COLUMBIA – The Philip Simmons boys track team’s point totals proved insurmountable at the 2A state track and field meet Friday, but the Fairfield Central boys fought off several other teams for the runner-up spot at Richland Northeast’s stadium.
The Griffins, back-to-back state 2A champions in 2024 and 2025, totaled 48 points, a second place seating behind the Iron Horses, who scored 106.5 points to claim their first 2A title after winning the 3A championship in 2024.
Behind FC were several schools vying for runner-up, including Mid Carolina, which came in third with 46 points, Timberland, which finished fourth with 45 points, and Manning, which finished with 42.5 points.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be tough, because Philip Simmons is super strong this year,” head coach Raymond Harrison said. “We had some injuries coming into the state series and we were missing several kids who didn’t get to compete today, but we knew it was going to be a dogfight for second place between us and several other schools. But the kids who came today showed up and showed out. It was a great effort by them.”
The 4×400-meter relay team of senior Jamie Brown, senior Brenton Mack, junior Kenyan Douglas, and sophomore Da’Qwan Kelly beat out Manning’s team by less than a second with a time of 3 minutes, 20.41 seconds.
The 10 points earned from that finish clinched second place for the Griffins. Mid Carolina did not have a team in the 4×400, and Timberland’s relay team finished without points in 13th place.
Brown won the 400 dash with a time of 47.48. Mack and Douglas finished fifth and sixth, respectively, good for 17 points. Brown also took fifth in the 200 dash for four points.
Senior Marlon Smith placed fourth in the 400 hurdles and seventh in the 110 hurdles. Those placings earned seven points.
The boys 4×100 team of junior Ty’Quarius Shannon, Douglas, freshman Kaylin Culp and junior Kamauri Jones finished sixth for three points.
In field events senior Keshon Williams placed fourth in the discus and senior Jamari Favors placed seventh in the shot put for seven total points.
Philip Simmons, who was runner-up to Fairfield Central last year, responded this year with a team loaded with qualifiers for state.
“I think we had a little chip on our shoulder from last year and the boys really wanted it this year,” Iron Horses head coach Ryan McCauley said. “The boys really showed up in big ways in multiple events.”
Philip Simmons won gold in just two events—Jeremiah Richardson took first in the 200 dash with a time of 21.79 and the 4×800 relay team won gold with a time of 8:09.41.
As what teams with depth do, the Iron Horses loaded events with two or more athletes. In several events Philip Simons got several placings in the top eight.
Philip Simmons dominated the girls events, claiming a second straight state championship with 159 points. Landrum placed a distant second with 51.33 points.
The Fairfield Central girls team, which had just one competitor in third-place shot putter Natalie Mickle last year, returned this year with several athletes and compiled 25.33 points for ninth place.
Mickle, a sophomore, returned for the shot put and placed in a 3-way tie for eighth place with a throw of 9.60 meters. She also took seventh in the discus with a throw of 30.69 meters.
Freshman Sprinter Brintney Mack won the 200 dash with a time of 25.36 seconds and took took second in the 100 dash with a time of 12.32. The 4×100 team of Telexus Jones, Jayla Long, Anaya Bannister and Mack took fourth place with a time of 48.84.