Sports

Early success

• Led by sophomore Nett Reed, the Early County Lady Bobcats produced the top showing of any team in all of Southwest Georgia.

Paul Dehner Jr.

ALBANY — As Early County sprinter Nett Reed locked into the blocks in the Class AA 200-meter run, a small contingent of Lady Bobcats coaches nervously paced the sidewalk near the finish line.

A first-place finish from their sophomore sensation would deliver a state championship.

The coaches could barely watch as Reed fell to fourth and crossed the finish line a second behind streaking Shamira Bennett from Adairsville.

But nobody would fault Reed on this day.

She pulled off her second consecutive long jump title Friday and came within two-hundreths of a second of a state championship in the 400 meters hours earlier.

By the time the shadows from the tall leaderboard stretched across the infield at Hugh Mills Stadium, the final standings showed Early County in a tie for third place (with Greater Atlanta Christian) for the second consecutive year.

Saturday represented the culmination of another shining moment in the rise of a Lady Bobcats program asserting itself as a state power.

“We used to just want to be up on the board,” girls coach Craig Storey said. “Now, we want to be on top of the board.”

Only a matter of seconds separated them from an elusive first state title.

Powered by both of the Bobcats 4x100 meter relay teams qualifying for the finals, the points began building during the opening moments of Saturday.

With Reed running anchor, Early team No. 1 finished second at 49.74 seconds with team No. 2 close behind in sixth at 50.455.

Reed later took the lead in the 400 meters, running down the stretch when Chantel Kennedy of Wesleyen slowly crept from behind.

Kennedy would extend forward at the finish line to account for the two-hundreths of a second difference.

“I didn’t know she was behind me,” Reed said. “I thought I had it right there; she had me leaning.”

One hour and three spurts of a downpour later, Reed nestled in to run the 200 meters well aware of the stakes.

A win in the race she qualified with the second-best time for would equal 10 team points and clinch a two-point win over North Oconee.

“I was real nervous,” Reed said.

She held with the pack for the first 100 meters but as eventual winner Bennett stretched her lead, three days of running caught up with Reed.

“She was tired,” Storey said. “She ran her heart out; that is all we could ask.”

And now she will lead this budding program back during the next two years of her promising career.

Backed by a steady group of athletes following her lead, the Lady Bobcats hope to eventually rise to the top of the board.

“I got two more years to go,” Reed said. “I will be ready next year.”

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