Sports

SGA’s Lee narrowly misses state title

Derek Barichello

ALBANY —It was a photo finish in Saturday’s 400 meters finals at Hugh Mills Stadium on the final day of the GISA State Track Meet.

Southwest Georgia Academy’s Miles Lee lost his lead right before the finish line to Troy Poulin of Bulloch, and despite a leaping finish in which he tumbled to the ground face first, Lee had to settle for second place.

Poulin finished with a time of 52.80 seconds, just .07 seconds faster than Lee.

“I caught him at the corner of my eye and I knew I had to start moving,” Lee said. “He just leaned a little bit farther than me.”

Lee finished third in last year’s state meet and was not the least disappointed with the outcome.

“It was my best time ever,” Lee said. “So I’m all right with it.”

Lee helped lead a Southwest Georgia Academy team that finished fourth place in the Class AA meet. The Warriors finished with 46 points, below first-place Bulloch with 138, Trinity Christian (70) and Brookwood (51).

THE CHAMP’S LIL’ CHAMP

Former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield’s son, Ewin Holyfield, of the Class AAA state champion Riverside Military Academy, had a huge day Saturday.

And dad could not have been more proud.

Ewin finished second in total individual points with 29.25, which included a first place finish in the 200 ahead of Deerfield-Windsor’s John Smith.

While Holyfield’s son received his awards, the proud Evander Holyfield held his video camera and taped every moment with a smile on his face.

“It feels great to be state champs,” Ewin said acknowledging his father.

“I didn’t really expect to do as well as I did, but I know Dad is proud of me.”

ICARD COMES UP SHORT

Terrell Academy’s Keaton Icard gave Shiver a run for his money.

The Eagles hurdler crossed the finish line with a personal best 16.4 seconds but fell short in the end.

“I had the lead until the seventh hurdle,” Icard said. “Then I lost my step and it went downhill.”

SOARING EAGLES

Along with Icard, Terrell Academy had a great deal of success with their sprinters on Saturday.

Starting with the boys 4 x 100 relay team, the Eagles finished in second place with a time of 45.88 seconds, just three-tenths of a second off first-place Robert Toombs.

Then Chris Dean gave the Eagles another runner-up finish in the 200.

CALM, COOL CARLSON

Terrell Academy’s Emily Carlson said at Thursday’s qualifying rounds that her time was effected by her nerves.

On Saturday, she was cool as the other side of the pillow.

Carlson finished runner-up in the 200 and third place in the 100 with a new philosophy.

“I think I was more relaxed and confident,” Carlson said.

RUNNING WITH THE PACK

Jenna Willingham and Coley Westbrook did not break the pack until the end in Saturday’s 3,200 finals.

Willingham and Westbrook ran side-by-side through seven of the eight laps as Willingham finished in third place with a time of 14:17.13 and Westbrook with a time of 14:40.19.

“It’s comforting to know you have a teammate there,” Willingham said. “We encouraged each other the whole way.”

Willingham and Westbrook finished behind Victoria Coppage from Covenant who set a state record with a time of 12:01.04.

HURTING, NOT KNAPPING

Nile Knapp of Sherwood Christian Academy had a rough day.

Knapp, who has battled a hamstring injury all weekend and said he raced at 90 percent on Saturday, crossed the finish line in 23.07 seconds in the 200 for fifth place, while he finished sixth in the 100 with a time of 11.54 seconds.

His fifth place finish in the 200 was not without controversy. Knapp felt he was pushed out of his lane by another competitor but was not allowed to appeal.

“I had a bad start,” Knapp said. “Then I felt I got bumped a couple of times — oh well.”

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