Dawson County High School’s track and field program began their season at the North Hall Tri-Meet on Tuesday, March 7, with multiple relay teams earning first-place finishes.

Going up against talented teams in North Hall and Rabun County, the Tigers gave themselves a challenging test to begin the season.

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Dawson’s defending Region 7-3A champion 4x400 relay teams got out to strong starts again, with both the boys and girls sides winning their races on Tuesday.

For the boys, senior Will Kurtz — who is replacing Ethan Smith as the anchor leg — put up the fastest split at 54 seconds to put the Tigers ahead to win by under a half second.  

On the girls team, Emily Kurtz put up a 63-second leg to lead the experienced group to a victory by six seconds. 

In the shorter-length relays, the boys won both the 4x100 and 4x200 races while the girls scorched past North Hall with a 16-second win in the 4x200 race. 

The Lady Tigers also showed their strength again in the relatively new girls 4x800 relay, where Dawson won by seven seconds. Last season, the 4x800 group finished sixth in the State Championships. 

Individually, freshman Zamar Everett made a statement in his young career by winning the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 47.9.

Several others on the boys team would earn runner-up finishes, including Troupe Ford in the 100-meter dash, Will Kurtz in the 200-meter dash, Aaric Muilenburg in the 400-meter dash, Colton Land in the discus and Collin Robinson in the shot put. 

Katie Gloeckner forged a positive start to her junior season with a four-second win in the 400-meter dash, while Elizabeth Knight won the high jump. 

Runner-up finishes on the girls team included Lauren Kurtz in the 200-meter dash and Anna LeCave in the 800-meter race.

Dawson County will travel up to Lumpkin County next Tuesday, March 14, for a tri-match with the hosts and East Hall.