Breaking out

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: April 8, 2016

White Plains’ Ryleigh Randall wins three events during Wildcats’ in-school track meet

White Plains’ Michael Singleton flies through the air during his triple jump Friday. (Photo by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

Ryleigh Randall couldn’t have picked a better time to have a breakout day.

With the Calhoun County Track & Field Championships just four days away, the White Plains junior won three events, including an upset over a Junior Olympian teammate, during the Wildcats’ in-school track meet Friday.

Randall, the daughter of White Plains boys basketball coach Chris Randall, won the girls 300 hurdles (55.69), 100 hurdles (18.53) and javelin (88 feet, 1 inch) — all with personal bests.

“When I walked outside today and I felt the weather – it was the perfect temperature and a beautiful day – I had a feeling this was going to be a good day,” Randall said. “I’m just going to try to carry this momentum from today into next Tuesday and still work on my technique perfecting the little things I could’ve done better.”

Surprisingly, she has only been running hurdles for about two months, but with hard work, an aim of getting “two percent better every day” – an approach she learned from her dad – and encouragement from her mom, she has seen steady improvement.

She won the 300 hurdles in an earlier meet at ASD and finished third in the 100 hurdles at Gadsden City. She’s closing in on the state qualifying standard for the 300 hurdles, which she says is her favorite event.

“It was easy to get discouraged because it is a hard thing to learn, but my mom kept encouraging me,” Randall said. “Every time I’d come home from practice a little frustrated it was always you’ve just got to keep getting better and you’re going to get better every day and it’ll come; your time is going to come.”
The win in the javelin upstaged teammate Grey Young, a Junior Olympian who is expected to be one of the favorites in the event at the County Meet. Young’s best throw on the windy day was 84-6, her shortest throw since early last season.

“I look up to her a lot because she’s a Junior Olympian and she really knows her stuff when it comes to javelin,” Randall said. “She’s actually been a really big part of helping me learn javelin and help my technique. I really have her to thank for this win because she’s helped me a lot.”

White Plains won the girls meet with 206 points and the boys meet with 228.

On the boys side, White Plains senior Kevin Carr set two school records running in his first formal high school track meet since the eighth grade at Donoho. He won the boys 200 in 23.68 and ran 11.36 in the 100 but was nipped at the wire by one-hundredths of a second by Weaver’s Giovanni Mosley. He also was second in the long jump.

“I felt like this is my senior year and I wanted to finish everything out strong,” he said. “I felt the need of just going out and getting track as the last sport. I was surprised when they said it was a record; I wasn’t expecting that. I was just out here trying to compete like I always do in other sports.”

When his events were finished he walked down the path to get back to baseball practice. The Wildcats are on the road to open an area series with Jacksonville that will determine their playoff fate Tuesday, the same day as the County Track Meet in Jacksonville. Carr hopes it works within the schedule to do both, but said baseball was his first sport of the season.

On the cover: White Plains’ Chase Crandall passes the baton to Jordan Singleton during the 4×400 relay. (Photo by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)

Saks’ Lyndah Truss leads Weaver’s Tabitha Roberts across the line during their 100-meter heat race Friday. (Photo by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)

WHITE PLAINS TRACK MEET

Girls Winners
Javelin – Ryleigh Randall, White Plains 88-1
Shot put – Kaitlyn Coheley, Cherokee County 31-6 ¼
Discus – Kaitlyn Coheley, Cherokee County 71-0
Long jump – Megan Crossley, White Plains 13-8 ½
Triple jump – Megan Crossley, White Plains 27-11
100 – Jhayda Whiteside, Cherokee County 13.19
100 Hurdles – Ryleigh Randall, White Plains 18.53
4×400 – Saks 4:44.00
4×800 – Saks 12:13.66
200 – Jhayda Whiteside, Cherokee County 29.14
1600 – Camryn Swain, Donoho 6:18.19
300 Hurdles – Ryleigh Randall, White Plains 55.69
400 – Alyssa Hudgins, White Plains 1:03.82
3200 – Savannah Yates, White Plains 15:35.44
4×100 – Saks 55.40
800 – Alyssa Hudgins, White Plains 2:55.22

Team scores: White Plains 206, Cherokee County 185, Saks 121, Donoho 23, Weaver 11.

Boys Winners
Javelin – Eli Hightower, White Plains 141-6
Shot put – Brandon Boyce, Weaver 39-1 ½
Discus – DeMario Burnett, Saks 103-10
Long jump – Ashton Scott, Saks 19-0 ½
Triple jump – Eli Hightower, White Plains 37-2 ½
100 – Giovanni Mosley, Weaver 11.35
110 Hurdles – Giovanni Mosley, Weaver 15.69
4×400 – White Plains 3:54.13
4×800 – White Plains 10:03.13
200 – Kevin Carr, White Plains 23.68
1600 – Will Lee, White Plains 15:17.38
300 Hurdles – Michael McGuirk, White Plains 46.41
400 – Brannon Bellar, Weaver 55.12
3200 – Jake Moore, White Plains 12:05.72
4×100 – Saks 45.97
800 – Will Lee, White Plains 2:22.09