The Dawson County High School boys and girls track and field teams finished up their regular season last week with first and second place respective finishes against North Hall, Johnson and Fannin County.

The win for the boys' team took them to 12-1 on the season and the girls to 10-3 after the April 11 meet and senior night at DCHS.

"We celebrated the careers of 19 seniors and had one school record destroyed by Anna Lowe in the shot put with a massive throw of 36 feet, 11 inches," said Head Coach Arron Haynes.

The success this season is directly attributable to the hard work of the athletes on both teams, according to Haynes.

"Our girls have really worked to overcome being a young team to put things together and our boys have such solid leadership from the upperclassmen," Haynes said. "Both teams have a great chance at a top three finish in the region and I feel like the boys will battle for the region championship."

The boys' team took the top spots in a number of events both in the field and on the track.

Taylor Swofford was third in the shot put with a 40' 11" throw, followed by Jeremy Whalen at 40' 2 1/3". The pair were also fourth and fifth respectively in the discus at 111' 2" and 102' 1".

Luke Ellis and Ethan Cameron finished in the top two spots of the long jump with Ellis at 18' 11 1/8" and Cameron at 18' 6".

In the high jump, Carlos Keller won first with a height of 6' and Matthew Mayfield was third at 5' 6".

Ethan Cowart was third in pole vault at 10' 6".

On the track, Cody Wood earned a second place in the 3200 meter race at 10 minutes and 24 seconds.

The Tigers swept the top three spots in the 1600m with Jacob Poston in first at 4:32, Christopher Shelp in second at 4:48 and Nico Poston in third at 5:04.

Jacob Poston and Shelp also took first and second respectively in the 800m. Poston ran a 2:02 and Shelp 2:09.

In the 400m, Rusty Chester finished first at 53.57 and Cameron second at 54.61.

Noah Brock finished second in the 200m with a time of 23.84.

The Dawson relay team took first place in the 4x100 at 45.33.

The Tigers were also first in the 4x400 at 3:39.

On the girls' side, sophomore Lowe broke the DCHS record when she took first in the shot put with a 36' 11" throw.

Teammate Maggie Schandera finished third at 28'.

In the discus, Mackenzie Willoughby came in at third with a 11' 2 ½" throw.

Nicole Chumbley was second in the long jump at 14' ½".

Lindsey LeBaron tied for second in the high jump with her 4' 4" height.

On the track Jenna LeCours took the top spots in both the 3200m and the 1600m with times of 13:19 and 6:11.

Bailey Cotter won the 800m with a time of 2:43.

Dawson girls took second and third in the 400m. Avery Young was second at 1:03.44 and Abby Cotter third at 1:03.10.

The Dawson Lady Tigers 4x400 relay team took first with a 4:39.

Haynes said he is pleased with the teams as the season wraps up.

"I feel like both our boys and girls have worked extremely hard this year and have shown great improvement throughout the season," he said.

"I am excited to see how many individuals we can pull through to the state sectional meet in Statesboro."

Dragon Invitational
The teams competed again on April 15 at the Dragon Invitational in Jefferson. There the boys were fourth overall and the girls fifth against several teams from North Gwinnett, Chattachoochee, Jefferson, George Walton, Pepperell, Eastside and Athens Academy.

Carlos Keller and Jacob Poston earned championships in the high jump and 1600 meter respectively.

Keller jumped 6' 4" in the finals.

Poston finished his race with a time of 4:28.06. Poston also earned a fourth place finish in the 800m at 1:59.95.

Also on the boys side, Chester ran a 53.29 400m for sixth place.

In the 3200m, Cody Wood was second overall at 10:18.65, earning eight points and McGinnis was fifth at 10:59.01.

In the 100m hurdles, Howell was eighth at 18.15.

The boys 4x400m relay ‘A' team was fifth with a time of 3:39.01.

SeVaughn Clark took fifth in the high jump at 6'.

Also adding points in the pole vault were Cowart and Freeman tied for sixth at 10' 6".

Cameron finished the long jump in sixth overall at 18' 11 ½". Ellis was eighth at 18' 9".

Cameron also came up with a third place finish in the triple jump at a length of 40' 6 ½".

Abby Cotter earned points with her seventh place finish in the 400m with a time of 1:03.73.

Bailey Cotter also took seventh in the 800m with a 2:39.66.

LeCours picked up a point in the 1600m at 5:56.39 and an eighth place finish.

LeCours and Hamby were fourth and fifth respectively in the 3200m with times of 13:29.68 and 13:49.46.

Martin took eighth in the 100m hurdles at 19.70.

The Lady Tigers ‘A' team was fourth overall at 4:28.79 in the 4x400 relay.

LeBaron earned a fourth place spot in the high jump at 4' 2".

McGinnis was eighth in the triple jump at 29' 9 ½".

Lowe and Schandera took the fourth and fifth spots in the shot put with throws of 32' 11" and 29' 5".

The regional meet for both teams will begin today at Fannin County.