Relay team ends with medal, record
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By PAUL HINES
Sentinel Sports Staff
Submitted Photo
STATE MEDAL — Mount Vernon’s 3,200 meter relay team LEFT to RIGHT Branden Etheridge, Trey Mygatt, Caedmon Cook and Rowan Wilford placed sixth Saturday at the 2A track and field state finals.
Mount Vernon’s distance relay team finished a historic season with a medal at Saturday’s 2A track and field state finals.
The 3,200 meter group of Branden Etheridge, Trey Mygatt, Caedmon Cook and Rowan Wilford ended sixth overall with a time of 7:54.13. Chicago Payton won the title with a mark of 7:42.68. In Friday’s preliminary round the team placed ninth overall to advance.
“I think the guys were not real satisfied with themselves, thought they could do better (after the prelims),” Mount Vernon coach Clint Turner said. “We challenged them as coaches and said, hey how do you want to do this? You want to go out with a whimper or do you want to go out with a little bit of a roar? They obviously stepped up.”
The state final time bettered the group’s school record mark from earlier this season. It was the final race for Etheridge, Mygatt and Cook.
“They’ve been the solid base of our distance crew,” Turner said. “Great careers, you look back into cross country and track.
“Just good kids, solid kids that are always ready to go for us, have always answered the bell. I’m just really proud of them. If you get kids like that all the time, we’re always going to be pretty good.”
Mygatt also qualified for the 800 meters as an individual. He didn’t run in the race to stay fresh for the relay race.
“I think that’s his unselfishness to his teammates, just knowing that if he ran four races this weekend the fourth race would be the 800 final,” Turner said. “It would just be tough. So just being able to help a relay team earn an all-state medal and school record those kind of things, just really unselfish of him. (It) just shows what kind of person he is.”
Joel Hayes also competed in the 3,200 meters and placed 22nd with a time of 9:57.66. Marion’s Dylon Nalley won the race with a time of 8:56.02.
“He’ll be the solid guy for us next year,” Turner said. “He’ll be the leader. He’ll be the guy that gets everybody going in the right direction. He’s not a big talker, but his actions speak for him.”
Trace Elliott competed in the preliminary round of the 800 meters. The Rams runner finished 17th with a time of 2:00.25.
“Trace being a young guy as a sophomore to get up there and be able to race obviously experience is such a key factor to what we do,” Turner said. “He’s got that experience now, and I think he’s got a really good career in front of him.”
phines@morningsentinel.com
