1:06.55. 1,600 relay -- 1. Eastern Wayne 4:32; 2. C.B. Aycock 4:42; 3. Rosewood 5:10; 4. Goldsboro 5:30. 100 hurdles -- 1. Stevens (EW) 18.31; 2. Franklin (EW) 18.93; 3. Davis (RHS) 19.02. 100 -- 1. Baker (EW) 13.38; 2. Campbell (GHS) 13.70; 3. Jones (SW) 13.71; 4. Allen (EW) 13.78; 5. Kaler (WCS) 13.83; 6. Montgomery (RHS) 14.03. 400 -- 1. Kelly (EW) 1:01.5; 2. Gaines (CBA) 1:03.1; 3. Artis (EW) 1:03.9; 4. Felder (CBA) 1:06.7; 5. Womack (EW) 1:12.2; 6. Neal (RHS) 1:13.0. 1,600 -- 1. Kaler (WCS) 6:33; 2. Irby (GHS) 6:37; 3. Hales (CBA) 6:56; 4. Gregorcyk (EW) 6:58; 5. Andrews (RHS) 6:59; 6. Schley (EW) 7:11. 300 hurdles -- 1. Lewis (CBA) 50.05; 2. Stevens (EW) 53.55; 3. Crawford (CBA) 1:05.8; 4. Davis (RHS) 1:06.82; 5. Ray (CBA) 1:07.38. 800 -- 1. Washington (EW) 2:54; 2. Sanders (CBA) 2:59; 3. Irby (GHS) 3:04; 4. Stackle (CBA) 3:05; 5. Binda (RHS) 3:07; 6. Schley (EW) 3:10. 200 -- 1. Baker (EW) 26.33; 2. Kelly (EW) 27.61; 3. Gaines (CBA) 27.74; 4. Campbell (GHS) 28.75; 5. Kaler (WCS) 29.36; 6. Alexander (EW) 29.56. 3,200 -- 1. Hales (CBA) 15:19; 2. Jamie Andrews (RHS) 15:32; 3. Gregorcyk (EW) 15:51; 4. Hagans (EW) 17:48.