By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
MURFREESBORO – Both the present and the future of the Union City girls’ track team was on display at the Class A State Championships Tuesday.
It was challenging to determine which shined the brightest.
The Lady Tornadoes – with four quality seniors and the rest freshmen and sophomores – accumulated 37 total points for a program-best seventh-place finish among 38 teams in a talented field.
UC had qualified 12 girls in nine events, and each entry represented the Purple and Gold with a quality effort that left head coach Wade Maddox thrilled with his team’s current standing and excited about the next few years.
“What we accomplished today is amazing. And what we have a chance to do in the future is off the charts,” Maddox said. “The combination of great senior leaders setting a good example and young talent that is eager to learn and get better is one that not every program has.
“Our girls left with the satisfaction of what they accomplished, but also with a hunger of wanting to do more. I can’t wait to watch our young kids get better in the offseason and to try and better what we did today.”
Senior Destiny Kenton headlined the Lady Tornadoes and the upperclassmen quartet with a runner-up finish in the shot put. Kenton, who also made the field a year ago and placed sixth, had a toss of 36 feet, four inches Tuesday, to end her athletic career on a high note.
Bethel University signee Cha’Nyah Lipford also went out on a high note as part of a pair of relay teams (4×200, 4×100) that finished third and fifth, respectively. Khia German placed eighth in the discus, while Alexa Nolan was member of the sixth-place 4×800 unit to round out the UCHS list of seniors.
The list of promising underclassmen for the UC girls had several names.
Sophomore Alexis Smith had a stellar showing in the 400, finishing third with a time of 1:01.11, and as a member of the 4×200 relay unit. She earned a third medal as a member of the 4×400 team that was sixth.
Freshmen Indeya Hogsett and Nakyah Yarbrough were both members of the 4×200 and 4×100 relay teams that were third and fifth. The 4×200 unit posted a time of 1:48.91, while the 4×100 foursome crossed the finish line at 51.93. Yarbrough also had a place on the 4×400 team.
Sophomores Ada Rogers and Bailey Wagoner made their second appearances in as many years on the big stage and again contributed to hope for the future of the program.
Rogers ran legs in both the 4×800 and 4×400, with each of those teams finishing sixth at 11:39.18 and 4:36.39, respectively. Wagoner was a member of the 4×800 and finished seventh (13:48.81) in the 3200 – the latter the first race of a long day and night for competitors.
Freshman Katana Bonds posted a pair of fifth-place finishes, one in the triple jump, the other in the 4×100 relay race.
Jayla Turner and Adeline Rice, also ninth-graders, were integral parts of the 4×800 team.
The UC boys earned points in a pair of events with Bethel-bound Cedrion Cook placing fifth in the 3200 and the 4×400 relay team of Kyrell and Durrell Littleton, Skyler Mayes and Kameron Shade coming in seventh.
Cook, who was seventh in the state last year in the two-mile run, was originally scheduled to participate in the relay race, but was scratched after he turned his ankle just after crossing the finish line in the 3200.
He had a solid time of 10:30.42.
The 4×400 team, with Durrell Littleton stepping in as a replacement for Cook, was clocked at 3:39.71.
“We had several kids to perform better than their seeding, which means they saved their best for last and were not bothered by the big stage,” Maddox added. “The more you reach this level, the more comfortable you get with the surroundings and the competition level.
“I truly believe the best is yet to come for us.”