By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Union City will take a large contingent of track and field athletes to Monday’s sectional meet in Jackson.
The two Tornado programs earned 37 individual berths and qualified a half-dozen relay teams for next week’s competition at USJ that will decide spots for the state meet in Murfreesboro May 25.
Those who finished in the Top 8 at Tuesday’s Sub Sectionals at Dave Shatz Track made the cut. Athletes from a dozen schools competed.
The UC boys had six first-place finishes – four by individuals and a pair of relay teams.
Ben Martinek won the 800, and Colby Butler took first in the high jump. Taylan Tribble claimed honors in the discus, and Neil Brown notched first place in the shot put.
The 4×800 relay team of Cedrion Cook, Martinek, Matthew Parr and Keaton Brown led the pack, as did the 4×400 quartet of Parr, Skylar Mayes, Butler and Martinek.
Other sectional qualifiers for the Tornado boys included Charley Frankum (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Kweli Purifoy and Kameron Shade (100 meters), Cook and Champ Gray (1600), Butler and Brown (400), and Shade (200).
Cook and Brenden Meade advanced to the next level in the 3200, Purifoy made the high jump cut, and Damon Rice qualified in the long jump.
Brown and Taizhan Fuller joined Tribble to make it in the discus, while Carter Bondurant and Harris Cagle gave Union City a 1-2-3 finish in the shot put with Brown.
The 4×200 relay team of Purifoy, Mayes, Shade and Parr earned a sectional spot, as did the 4×100 unit that was made up of Purifoy, Mayes, Shade and Rice.
The Lady Tornadoes had several standouts to advance as well.
Bailey Wagoner broke the school record in the 3200, winning the event with a time of 13:58.25. Wagoner also took first place in the 1600. Kylie McCadney won the 400 and the triple jump, while Destiny Kenton led the field in the discus.
The 4×100 relay team of Taleah Buford, Ada Rogers, Ariel Hughes and Chanyah Liphford gave UC a fifth first-place finish.
Rogers also qualified in the 100 and 300 hurdles. Liphford made the sectional round in the 100, and Chloe Meade will move on in the 1600.
Both Wagoner and Meade made the cut in the 800, Liphford and McCadney advanced in the 200, and Brooklyn Murphy and Megan Burney earned sectional berths in the discus.
The 4×200 relay team (Buford, Liphford, Rogers and McCadney) punched its ticket, as did Taleah Buford and Jermyia Bonds in the shot put.
The sectional event will begin at 4 p.m. Monday.
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
SF 3, UC 1
The Devilettes scored pair of runs in the sixth to break a 1-all deadlock and drop Union City into today’s 5 p.m. elimination game against Dresden.
If the Lady Tornadoes win, they would advance to the championship round against South Fulton at 7 o’clock and earn a regional tournament berth. Should UC win and then beat the Lady Red Devils in the nightcap, it would force a final game Thursday night at 6 for the district championship.
South Fulton manufactured two runs in the sixth of Tuesday’s game with Union City and erased Twister runners on the basepaths at four critical times to drop UC to 15-9.
The Devilettes used an error, a single, a run-scoring groundout and a fielder’s choice to go up 3-1.
The Lady Tornadoes threatened in their last at-bat, putting runners on second and third with no outs after hits by Lainey Barker and Kaitlyn Lamb. But UC had a runner thrown out at home and then ended the game with the tying run caught-stealing at second base.
Emmaline Qualls had two hits and drove in Union City’s only run. Avery Decker tripled and Marlee Theobald singled and scored.
Sophie Theobald, who earlier tossed a one-hit shutout to beat SF, was the tough-luck losing pitcher this time around. Theobald surrendered just two hits, one walk and struck out seven. Only one of the Devilettes’ runs was earned – one scoring on a fielder’s interference ruling.