NewsAthleticsUpper School
Girls track completes impressive season
May 12, 2003 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
The Darlington girls track team--a small, highly dedicated, and talented group of athletes--has just completed its season, and did they ever go out with a bang!
On April 28 and 29, the girls competed in the region meet, where they finished a strong runner-up to Calhoun High School. Notable performances include Margaret Maclin's fourth place in the 100 hurdles, Catie McCoy's third place in the pole vault, Krisit Buice's fifth place in the 1600, Sarah Fox's third place in the 3200, Tamara Mullen's sixth place in the triple jump, Teddi Watts' fourth place in the high jump and 200 meter dash, and Fatema Bandukwala's third place finishes in the 400 and 800.
The top two teams or individuals at the region meet qualify for the state meet in Albany, Georgia, and the team qualified a total of seven athletes for this event. Uri Seymour won the region long jump in 16'4", Megan Betts won the 400 meter dash (60.38) and the 800 meter run (2:26), Kirby Cross won the 1600 in a School-record 5:14.4 and the 3200 (11:29), and the 1600 meter relay team of Kia Charles, Mullen, Watts, and Betts won the region with a time of 4:14. Fatema Bandukwala was an alternate for the relay.
This group of seven headed down to Albany, Ga. for the state meet the second week of May and came out with a team finish of fifth in the state. "The girls did their best and peformed well, Coach Ken Wempe, said. Seymour leaped 15'7" in the long jump, and Megan Betts earned fifth place in the 400 and fourth place in the 800. Kirby Cross began the meet by breaking her own School record (and the state AA record!) in the 3200 run with an astounding 11:20.18 split in the Albany heat. This crushed the state record by nine seconds and her own School record by eight seconds. Cross also posted her second straight-2nd place in the 1600 the following day. The girls' team ended the state meet with an incredible, come-from-ahead (sic) victory in the 1600 relay in what many track fans regarded as the most exciting and dramatic race of the three-day meet. In it, the fifth seeded Darlington girls got off to a strong third place start on the legs of starter Kia Charles, then moved up to second place on Tamara Mullen's leg, and then, on the final straightaway of the third lap, moved into first place when Teddi Watts charged into the lead and handed off the baton to anchor Megan Betts. Betts, who had already run the 400 and 800 that day, took the baton but had to fight off a furious charge from Pace Academy. The Pace anchor tried to dive past Betts at the finish, but Betts was too strong. The relay, which was aided by Fatema Bandukwala's strong effort in the preliminary round the night before, set a new school record of 4:09.96 en route to its dramatic state championship.
On April 28 and 29, the girls competed in the region meet, where they finished a strong runner-up to Calhoun High School. Notable performances include Margaret Maclin's fourth place in the 100 hurdles, Catie McCoy's third place in the pole vault, Krisit Buice's fifth place in the 1600, Sarah Fox's third place in the 3200, Tamara Mullen's sixth place in the triple jump, Teddi Watts' fourth place in the high jump and 200 meter dash, and Fatema Bandukwala's third place finishes in the 400 and 800.
The top two teams or individuals at the region meet qualify for the state meet in Albany, Georgia, and the team qualified a total of seven athletes for this event. Uri Seymour won the region long jump in 16'4", Megan Betts won the 400 meter dash (60.38) and the 800 meter run (2:26), Kirby Cross won the 1600 in a School-record 5:14.4 and the 3200 (11:29), and the 1600 meter relay team of Kia Charles, Mullen, Watts, and Betts won the region with a time of 4:14. Fatema Bandukwala was an alternate for the relay.
This group of seven headed down to Albany, Ga. for the state meet the second week of May and came out with a team finish of fifth in the state. "The girls did their best and peformed well, Coach Ken Wempe, said. Seymour leaped 15'7" in the long jump, and Megan Betts earned fifth place in the 400 and fourth place in the 800. Kirby Cross began the meet by breaking her own School record (and the state AA record!) in the 3200 run with an astounding 11:20.18 split in the Albany heat. This crushed the state record by nine seconds and her own School record by eight seconds. Cross also posted her second straight-2nd place in the 1600 the following day. The girls' team ended the state meet with an incredible, come-from-ahead (sic) victory in the 1600 relay in what many track fans regarded as the most exciting and dramatic race of the three-day meet. In it, the fifth seeded Darlington girls got off to a strong third place start on the legs of starter Kia Charles, then moved up to second place on Tamara Mullen's leg, and then, on the final straightaway of the third lap, moved into first place when Teddi Watts charged into the lead and handed off the baton to anchor Megan Betts. Betts, who had already run the 400 and 800 that day, took the baton but had to fight off a furious charge from Pace Academy. The Pace anchor tried to dive past Betts at the finish, but Betts was too strong. The relay, which was aided by Fatema Bandukwala's strong effort in the preliminary round the night before, set a new school record of 4:09.96 en route to its dramatic state championship.
