By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Adrian Crawford brought home a pair of first-place medals from the state track championships.
A pair of new shoes was just a bonus.
Led by Crawford’s winning efforts in the high jump and triple jump and another state title from Keaten Brown in the discus, the Union City boys’ program posted a best-ever Class 1A runner-up finish Tuesday to kick off Spring Fling in Murfreesboro in grand fashion.
The Tornadoes finished with 72 points, trailing only Memphis East (110) in the final Single-A standings that saw 44 schools score points.
Union City’s girls’ team had a strong showing, too, recording its best finish in program history with a sixth-place effort and third consecutive Top 10 state finish.
Debrionna Jones was a runner-up in the shot put and a third-place finisher in the discus, while both the 4×800 (Bailey Wagoner, Blair McKinnis, Ada Rogers, and Jayla Turner) and 4×200 (Aujani and Sh’Nyla Moss, Nakyah Yarbrough, and Chloe Hubbard) relay teams also came in third.
The Lady Twisters finished with 45 total points to earn their rank among 38 teams.
The UC boys were paced by Crawford and Brown with the former – who placed second last week in the state decathlon – starting his day with a tale that made his spectacular sophomore season even more memorable.
Crawford ‘forgot’ his track spikes at home, something he discovered Monday night. He did not let head coach Wade Maddox know, however, until five minutes before they were to depart for the state competition Tuesday morning — causing early chaos.
“We were supposed to leave at 7:45, and I heard one of the other kids ask: ‘Did you tell Coach Maddox?’” Tornado head coach Wade Maddox said. “His first event was at 9 o’clock, and I knew that Dick’s (Sporting Goods) was close by, but they didn’t open until 9. I went there, and, by chance, the employee’s door was open around 8:20.
“I explained my situation, and they let me buy a pair of shoes and get out of there before they even officially opened.
“When I gave them to him (Crawford), I told him, ‘You win two state championships, and they’re yours. If you don’t, you owe me $70. So, I guess he got a new pair of shoes out of the deal, too.”
Crawford won the high jump by clearing 6-4, then took first place in the triple jump with a leap of 44-2. He joined Wright Jernigan as only the second UCHS track and field performer to win multiple state titles in the same season.
Brown put his name in the Purple and Gold record book in dramatic fashion.
Sitting in second place heading into his last throw, the Tornado senior threw a career-best 146-2 to end his prep athletic career in storybook fashion and win the discus after placing second last year.
“My heart kinda skipped a beat when I was waiting for them to call out the distance,” Brown smiled afterward. “I knew I had to put it all out there because it was the last time I was ever going to throw in a competitive situation.
“I can’t have any better memory than that.”
Maddox added: “Keaten’s worked really hard and has put in the extra time. When he looks back at his high school career, he’s going to see some very impressive things he’s accomplished.
“Crawford’s story is one of when ability combines with competitiveness. When that happens, these are the results you get.”
UC also racked up points with Kameron Shade, who was second in the 200 meters and third in the 100 meters. Brown was third in the shot, and sophomore teammate Aiden Reid placed fourth.
The 4×800 relay team (Maliki Brooks, Owen Waggoner, Andrew Beard, and Woodrow McKinnis was fifth, and the 4×400 team of Brooks, Shade, Andre Small, and Crawford came in fourth.
Jones posted a strong performance in two events for the Lady Tornadoes, earning 14 points.
Katana Bonds, who made the field last year, was fourth in the triple jump, while Ca’Lae Ervin gave the UC girls points with a fifth-place showing in last week’s pentathlon and a sixth-place finish in Tuesday’s high jump.
The 4×400 relay unit of Ervin, Yarbrough, Sh’Nyla Moss, and Jayla Turner was sixth. The 4×100 group of Yarbrough, Aujani Moss, Hubbard, and Indeya Hogsett was running strong at No. 2 until a hamstring injury to Hubbard down the stretch pushed the team down to sixth.
“We had a great group, and based on last year’s finishes and what we had coming back, I thought we had a chance to have a really good showing here,” Maddox concluded. “The kids worked so hard to have this type of day, and I’m so proud of their work ethic and their desire to do well.
“Our guys won every meet they were in this year until the sectionals, and we finished second there. Our girls didn’t have one person to win a bunch of events, but we had great depth, and our relay teams were very good.
“We’re right there knocking on the door of the team championships. I believe that building more depth across the board and Coach (Thel) Taylor building up our distance people with our cross country program is going to be huge.
“And after today, I truly believe a lot more people are going to want to be a part of our program.”
BASEBALL
Eagleville 16, UC 1
Two-time defending champion Eagleville proved to be too much for the Golden Tornadoes, dropping UC to the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination event, where it will face South Pittsburg this morning at 10.
Should Union City win, it would play a second elimination game at 5 p.m. at Eagleville High School.
Luke Joslin’s run-scoring double in the second inning for Union City tied the game, scoring Skyler Hall, who was hit by a pitch. Joslin’s hit was the Twisters’ only base knock of the contest.
Eagleville (31-5) scored seven times in the sixth to build on an already-commanding 9-1 lead and end the game early via the mercy rule.
Barrett Cox was touched for nine runs (four earned) in 4 1/3 innings to absorb the pitching loss. Hall and Sam Jones finished the game in relief.
UC will come into today’s game with a 22-13 record, while SP is 20-14.