COLUMBIA —What Westwood lacked in depth, they made up for in explosiveness at last week’s Region 5-5A championships last week. Behind a sweep of the boys’ 100 and 200-meter dashes and a first-place 4×400 relay, the Redhawks secured a third-place boys’ finish. Alysa Jones added a region title in the 400-meter hurdles to cap the day.
The Westwood boys finished third in the team standings with 91 points, trailing only region champion Ridge View (202) and runner-up Spring Valley (168), both of which will move into Division 1 competition during the postseason. Westwood will compete in 5A Division 2.
Jayden Boyd and Jayden Wilson dominated in sprints. Boyd captured the 100-meter dash title with a time of 10.48 seconds, while Wilson claimed the 200-meter, clocking in at 20.99.
The momentum carried into relays, where the 4×400-meter team took first with a time of 3:14.31. Westwood’s 4×100-meter team finished in second in 41 seconds flat.
In the field, Leon Morgan came in second in long jump at 6.53 meters; Jeremiah Whitmore took second in shot put at 15.38 meters. Jayden Crews also found the podium, finishing third in high jump at 1.93 meters.
The Westwood girls finished in seventh place but claimed two individual region titles. Alysa Jones won 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.61. Rebecca Ashley won a region title in the pole vault, clearing 2.75 meters.
Christina Tyndall finished fourth in a competitive 1,600-meter run (5:31.16), and Gabrielle Davis took eighth in both the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump. Trulee Jones and Onyae Simpson provided scoring in the throws, both finishing seventh in the discus and javelin, respectively.
WestwooStaffd now moves into 5A Division 2 post-season competition at mid-state qualifiers on May 8 in Rock Hill.