Clinton shines at state championships
The Clinton Red Devils put the wraps on the spring sports season this week with three appearances at state championships, each turning in strong results.
The Clinton track and field team had a solid day at Spring Valley High School Saturday, with Keria Dendy winning the gold medal in the shot put. Dendy’s toss of 37 feet, 11.5 inches was 11.5 inches further than the second-place toss of Naceema McMath of Lake Marion.
Clinton’s 4x100m relay team came up just short of winning back-to-back state titles as it took second place in its race, finishing in 49.87 seconds. Clinton fell to Manning, which won the gold medal by .49 seconds.
Maya Smith, who was on the 4x100m relay team, also was fifth in the 100m (12.68 seconds) and fifth in the 200m (26.18). Quiana Suber was sixth in the 400m (1:01.19), Mia Smith was seventh in the 400m IH (1:11.16), and Deasia Boyd was seventh in the 800m (2:36.37).
Clinton tennis: Clinton’s hopes for a state championship came up short for the third straight year in the state finals, where Bishop England picked up a 5-1 victory over the Red Devils at the Cayce Tennis Center. It was the second straight year Bishop England defeated Clinton for the title.
Ike Waldron, at No. 1 singles, picked up the lone point for Clinton on the day as he won 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Clinton golf: Clinton’s first team trip to the state tournament finished with an 11-place result (694), while Phoebe Carles was an all-state selection after finishing tied for 10th overall.
Carles shot back-to-back rounds of 75 and 78 to tie for 10th. Sofia Carles shot a two-day total of 171, Javi Carles finished at 185, Zoe Carles had 187, and Matthew McKittrick shot 211 for the two days.
Laurens: The Laurens Raiders were not left out of the state tournament parade as Evan Prince took second place in the 3,200m at the state track and field championships.
Prince qualified for state with a fifth-place finish at the 5A qualifier the week before, at Spring Valley – the same site as the state tournament. His time at the qualifier was 9 minutes, 41.83 seconds, while his time at the state final was 9:47.43.
