BE and HHS sprint to track and field state meet
Hanahan coach David Morbitzer is hoping to ride the wave of momentum – and talent – as the Hawks prepare for the Class AAA State Track and Field Championships this weekend in Columbia.
The Hawk boys won the Lower State championship Saturday over Bishop England, scoring 119 points. Bishop England was second with 93 and Waccamaw third with 67.
The Hawks used a speedy veteran, a crafty rookie and some impressive relay runners to capture the title.
The speedy veteran is Quincy Mitchell, who shone brightly Saturday with 28 points in the individual sprints. The crafty rookie is Noah Ward, an eighth-grader who was good enough to win the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.
“We did really well,” Morbitzer said. “Quincy had a great day and Noah was outstanding. The relay teams got the job done as well.”
Hanahan finished second at last year’s state meet, but Morbitzer feels this could be the year the Hawks swoop down and grab the biggest trophy that the High School League awards at the end of the day.
“We hope we can win the whole thing,” Morbitzer said. “If everything goes well and we run like we’re capable of, we can do it.”
Mitchell will conclude his track career Saturday. He hit full stride Saturday and hopes to end it with an exclamation point this weekend.
He won the 100-meter dash with a national elite time of 10.46 and just missed breaking Sam Denmark’s school record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.45, just .03 seconds off the mark. Mitchell claimed second in the 400-meter dash in 50.42.
“He’s running really well,” Morbitzer said. “He’s gotten stronger in the weight room and has worked hard on getting out of the blocks.”
Ward won the 1,600 in 4:34.86 and the 3,200 in 10:13.77.
The Hawks finished second in the 400-meter relay, third in the 1,600 relay and second in the 3,200 relay.
The Hawks’ Jamie Watson won the triple jump with a leap of 44-7 and finished second in the high jump.
Bishop England won the 1,600-meter relay in 3:32.16 while the Bishops’ Aiden Richter captured first in the 800-meter run, with a clocking of 2:92.90.
The Bishops collected 16 points in the discus as Joseph Storey and Jacob Wilkins finished 1-2. Luke Vettel cleared 12 feet to win the pole vault.
In the girls’ meet, Bishop England won the Lower State with 118 points. Waccamaw was second with 88 and May River third with 59.5. Hanahan was sixth with 49 points.
The Bishops won the 1,600 relay with a time of 4:13.04, which was more than four seconds better than second-place finisher Bluffton.
Carla Malark cleared 8-6 to win the pole vault while freshman Emma Albano continued to have an impressive spring. She won the discus with a heave of 102-9 and placed third in the shot put.
Tony Colizzi, who coaches both Bishop England teams, expects Saturday’s state meet to be extremely close.
“The state meet is going to be a battle for both the boys and the girls,” he said. “The boys will be in a battle with Hanahan, which is very strong. The girls will be in a battle with several teams and it may come down to the 4x4 to determine who wins the state meet. I am really looking forward to the girls 4x800, 800m and 4x4 as those should be exciting races.”