Sports

Westwood makes Day 1 statement

Derek Barichello

ALBANY — Westwood’s Brett Shiver offered his opponents a scary glimpse of what he can do in Thursday’s GISA Class A State Tournament qualifying rounds.

Shiver not only finished with the best qualifying time in the 300 hurdles and second best in the 110 hurdles, he broke a state record in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.8 seconds.

The bad news for opponents is that it might not have been his best.

“It’s a mystery,” Westwood boys and girls track coach Earl Ford said. “We knew he was capable of breaking the state record but we didn’t talk about it. We talked about him taking it light and making it to Saturday’s finals without an injury.”

Shiver, who will lead a Westwood boys track team that along with the girls team won the state championship last season, seemed to take it easy on the first two hurdles according to his coach, then picked up the pace.

“I don’t know if he found a rhythm and said, ‘What the heck?’ or not?”

Ford said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he was still taking it a little bit easy.”

Ford, who wore a straw hat and sunglasses in the infield of Hugh Mills Stadium, helped out in the relays but mostly took it easy himself.

That’s because with a program like Westwood’s, a day filled with qualifying rounds are just an appetizer, today’s field finals and Saturday’s running finals are the main course.

“I knew a large group of them would qualify,” Ford said. “I just asked that they do as good as they can do and we’ll see how it looks come Saturday.”

Ford expects both of his teams to be competitive when the standings go final Saturday but felt better about the girls chances to repeat as champions.

“We’ll need to get a strong day out of Madison Lamar,” Ford said as Lamar will compete in the pole vault, triple jump and long jump finals today. “And Jenna Willingham will have to get us some big points in the distance races – then we’ll have a chance.”

Willingham wasted no time answering her coach’s wishes Thursday.

The defending 1,600 meters state champion finished second to Victoria Coppage from Covenant – who set a state record with a time of 5:40.29.

“It was definitely not my best,” Willingham said. “But I honestly didn’t expect to beat Victoria, so you can say second place was my goal.”

Also qualifying for Saturday’s finals for Westwood were both girls 4x100 relay teams, the boys 4x100 relay team, Lindsey Curles in the 100 hurdles, Virginia Vereen in the 100 and 300 hurdles, Jake Edore in the 110 and 300 hurdles, Miller Singleton in the 100, Tayler Boone in the 100 and 400, Coley Westbrook in the 400 and Ethan Elliott in the 400.

OUT TO GET SHIVER

Shiver did not post the best time in the 110 hurdles thanks to Terrell Academy’s Keaton Icard.

The Eagles hurdler finished with a personal best 16.91 seconds and hopes to beat out Shiver on Saturday.

“I’m peaking at the right time,” Icard said. “I’d like to finish first.”

BLAZING EAGLES

The Terrell Academy boys 4x100 relay team posted the second fastest time of the day to qualify for Saturday’s finals.

Shaky run: Terrell Academy’s Emily Carlson shook off her nerves to qualify with the third best time in the 100 Thursday. Carlson said she thinks she would have finished better had she been able to keep her nerves.

“It was so nerve-racking,” Carlson said. “Hopefully Saturday I won’t be so nervous, it messed me up a lot.”

OTHER LOCAL QUALIFIERS

Brooke Taylor was the lone qualifier from Randolph Southern. He finished in the Top 10 of the 400 and will race in the finals Saturday, while Southwest Georgia Academy’s Alex Wilson qualified for the 110 hurdles and the boys 4X 100 relay.

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