BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood and Westwood’s track and field teams made statements at their respective SCHSL 5A state qualifiers over the weekend, qualifying a contingent for their upcoming state championship meets.
Blythewood sweeps relays
At the Division 1 qualifier in Columbia, the Blythewood girls put on a clinic, taking first place in 10 events. The Bengals swept all three relay events, securing first-place finishes in the 4×100 (46.45 seconds), 4×400 (3:49.86), and 4×800 (9:39.81).
Individually, Olivia Taylor and Alexandra Francique led the charge in sprints. Taylor claimed the top spot in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.90, followed closely by teammate Francique at 11.93. Francique won the 200-meter dash in 24.34.
The Bengals’ dominance extended to the hurdles and middle distances. Brooke Bramlett took first place in the 100-meter hurdles (14.06), while Madison Ross secured the 400-meter hurdles title in 1:05.45. On the flat, Peyton Hightower captured the 400-meter dash in 54.00, and Hayley Hightower won the 800-meter run in 2:15.46. Anna Kelly rounded out the girls’ individuals by outpacing the field in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:20.04.
In the field, Romell Garway placed second in triple jump; Alexis Jones took third in high jump and long jump; and Kiyla Hendrix placed third in javelin.
On the boys’ side, Jacob Powell swept the individual distance events, taking first place in both the 1600-meter run (4:17.99) and the 3200-meter run (9:28.03). Larry Davis took second in the 400-meter and Solomon Cobbs took second in the 200-meter. The Bengal boys also secured gold in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:21.00. In the field, Dillon Hutcherson led the boys with a third-place finish in the discus with a throw of 46.23 meters.
Westwood sprints to history
In Rock Hill, the Westwood boys’ squad produced a historic performance in the Division 2 qualifier. The Redhawks nearly swept the podium in the sprints, led by Myles Bryant, who won the 100-meter dash in 10.49. He was followed by Jayden Wilson (10.57) and Jamey Patterson (10.67) for a Westwood 1-2-3 finish.
Jayden Boyd was the standout performer of the meet, capturing titles in the 200-meter dash (20.76) and the 400-meter dash (46.42). Boyd also added a second-place finish in the long jump at 6.66 meters. The Westwood boys added two relay titles to their haul, winning the 4×100 (40.38) and the 4×400 (3:19.66).
In the the field, Jeremiah Whitmore earned silver medals in both the discus (48.09m) and shot put (15.29m). In the high jump, Jayden Crews took third place with a clearance of 1.9 meters.
Westwood’s girls were paced by their 4×400 relay team, which took first in 3:57.31. Other top performers included Alysa Jones, who took second in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.21), and Rebecca Ashley, who earned second in the pole vault (2.9m). Christina Tyndall finished in sixth in the 800-meter run.
Both programs now turn to the state championship meet this weekend. Blythewood will compete in the 5A Div. 1 meet at Spring Valley on Thursday. Westwood will compete in Saturday’s 5A Div. 2 meet at Richland Northeast.