The 2022 Cotton Boll Relays are now in the books.
The host Taylor Ducks and Lady Ducks combined for eight varsity first-place finishes and 16 top-three varsity finishes this past Thursday, March 10.
This year’s edition of the relays featured athletes from Belton, Lake Belton, Buckholts, Georgetown Gateway Prep, KMT Academy, Little River Academy, Manor New Tech, Riesel, Rockdale, Smithville, Temple Holy Trinity Catholic and the Austin Texas School for the Deaf.
“This was a pretty big meet for us going up against some much bigger teams. The girls, once again, competed hard and had some shining moments, which made me very proud,” said Coach Shelli Cobb. “We still have a lot of work to do before district in early April, but we are gaining momentum.”
The field events took center stage shortly after 1 p.m. Taylor’s Jarvis Anderson finished first in the boys long jump with a distance of 22-5 ½. Anderson also finished second in the triple jump event with a distance of 47-7. In the track events, Anderson placed first in the 110- meter hurdles with a time of 15.07 and in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 38.18.
Ahjalei Davis finished second in the girls discus event throwing 92-1. Davis also placed 11th in the girls shot put with a distance of 28-7 ¾.
Jackson Meller took fifth in the boys pole vault with a height of 11 feet. Shaivion Warren finished sixth in the boys high jump with a height of 5-8. Zakaya Frederick placed 10th in the girls long jump with a distance of 13-10.
Krista Randig placed ninth in the girls shot put with a distance of 29-8 ¾. In the boys shot put, Syrus Corley placed seventh with a distance of 43-3 ½. Dyant’E Vincent placed eighth in the same event with a distance of 41-3 ¾.
As the sun began to set, the track events got underway. First place finishers on the track for Taylor included Aiyanna Thompson in the girls 800-meter run with a time of 2:32.07. Emma Whitsel brought home first place taking the girls 100-meter hurdles event with a time of 15.85. State qualifier Christian Rohlack took first in the boys 400- meter, with a time of 50.48 and the boys 200- meter, with a time of 22.84.
The Taylor boys 4x400-meter relay team also took first place with a time of 3:26.99.
Lily Vega placed top ten in three events. She finished seventh in the girls 3,200-meter run with a time of 14:26.43, ninth in the girls 800- meter run with a time of 3:00.27 and eighth in the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:52.39.
The Taylor girls 4x100 meter relay team of Destiny Lewis, Frederick, Whitsel and Tyronzia Lewis finished second with a time of 51 seconds. the 4x200 girls’ team of Destiny Lewis, Whitsel, Aiyanna Thompson and Tyronzia Lewis also placed second with a time 1:48.09. The 4x400 team of Aiyanna Thompson, Destiny Lewis, Zari Thompson and Tyronzia Lewis took third with a time of 4:23.8.
To close out the night, the Mike Tennill High Point Female Athlete Award and the Mike Tennill High Point Male Athlete Award were presented at the conclusion of Thursday night’s Cotton Boll Relays. Taylor’s Jarvis Anderson and Belton’s Ayanna Jones were the second recipients of the award that have become a staple since the return of the relays.
