Twelve Scotland County children qualified for the State Hershey’s Track and Field event after positing first or second place times at the regional event Friday morning at Pate Stadium.

The regional meet, which hosted participants from Scotland County, Lumberton and Wilmington, featured winners from the three local meets held earlier this week.

The participants who placed first or second in their event qualified for the state meet which will be held at Meredith College in Raleigh on Jun.25.

Scotland County Parks and Recreation assistant athletic director Raymond Moody said that he saw improvement from the local competitors from earlier in the week.

“The times improved,” Moody said. “I don’t know if it was because it was a little cooler, but their times improved. They will probably practice a little bit while they are home this week and I think they will be ready for Raleigh.”

The Scotland County participants stole the show in the track events, as 11 participants qualified in the track events.

In the 9-10 year-old boys division, Khalil Smith qualified in first place in the 50 meter dash with a time of 7.2 seconds while Shawn Tyson-Smith took home second place with a time of 7.7 seconds. Smith also placed second in the 100 meter dash with a time of 14.8 seconds. In the division’s long distance run, Brenton Thomas earned a first place finish with a time of 1:34.0 in the 400 meter run.

In the 11-12 year-old division, the Scotland County boys did just as well, as Jordan Ratliffe took first overall in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.3 seconds. In the 200 meter dash, Zamir White qualified, finishing in first place with a time of 35.5 seconds.

Rounding out the boy’s division in the 13-14 year-old age group, Ty McLaurin picked up a second place finish in the 100 meter dash with a time of 14.8 seconds and posted a time of 28.0 seconds in the 200 meter dash to also finish second and qualify for the state meet.

In the girl’s division, Destiny McDonald took home first place in the 9-10 year-old 100 meter dash with a time of 15.5 seconds.

In the 11-12 year-old division, Jasmine Jessie finished first in two events, placing first in both the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes with times of 14.5 and 27.2 seconds, respectively.

Fiyonnia Baldwin rounded out the 13-14 year-old girl’s division with a time of 13.6 seconds in the 100 meter dash.



Field events

In the field event, the Scotland County participants were equally impressive.

In the softball toss, Smith picked up a first place finish in the boy’s 9-10 year-old age group with a toss of 112.1 feet. In the 11-12 year-old division, Cross Holfert threw for 193.6 feet to take first place, while Ratliffe finished second with a throw of 142.7 feet. McLaurin rounded out the boy’s group in the 13-14 year old division with a throw of 162.5 feet and a second place finish.

For the girl’s, Jada Bright took home second place with a throw of 57 feet in the 9-10 year-old age group, while Jessie and Arreone Col took first and second in the 11-12 year-old age group with throws of 118.8 feet and 99.1 feet.

In the long jump, one boy and two girls qualified for the state meet, with Raliffe taking first place in the 11-12 year-old boy’s division with a jump of 6’9”. McDonald jumped 5’6” in the 9-10 year-old division for a first place finish and Baldwin leapt 6’11” in the event to place first overall in the 13-14 year-old age group.

The Scotland County participants that qualified will go on to compete against some of the best competition in the state in the Hershey’s Track and Field State meet. The top winners at the state meet will get a chance to compete at the Hershey’s Track and Field National meet in Hershey, Penn.

Moody said that transportation will be provided for winners if they need it.

“The participants will get to Raleigh by their parents or by a Parks and Recreation van,” Moody said.

Hershey's Track & Field Program was created over 30 years ago to promote youth physical fitness and provide fun learning experiences for children 9 to 14 years old. It's the largest youth sports program of its kind in the United States and Canada. Track & field meets take place in every state and every province in North America.

Moody said to contact Scotland County Parks and Recreation at 277-2585 for more information on the event.