Several Memorial, PNG and Nederland track & field athletes advance to area round

Published 12:34 am Saturday, April 16, 2022

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Athletes from Memorial, Nederland and Port Neches-Groves performed well at the District 21-5A track and field meet at Barbers Hill High School this week. The top-four performers in each category advance to the area round.

Memorial’s boys team came in second overall behind Barbers Hill, while Nederland and PNG came in third and fourth, respectively.

On the girls’ side, Nederland earned second place ahead of Memorial and PNG. Barbers Hill finished first.

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“They did exactly what I expected us to do,” Memorial Track Coach Darrell Granger said. “Being the runners up, we thought Barbers Hill would win because of the numbers they had. Our kids competed well and they showed up.”

Memorial’s Ke’Andre Jones earned first place for the high jump and long jump. Jah’mar Sanders won first place in the 100-meter dash, followed by Jelani Chevalier, who came in second.

Memorial’s Erial Fontenot finished in first place on the girls’ side for the 100-meter dash. Ilijah Williams finished first in the 200-meter dash.

Memorial’s relay teams also saw a lot of success. The boys and girls 4×100 teams finished first, followed by Nederland. Both of Memorial’s 4×200 relay teams earned first, while Nederland’s girls team came in second.

Nederland and PNG earned first and second, respectively in the 4×400 girls relay.

Memorial and Nederland’s boys 4×400 relay teams came in second and fourth, respectively.

“A lot of the kids got PRs in their races,” Granger said. “They are performing well at the right time. The girls did really well. They have bought in to what is going on. Those 4×100 and 4×200 times are heading in the right direction. Fontenot did well in the 200 meters and Xiaorong Jones did good in the 400.”

Nederland’s Gabriel Lopez earned first place in the discus, with PNG’s Jansen Ware coming in third. Ware finished in first place for the boys’ shot put.

PNG’s Sanaria Butler finished first in the long jump, triple jump and 400-meter dash. Nederland’s Ke’Asia Hall finished second in the long jump and triple jump.

“We had a couple of handoffs that weren’t great,” Nederland Track Coach Allie Crommett said of her relay teams. “We can still shave some time off there. Overall, we were really pleased how our kids performed. They showed up and really took advantage of the weather. We left happy.”

PNG’s Cyrus Jacobs Jr. had an impressive day, finishing first in the 800-meter run, 400-meter dash and third in the 200-meter dash.

The schools will meet at Barbers Hill again Thursday as District 22-5A joins them for the area meet.