Impressive week for Iron Horse track teams
It was a busy and bountiful week for the Philip Simmons High School girls’ track and field team.
On April 1, coach Emma McCauley’s crew ran away from the field to claim the Berkeley County championship with an easy 224-113.5 victory over host school Cane Bay. Hanahan held down third place with 98.
On April 4, Philip Simmons held its fourth annual Iron Horse Stampede. McCauley opted to not use some of her best athletes because of the upcoming All-American Track Classic, which will be contested at Spring Valley High School April 9-11.
The Iron Horse girls fared well with a second-place finish to Savannah, Georgia, track power Richmond Hill at the Stampede. Richmond Hill posted a 153-109.5 victory over the Iron Horses. Hanahan was third with 73 points.
“We only had a day’s rest after the Berkeley County School District (meet) and the kids raced really hard, and many will compete in the All-American at Spring Valley,” McCauley said. “We are very proud of the girls for their performances and for representing their school, community, and the district at the county meet. They are working very hard and looking forward to the postseason.”
The Iron Horse boys’ team also had an impressive week. They finished second to Stratford at the Berkeley County Championships, as the Knights posted a 179.25-156.25 victory over the Iron Horses. Cane Bay finished third with 150.75 points.
Richmond Hill won the boys’ division of the Iron Horse Stampede with a 210-107 victory over Hampton County. The Iron Horses held down third place with 74 points.
The Iron Horse girls scored in all 17 events and had at least two athletes place in all but one of the individual events. The Iron Horses collected seven gold medals.
Ashley Roush led the way with 28 points in three individual events. She won the long jump and pole vault with respective efforts of 5.44 and 3.65 meters. She won silver in the high jump.
The Iron Horses also ruled in the distance events. Flynn Taylor won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 20.86 seconds, while Laura Perry won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs with respective times of 5:28.05 and 11:24.95. The 4x800-meter relay team won a gold medal with a 10:11.86 clocking. Jordan Washington-Spence won the javelin with a throw of 32.91 meters.
Matthew Perry led the Iron Horses in the Berkeley County championship with a victory in the 3,200 run (9:59.42) while claiming a silver medal in the 1,600 run.
The Iron Horse girls won four gold medals in the Iron Horse Stampede. Perry claimed gold with a time of 2:20.45 in the 800 run, while Taylor won the 1,600 in 5:13.10.
Julia Reilly captured gold with a leap of 11.3 meters in the triple jump and Chloe Wood won the javelin competition with a throw of 29.43 meters.
Luke Robinson led the boys with a gold medal effort of 47.0 in the javelin while the 4x800 relay team won in 8:41.14.