2006 Girls State Meet
Class AAAAA State Meet
By Larry Williams - 4SHOT Sports
May 6, 2006, 06:46 EST

Collins Hill adds another state title

Hall records fastest 800M time in the country

Class AAAAA - 2006 Georgia H.S. Track & Field Championships 

Hugh Mills Stadium - Albany, GA

Meadowcreek's Brittany Hall ran the fastest 800 Meter time in the country.

It wasn’t easy but the “Lady Eagles” from Collins Hill held off stiff competition from Stephenson, Pope and Marietta to recapture the Class 5A Track & Field Championship that they won back in 2003. In February the Collins Hill girls basketball team won the state title.

The state meets top performance was easily turned in by Meadowcreek’s outstanding 800 Meter runner Brittany Hall. Hall only a junior ran like a mustang in an open meadow and when she crossed the finish line I thought she was going to keep running. Her time of 2:08.580 not only broke the Class 5A mark of 2:08.75 set in 1985 by Susan Crisp of Brookwood but it broke the state record of 2:08.645 set by Ena Leufroy of Marist. Hall is the defending 800 Meter champion, as a freshman she finished second to Southwest Dekalb’s Brittney Robbins. 

Newnan's Chalonda Goodman crosses the finish line to win the 100 Meters.

Newnan’s Chalonda Goodman must have been watching very carefully when older brother Demiko Goodman (Newnan “2004” - UGA) won his state 400 Meter gold metals because she went out won double gold capturing the 100 and 200 Meter crowns. Lacresha Styles (McEachern) and Dawn Hemanes (Lithonia – finished 4th last year) captured the silver and bronze respectively in the 100 Meters. While Stephenson’s Joanna Atkins and Redan’s Porsche Holden did likewise in the 200 Meters.

Collins Hill’s Jackie Drouin was one of the catalyst behind the “Lady Eagles” championship win as she went out and defended her 3200 Meter title in a record time of 10:38.042 breaking the old mark of 10:46.38 set in 1986 by Walton’s Lee Anne Case. Drouin followed that up with a gold medal victory in the 1600 Meters. Last year she finished with the silver medal in that event.

Collins Hill Nicole Okolo here capturing the 100 Meter Hurdles.

The other catalyst for Collins Hill came in the form of Nicole Okolo who also came away with double gold, winning the 100 Meter Hurdles (14.149) and the Triple Jump (39’-0.500”) where last year she finished forth.

The Stephenson “Lady Jaguars” 1600 Meter Relay team (Javan Gill, Tendai Hill, Vivian McCollum, Joanna Atkins, Maurisia Stansil, Alexis Ware) defended their crown in a time of 3:46.470. Earlier in the day their 400 Meter Relay Team (Javan Gill, Tendai Hill, Alexis Perry, Joanna Atkins, Tia Miller, Alexis Ware) ran a 46.946 to win that gold medal.

The Stephenson winning 4x100 Meter Team

There were a couple of performers who returned to defend the titles they captured at last years state championships; Dacula’s Erica Penk defended her Pole Vault title (10’-6.000”) and Stephenson’s Joanna Atkins ran a 54.815 to win the 400 Meters (Atkins also won 2 other gold medals as a part of the “Lady Jaguars” two relay teams). 

Other individual gold medal winners included Douglass-Atl’s Morgan Jennings who soared 5’-6.000” to win the High Jump, .Marietta’s Apryl Johnson won the 300 Meter Hurdles in a time of 44.305. Bradwell Institute’s Tynita Butts held off Nicole Okolo (Collins Hill) to prevent her from winning her third gold metal to win the Long Jump with a leap of 18’-7.000”. Kristen Smith of Sprayberry tossed the Shot Put 44’-0.000” to win the gold and Dacula’s Eve Machovec threw the Discus 137’-10.000” to take home that gold.

 

Danielle Davenport (Norcross) needed assistance after the heat and fatigue set in.

 

Marietta's Apry Johnson crosses the hurdle ahead of the field as she won the 300 Meter Hurdles.

 

The Collins Hill "Lady Eagles" recaptured the Class 5A Title they won in 2003.

Meet Results