Pisgah and Tuscola compete in winter track conference championship meet
· Yahoo Sports
Feb. 6—Pisgah and Tuscola's track and field athletes faced off with the best of the Mountain 8 at last week's indoor track conference championship meet.
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The Bears came away with second in both the boys and girls competitions, while Tuscola weren't far behind — finishing third in the girls and fifth in the boys.
"Props to both of the indoor track and field teams from the two high schools in Haywood County because they both did an outstanding job at that indoor conference meet," said Pisgah Track Coach Danny Williamson.
Currently, the Bears have 12 athletes on par to qualify for state, but that could change. Teams across the state will compete in "last chance" meets this week to try to get their athletes into the top 12 best times in their region to qualify.
Meanwhile, Tuscola has seven or eight kids sitting around those qualification spots for state, but that is all dependent on what happens this week.
"You can really only do your own thing," Tuscola Track Coach Mark Altimari said. "You can't worry too much about what's happening somewhere else. I feel like we've done everything we could do this season."
Bears claim pair of seconds
Pisgah went into the conference meet with one goal in mind.
"To go in and see if we could be the second-place team on both sides," Williamson said.
Pisgah is fielding a team of eight boys and nine girls this year — much lower numbers than what the Bears will have for spring track. Despite the smaller team, the Bears still managed to grab conference titles in seven events, while setting school indoor track records in five events.
"The kids made the decision to work hard, work smart, and not complain about anything. Sometimes, we have to practice outside when it's cold, and they just go about business, get the job done. It's all a reward for the kids," Williamson said.
Sophomore Josh Lowe claimed a conference title in both the long jump and the triple jump. Junior Silas Hardin won the conference title in the 1000-meter, while setting the school record in the 1600-meter.
Senior Sarah Rhinehart won the conference title in the long jump with a new school record of 16' 7". She also set the school record in the 55-meter dash.
Senior Olivia Powell won the conference title in the 55-meter hurdles.
Sophomores Aspen Heron and Khloe Collins, Powell and Rhinehart won the conference title in the 4x400-meter relay. Collins also set the school record in the 500-meter.
Junior Roan Looman won the conference title in the shot-put, while the 4x800-meter relay team of sophomores Max Rich and Harper Henson and freshmen Matthew Sheppard and Fain Barnette set a school record.
"Almost every kid that we have participating did something great that helped us achieve those team results," Williamson said.
Tuscola jumping up
For years, the winter track season at Tuscola was never an emphasis, said Tuscola Track Coach Mark Altimari.
The season was a warm-up for spring athletes who didn't play a winter sport already, but Altimari is changing that.
"I don't know that there was a big emphasis on winter track as much as spring track," he said. "My emphasis is always on being as competitive as we can be."
The coach called the team one of the most competitive he's ever coached.
"They're working hard in this kind of weather and these kinds of conditions," Altimari said. "We're right where we need to be."
The Mountaineers crowned conference champions in four different events at the Mountain 8 Championships.
Senior Easton Edwards claimed a conference title in the 55-meter hurdles.
"In the 55-meter hurdles, your improvements are going to be minimal because the race is so short. He's worked on getting a better start, and he's cleaner between the hurdles," Altimari said.
Tuscola also grabbed a pair of wins in the jumping events. Senior Cora Hogan won the triple jump in dramatic fashion.
"We made a few adjustments at the meet on her last jump. And she jumped a huge personal record to win," Altimari said.
Senior Briley Jordan grabbed the conference title in the high jump.
"She's just coachable, and it's just working for us," Altimari said.
This was Altimari's first year coaching the high jump, so he relied on coaching advice from his own high school track coach back in Tampa, Florida.
The Tuscola girls' relay teams continued to perform well, also. The 4x200-meter team of senior Olivia Arnold, juniors Katie Smith and Emma Clancy and sophomore Natalie Jimenez claimed the conference title, while the 4x400-meter team finished second.
"Relays always show your depth. We don't just have that one kid," Altimari said.