Region 7-AAA girls championships
First day
Team standings
1. West Forsyth 86
2. Gainesville 41.5
3. Flowery Branch 38
4. Creekview 24
5. Lambert 18.5
6. Chestatee 12
6. White County 12
8. Gilmer 10
9. Lumpkin County 9
9. North Hall 9
11. Pickens 8
12. West Hall 5
Event results
Long jump
1. Alex Shook—WF 18.4
2. Rajeanna Jarrett—FB 17-8.75
3. Katherine Randolph—FB 17-8.5
Pole vault
1. Sloan Bunting—WF 10-6
2. Somer Graham—GHS 9-0
3. Shelbee Carter—GHS 9-0
High jump
1. Rebekah Ropp—WF 5-2
2. Taylor Kern—WF 5-0
3. Sydney Sweinhart—Lam 4-10
Triple jump
1. Shelbee Carter—GHS 36-9.5
2. Rajeanna Jarrett—FB 36-8.5
3. Tori Cheeks—FB 35-2
Discus
1. Chelsea Wood—WF 107-10
2. Emily Goss—CV 101-9.5
3. Mallory Rich—NH 97-1
Shot put
1. Chelsea Wood—WF 35-8
2. Brandi Carpenter—WC 34-11.5
1,600 meter
1. Allie Schaich—L 5:10.22
2. Kiara Woods—FB 5:15.97
3. Taylor Roeck—WF 5:27.23
Wood won the region title in the shot put and discus and led the Lady Wolverines to 86 points with the running events, minus the 1,600 meter, remaining to contest today. Gainesville sits in second with 41.5 and Flowery Branch is third 38.
In the seven events completed during the first day, West Forsyth finished with five first place winners and a second in the high jump.
“We had a devotional as a team this morning before we started to all get focused together,” Wood said. “We really want to win our third straight region title.”
Wood won the shot put with a new personal best of 35 feet, 8 inches, breaking her previous best by a foot and seven inches.
She started the day with a win in the discus (107-10), besting Emily Goss of Creekview (101-9.5), who also qualified for state with a second-place finish.
Finishing second in the shot put was White County’s Brandi Carpenter (34-11.5).
Meanwhile, the Lady Red Elephants jumped to second place behind Shelbee Carter’s win in the triple jump (36-9.5) and Somer Graham’s second-place finish in the pole vault (9-0).
West Forsyth coach Clayton Tillery said an extra two days to prepare and rest for the region championships could have only made his team stronger. The meet was originally scheduled to begin last Saturday, but was pushed back due to bad weather.
“I’m just really proud of how our team performed today,” Tillery said. “The seniors with this group really picked everyone up.”
One of West Forsyth’s seniors that really stepped up in the field was Alex Shook with a new personal best by almost one foot in the long jump. On her final attempt with the region title already in the bag, she sprinted down the runway and leaped to a winning distance of 18-4. She finished ahead of Flowery Branch’s Rajeanna Jarrett (17-8.75).
“There was no mistake about it today,” Tillery said. “She broke her PR by almost a foot twice.”
“Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the same and place at state,” Shook said.
West Forsyth’s Sloan Bunting (10-6) won handily in the pole vault. As the last competitor to try, she won on the her first attempt (10-0) and then hit the official mark on her last attempt.
In the high jump, West Forsyth’s Rebekah Ropp finished first (5-2) and Taylor Kern placed second (5-0).
The only running final completed during the first day of action was the 1,600. Lambert’s Allie Schaich, the Region 7-AAA cross country champion, ran a 5 minute, 10.22 second, ahead of Flowery Branch’s Kiara Woods (5:15.97).
Schaich took a sprinter’s pace for the first 400, built a 50-meter lead after one lap, and kept close to that same distance lead for the remainder of the race.
“I like to go out fast in a race,” said Schaich, who hopes to finish under 5 flat at state.
Woods was not overly consumed with winning the region meet, just as long as she qualified for state, which she did. Woods, who also hopes to crack 5 minutes at state, and Schaich will be two of the top contenders for the state title next month in Albany.
Today, the remainder of the running, relays and wheelchair events will be completed. The state meet takes place May 6-8 at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany.