Coach Larry Cosby’s 2010 Region 1AAAA and State Class AAAA champion Bainbridge High School Bearcats track and field team was honored by the school during a special state championship awards ceremony Saturday night.

They won the championship on May 15 in Jefferson.

The ceremony, honoring the first state track and field champions in school history, took place at the Bainbridge High School Gymnasium between the Bainbridge Lady Cats and Cairo High School Syrupmaids and Bainbridge Bearcats and Cairo Syrupmakers basketball games.

It included congratulatory remarks by Bainbridge High School Principal Tommie Howell, Decatur County School Superintendent Fred Rayfield and Board of Education Chairman Sydney Cochran,

Liz Tomlin presented each athlete and coach with a special congressional recognition certificate from U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop. Each also received a special goody bag.

The ceremony concluded with the instillation of the 2010 State Track and Field Championship banner, which will hang permanently in the gymnasium.

The team and coaches were presented by Howell and Bainbridge High School Athletic Director Ed Pilcher.

Howell thanked the athletes and coaches for their dedication and hard work and told them that in winning the state championship they reached the pinnacle of sports success.

Superintendent Rayfield said by bringing the state track championship back to Decatur County, the athletes and coaches also brought the county, the city of Bainbridge and the school a lot of honor and positive recognition.

Cochran said he could not be any prouder of the athletes and coaches, not only for their hard work and dedication, but also for the way they conducted themselves on and off the track.

“You make us all proud,” he said.

The athletes

State track champion athletes honored Saturday night included the first-place 4-by-100-meter relay team of Shawn Samuels, Brandon Handsford, Thomas Smiley and Denzel Reynolds, whose first-place time of 41.31 seconds was the best in the State of Georgia in all classification.

Also honored Saturday night was Denzel Gamble, who was second in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 14.41 seconds and second in the triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, 4.5 inches.

Denzel Reynolds also contributed individually to the state championship with a third-place 100-meter dash time of 10.80 seconds.

Other top-five finishers contributing to the state championship, who were honored Saturday night, included Steven Crowell, who was fourth in the shot put with a heave of 50 feet, 8 inches; Dewayne Gurley, who was fifth in the discus with a throw of 159 feet, 8 inches, and Delonte Martistee, who was fifth with a 45-foot, 8-inch triple jump.

Rounding out the state championship contributors were Joseph Ausgood, who was fifth in the 800-meter run in a time of 1 minutes, 57.27; Octavious Scott, who was fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 39.66 seconds, Dontavious Jackson in the 110-meter hurdles, Rhyan Edwards and Harold Martin in the 4-by-400-meter relay, and Jamar Venisee-Cosby in the high jump.

Coaches honored were Bearcats head track coach Larry Cosby, long time highly successful Bearcats track coach Larry Clark, who led them to many region championships and still serves as an assistant coach, Lady Cats head track Coach Tandria Phillips, who also assists with the Bearcats, Harold Smith and Patrick Clark.