The Bainbridge Bearcats and Lady Cats track teams turned in strong performances Saturday at the fifth annual Doctor Larry Clark Invitational Meet.
Coach Larry Cosby’s Bearcats finished a strong third in the boys division and coach Tandria Phillips’ Lady Cats finished a strong fifth in the girls division.
Clark, the Jones Wheat Elementary School principal who built one of the strongest track programs in the state at Bainbridge High School, Cosby and Phillips agreed that Saturday’s 19-team field, the largest ever for the meet, was the most competitive home meet of the season.
The Valdosta High School Wildcats won the boy’s section of the meet and Tallahassee’s Gody High School Lady Cougars won the girl’s section of the meet.
Leading the way individually for the Bearcats was Dominic Douglas, who was first in the high jump with a leap of 6-feet-4-inches. Chase Harris finished second in the 3200-meter run in a time of 10:05.38 and Curtavious Marshall was third in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 15.56. Harris also finished fifth in the 1600-meter run in a time of 4:33.98.
Leading the Bearcats was the four-by-200-meter relay team of Martez Vickers, Cedric Jones, Greg Cooper and Shawn Herring, who finished second in a time of 1:33.97.
Leading the way individually for the Lady Cats was Paige Braswell, who placed first in the 3200-meter run in a time of 12:04.42, and Raven Burney, who was third in the long jump with a leap of 16-feet-10-inches. Braswell was also fourth in the 1600-meter run in a time of 5:42.53.
Leading the way for the Lady Cats were the four-by-100-meter relay team of Tereka Green, Tearnee Harvin, Raven Burney and Jasmine Price, which finished third in a time of 50.69. The relay team finished fourth in the four-by-200-meter relay in a time of 1:54.95 and fifth in the four-by-400-meter relay in a time of 4:25.44.
Other Bearcat individual finishers were Charles Vickers, who was fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 42-feet-11-inches, Victor Bodison, who was fifth in the long jump with a leap of 20-feet-9-inches, Dominic Douglas, who was eighth in the triple jump with a leap of 41-feet-7-inches, Dreyvon Banks, who was eighth in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:51.93 and Craig Cooper, who was eighth in the long jump with a leap of 20-feet-5-inches.
The Bearcats four-by-100-meter relay team of Martez Vickers, Elijah Tyler, Craig Cooper and Cedric Jones was sixth in a time of 43.94. The Bearcats four-by-400-meter relay team of Isiah Brown, Curtis Keaton, Danbrell Harris and Lorenzo Mitchell was eighth in the 4-by-400-meter relay in a time of 3:37.48.