Each of the two local schools participating in last weekend’s state track meet found success in their on way. For Pleasant Valley, it was the boys that came out with a Top 10 finish. The squad finished in a tie for ninth – with fellow Calhoun County foe White Plains – with 24 points.
For Jacksonville, it was the girls that celebrated as they claimed one of the few Calhoun County state champions in Taylor Palmer.
Palmer took first place in the discus with a throw of 107 feet, 7 inches.
She bested second-place finisher Taylor Prince of Guntersville by more than 6 feet.
Palmer also managed a second Top-10 finish. It came in the triple jump.
The girls’ 4x100-meter relay team finished seventh and the 4x400 team of Lacey Buchanon, Eriche Gamble, Brandi Kidd and Jasmine Taylor finished eighth in the 4x400m relay.
On the boys’ side, the lone Top-10 finish went to the boys’ 4x800m relay. The guys --- Justin Lindsey, Swaheeb Shobair, Deonte Elston and Micah Shelvin --- finished 10th with a time of 9:14.63.
For the Raiders, the boys proved strong competitors led by a pair of hurdling brothers.
In the 100m hurdles, Joseph Faucett finished third behind a pair of Falkville runners for the bronze. The same fate befell his brother, David, in the 300 m hurdles, as he took third behind a Falkville pair.
In the 4x400m relay, the boys team took fourth in the 4 x 400 m relay.
Sean McAllister finished fifth in the discus. He was sandwiched by a pair of locals. He finished two inches behind Piedmont’s Wesley Minton and more than two feet ahead of White Plains’ Christopher Wheeling.
Kyle Bean was sixth in the javelin, and Matt McSheridan was 10th in the 400m dash.
For the Lady Raiders, Britney Brothers was ninth in the 300m hurdles. The girls 4x400m relay team was also ninth.
The lone point that the girls accrued came in the 4x800m relay with the girls group finishing eighth.
