Sports

Go the distance

• A core group of athletes for Westover High completes a banner athetic year by taking a shot at the top of the GHSA state track and field leaderboard.

Derek Barichello

ALBANY — Westover relay team members sat in the shadow cast by the press box adjacent to the finish line at Monday’s practice in an empty Hugh Mills Stadium.

Today is the start of the GHSA State Track & Field Championships in Jefferson and each of them hunched over and tried to catch their breath.

It was more than just exhaustion from running three consecutive 400-meter sprints on demand of Westover boys head coach Lewis Smith holding a stop watch and a wry smile.

It was fatigue from a year of playing three sports and the last leg of a long track season that tugged at their worn-out muscles.

But as Smith coiled up another smile and called for the last sprint, each of the six jumped up without a complaint and completed the drill just as fast as the other three times.

Why?

To taste what it is like to be state champions.

“That’s what we dream about,” Westover’s lone senior Cameron McDuffie said as he closed his eyes and envisioned the moment.

After failing to make the final scoreboard — which includes the top five overall team scores — the past two seasons at state, Smith believes his Patriots led by juniors Greg Green, Kenji Breedlove, Brandon Benton and Sedrick Rowe, along with McDuffie and freshman Rashad Greene are finally ready to contend for the title.

In fact, outside of power Sandy Creek, a heavy favorite to win the Class AAA meet, Smith says his team can score as well as any in the field.

“Two years ago, these guys were baptized and last year they paid their dues,” Smith said. “This year has a different feel. This year there’s some swagger.”

That swagger starts with sprinter Green.

After not placing last year in both the 100 and 200 meters, Green has the best preliminary time in the 100 with a time 10.4 seconds, .03 seconds ahead of Quentavious Nance of Crisp County, and the second best in the 200 with a time of 21.530 seconds, .07 seconds behind Chamblee’s Malcolm Beyah.

“I’ve learned the times don’t mean anything,” said Green, who will also compete in the long jump. “It’s all in how you perform. I’m really confident.”

Breedlove anchors the field events.

The Region 1-AAA winner in the long jump enters Friday’s field events with the seventh longest jump at 21 feet, 9 inches, behind top jumper Christian Taylor (25-1) from Sandy Creek.

He will also compete in the triple jump as his best jump of 44-8 is well behind Taylor’s 51-4.

“I’m going for top three or better,” said Breedlove, who finished third in both the long jump and triple jump at state last season. “This year I’m not going into it nervous, I’ve grown accustomed to the environment.”

Along with Green and Breedlove, the 4x400 relay team that made a comeback to win and clinch the region team title holds the fastest preliminary time just .36 seconds faster than city rival Monroe.

Also the 4x100 relay team, which finished second in region to Crisp County, has the third best preliminary time and gives Westover a chance to notch more points.

“Relays are unpredictable,” Smith said. “If we are flawless, we stand a good chance to win both of them.”

Competing in other events for the Patriots, Brandon Benton will run the 400, Thomas Chapman will run the 800 and 1,600 and Jacob Metz will pole vault, while Rashad Jackson will throw discus.

All of them have the same idea in mind; return Westover’s name to the infield scoreboard and compete for a state title.

“We want them to know, we are Westover and we’re one of the top programs in Georgia,” Breedlove said.

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