Lady Indians Are State Champions
Courtesy of VHS
The Vidalia High School Lady Indians track & field team overcame a cool, rainy day to capture the Class A Division 1 State Championship in Rome on Saturday. The Lady Indians scored 70 points in the two-day event, outdistancing Model by 7 points (63) and 3rd place Bremen by 13 points (57) to claim their second State Championship in the last 7-years.
Girls Day 1 The Lady Indians got the weekend started off in fine fashion on Friday with Takaiya Bacon winning her first of two State Championships of the weekend in the Long Jump with a leap of 18’1”. Dreshiya Jackson finished in 4th place and with the two’s combined scores, the Lady Indians had 15 points to start the meet.
Bacon won her second State Championship of the day in the triple jump with a School Record jump of 38’10.5” giving Vidalia an- continued from page
other 10 points. Senior Dashia Ford tacked on another 4 points with a 5th place finish, and with just two events in the books for the Lady Indians, stood strong with a total of 29 points.
Vidalia’s first points on the track came in the 4x800m relay, when the team of Georgia Meredith, Jesse Wynn, Aidyn Driggers and Judith Hussey scored 3 points with a 6th place finish and the Lady Indians ending day one with 32 points.
Day 2
Day two was a day of cold, wind and rainy weather in Rome, but the challenging conditions didn’t hinder the Lady Indians quest for the title.
Dashia Ford once again played an important part of the march to the Championship, opening up Day 2 with a 5th place finish in the 100m hurdles, adding four more points to the Lady Indians' total to give them 36-points after the first running final of the day.
Vidalia's next points came in the 100m dash, with Kayden Love finishing 5th, and J’Miya Hunt following in 6th place to give Vidalia a combined 7 points in the event and boosting their total to 43 points.
The onslaught for the Lady Indians continued in the next running event with the team of Love, Ford, Jackson, and Hunt claiming the State Championship in the 4x200m relay, with a time of 1:46.45, and giving Vidalia 10 more points for a total of 53 points.
The Lady Indians 4x100m relay team then all but put the Championship in their hands, when Kayden Love, Journey Clements, Zaviyana Walton and J’Miya Hunt posted a time of 51.20, just edging out Chattooga to claim another State Championship for Vidalia, and giving them another 10-points for a total of 63 points with just four events remaining.
Vidalia then put the icing on the cake, scoring 7 more points in three of those four events, with Ford and Hunt each scoring 1-point in the 300m hurdles and the 200m dash, respectively. Georgia Meredith added 4 more points in the 3,200m run, and the 4x400m relay team of Dreshiya Jackson, Aidyn Driggers, Jesse Wynn and Takaiya Bacon scored the 70th point of the meet for VHS, and at approximately 6:15 p.m. the Lady Indians were officially State Champions!
“Our kids worked hard all season,” said Head Coach Mandy Godbee. “From the track to the field, every point counted. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team and all the Coaches that helped make this happen.” Boys For the VHS boys hey had several solid performances.
Junior Jaydyn Young was a highlight, earning second in both the 110m hurdles (14.78) and 300m hurdles.
“Jaydyn’s speed and focus were incredible,” said Coach Mandy Godbee. “He’s a leader for our team and expects a high level of effort from his teammates.”
Junior Cash Driggers placed sixth in the 800m run and 13th in the 1,600m run.
“Cash has remained the foundation of our distance crew because of his physical and mental toughness and focus.”
Driggers is also the anchor leg of the 4×400m relay that placed with Jaydyn Young, Adrian Newkirk, and Jordan Johnson.
Chamlee Evans and Tavarius Franklin each ran a personal best in the 3,200m run.
The boys’ 4x800m relay team took 6th with team members Jordan Johnson, Roderick Berry, Chamlee Evans and Cash Driggers.
Junior Kashun Coney had a good showing, yet finished 11th in shot put.
Godbee added, 'The Indians had many obstacles to overcome and this crew fought hard and remained focused through tough times. I am proud of their grit and determination to finish strong and I am extremely proud of their effort.'
