Lightning Jets capture ton of medals and ribbons

Published 8:45 am Tuesday, July 23, 2024

The competition had trouble catching the Baldwin County Lightning Jets during the spring track and field season.

The local youth recreation track program overwhelmed the competing counties with numbers at district, won a second consecutive North Georgia League championship in Jefferson, then went on to represent the community at the Georgia Recreation and Park Association state meet in Commerce.

“The season was outstanding,” Lightning Jets head coach Barry Havior said.

Havior, Coach Barry to the young athletes, had over 100 kids running, jumping, and throwing for the Lightning Jets this year. The GRPA District championship, which was held locally at Braves Stadium, was a breeze as Baldwin County runners were largely competing against their own teammates in races.

Then it was on to the North Georgia League meet in Jefferson. The NGL differs from the GRPA in that it allows athletes up to 18 years old and under 6 to compete. The GRPA stops at 14.

Baldwin County has been very competitive on the NGL scene since first attending in 2021. The Lightning Jets lost the team title, which combines boys and girls scores, by one point that first year and three points the second year. Since then it’s been all Baldwin County though with victories in both 2023 and ‘24.

Baldwin County had six athletes receive individual high-point trophies for doing well across multiple events. Those kids were: Omarion Webb, 15-16 boys; J’Varis Hooks, 11-12 boys; Kayden Jordan, 9-10 boys; Dominique Reaves, 9-10 girls; Skylar Bacon, 6-8 girls; and Emerson Jones, 5 and under girls.

Top finishers in the boys 15-18 age group at the NGL meet included: Malik Hall and Andre Hall who went 1-2 100-meter dash; Malik Hall and Epalahame Tonga-Taylor who went 1-2 in the 200-meter dash; Tonga-Taylor was first in the 400-meter; Amiryun Waller was second in the 80-meter hurdles; Kehlin Lawrence was first in the high jump; Omarion Webb was first in the long jump and the javelin; and both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relay teams were winners as well.

Top finishers in the girls 15-18 age group were: Baylen Yarbrough, first in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash; and Diamond Betha, first in the 80-meter hurdles and second in the 200.

Top finishers in the boys 13-14 bracket were: Arkell Hill and Jafari Ingram, who went 1-2 in the 80-meter hurdles; Hill, first in the 300-meter hurdles; and Jayven Norman, who was second in the standing long jump.

Top finishers in the girls 13-14 group included Londonlee Chambers, who first in the 200-meter. Both relay teams were crowned champs as well.

In the boys 11-12 group, top finishers were: Carlos Foster, first in the 100-meter and second in the 200-meter; Quanerious Mitchell, second in the 80-meter hurdles; Brenton Taylor, second in the 300-meter hurdles; and J’Varis Hooks, first in the softball throw and second in the discus.

Top finishers in the girls 11-12 age group were: Naomi Cummings, first in the 300-meter hurdles and second in the 200-meter; Kaylee Blount, first in the discus; and the 4-by-100 relay team was a winner as well.

In the boys 9-10 group, top results included: Kayden Jordan, first in the 200-meter and the 80-meter hurdles and Malachi Hughes, first in the softball throw.

For girls 9-10, top finishers were: Dominique Reaves, first in the standing long jump and second in the 100-meter; and Skylar Lawson, second in the 200-meter and the long jump.

Down into the 8 and under age bracket, top girls finishers were: Skylar Bacon, first in the 50-meter, 100-meter, and 200-meter dashes; Emerson Jones, second in the 100-meter and first in the softball throw; Allison Simmons, first in the 400-meter dash and second in the 800-meter; the girls 4-by-4 team won first; and the 4-by-100 team finished second.

Then it was on to GRPA state where the competition stepped up in a big way.

“I knew the competition was going to be tough at state, but we did well,” Havior said.

Those with top-3 finishes at the GRPA state meet included: the 13-14 boys 4-by-400 relay team of Jontarius Stanton Jr., Antavious Veal, Jayven Norman, and Arkell Hill, who finished third; the 13-14 girls 4-by-100 relay team of Quasia Mitchell, Joshaya Steele, Jana Washington, and Destinee Ellington, who finished third; Carlos Foster, third in the 11-12 boys 100-meter; Kaylee Blount, third in the 11-12 girls discus; the 11-12 girls 4-by-100 relay team of Kayden Bell, Naomi Cummings, Peyton Hill, and Quanecia Mitchell, who finished third; the 11-12 girls 4-by-400 relay team of Bell, Bri-Elle Mosley, Mitchell, and Cummings, who finished third; Malachi Hughes, third in the 9-10 boys softball throw; Skylar Lawson, third in the 9-10 girls long jump; Dominique Reaves, second in the 9-10 girls standing long jump; and Skylar Bacon, third in the 8U girls 200-meter.

Havior has spent a long time building the brand of youth track and field in Baldwin County, something that other coaches notice whenever competition time rolls around. The veteran coach will spend the offseason trying to find more athletes in hopes of catching Carrollton and other high-finishing teams at GRPA state next spring.