Bearcats win Clark Invitational
Published 3:33 pm Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Bainbridge High School’s boys’ track team won the second annual Larry Clark Invitational track and field meet that they hosted on Saturday.
BHS’ girls’ track team finished fifth in a strong 15-team field.
The meet, named for Decatur County Sports Hall of Fame football player and track coach Larry Clark, featured outstanding track athletes from southwest Georgia and north Florida.
The Valdosta High School Lady Wildcats won the girls championship.
Former Bearcat All-State and Auburn University Tigers All-America hurdler Ty Akins, who is participating in professional track meets around the world, was a special guest for the meet.
“Coach Clark was a great role model for me and a lot of other young people,” Akins said. “I have known Coach Clark since I was in the third grade at Jones-Wheat Elementary School. He always made us do the right thing and we knew he cared about us deeply.”
The Bearcats’ 4-by-200-meter and 4-by-400-meter relay teams finished first highlighting the Bearcats’ championship run.
The 4-by-200-meter team that finished in a time of 1 minute, 31.05 seconds, featured Dontavious Jackson, Quincy Fortson, Terry Lewis and Shawn Samuels, and the 4-by-400-meter team that finished in a time of 3:26.98, featured Octavious Scott, Ryan Edwards, Alton Miller and Joseph Ausgood.
Ausgood was also first in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:01.24 and second in the 400-meter run in a time of 50.89.
Delonte Martistee was first in the high jump, clearing the bar at a height of 6 feet, 4 inches, and second in the triple jump with a leap of 45 feet, 11 inches.
Steve Crowell was first in the shot put with a heave of 49 feet, 8 inches.
Other top Bearcats individual finishers were Shawn Samuels, who was second in the 200-meter and 100-meter dashes in times of 22.42 seconds and 11.06. Jamar Venisee-Cosby, who was second in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 2 inches, and Dewayne Gurley, who was second in the discus with a throw of 158 feet, 11 inches and fifth in the shot put with a heave of 42 feet, 9 inches.
Octavious Scott was third in the 200-meter hurdles in a time of 41.10, and Ryan Edwards was third in the 400-meter run in a time of 51.57.
Fourth places were captured by Dontavious Jackson with a 100-meter hurdles time of 15.43, Dylan Thomas with an 800-meter run time of 2:08.28, and Davis Perkins with a high jump of 5 feet, 10 inches.
The Lady Cats were led by Diamond Bouie, who was first in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 3 inches, and fifth in the 400-meter run in a time of 1:03.62.
Khadeeijah Cooper was first in the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 49.06.
The Lady Cats 4-by-400-meter relay team of Cooper, Ashley Mango, Raven Burney and Bouie finished second in a time of 4:12.78.
Mango was fourth in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:35.95, and Cameron Williams was fifth in the discus with a throw of 80 feet, 7 inches.