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Girls 100m
Victoria Cameron (Stephenville) was the defending state champion and one of the fastest qualifiers coming into the meet. She had just brought her 4x100 meter relay team from way back into medal contention.
Also one of the favorites was sophomore Ja'Naria Jackson (Terrell) who had the fastest regional qualifier.
It was fairly even amongst all runners through their drive phases, but it was Cameron and Jackson coming out them and pushing into the transition and into the final meters.
Jackson would get the narrow advantage at the 45 meter mark and despite a strong finish from Cameron, she would carry it through the finish line for the win in 11.74. Cameron finished runner-up this season in 11.78 and Dejah Okonji (Manor New Tech)was third in 12.18.
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Girls 400m
Taylor McFarland from Godley had the fastest time out of the regional championships with her 56.64 seed. All girls were chasing the conference state record of 53.65.
It was actually Akaysha Stephen with the lead at 200m, but Ariana Brown from Waco La Vega corrected that and had the lead coming off the turn. McFarland would soon join the party on the home stretch and pull into the lead.
She would win just ahead of Brown 56.42 to 56.64. Alyssa Lewis of West Columbia would get the third place finish.
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Girls 200m
The girls 200 meter dash saw some youth atop the podium. Entering the race with the fastest time, Ja'Naria Jackson from Terrell was the heavy favorite. The sophomore got out to a quick start and accelerated quickly around the turn to win the race with ease.
She crossed the finish line with a time of 23.69, over half a second faster than the runner-up. Fellow sophomore Kennedy DeHorney from Dallas Carter joined the medal stand with a second place time of 24.23. Senior Bre'anna Lacy of Waxahachie Life School claimed the final podium spot with a time of 24.64, just .01 seconds faster than the fourth place finisher, Diamond Barrett of Brookshire Royal.
Terrell sophomore Ja'Naria Jackson won both short sprint event golds for the UIL 4A girls
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby
