Four Vernon Lions qualified for the regional track meet in individual events and two Lion relays qualified to advance from the District 7A&8A Class 3A Area Track and Field Meet, which was held Thursday in Breckenridge.
Julius Dawkins picked up a gold medal in the Triple Jump with a winning leap of 44-feet, 10-inches, which is a new Vernon High School Record. Dawkins broke the record he set last year as a junior. Also advancing to the regional meet in the Triple Jump was Jamari Chance, who finished third with a personal-best jump of 43-6.5.
The other Lion to advance to in a field event was Kameron Plyler, who picked up a silver medal in the High Jump when he cleared 6-5.
Qualifying for regionals in two individual events for the Lions was Jackson Aydelott. He won both the 400-Meter Dash and the 200-Meter Dash and ran his best times of the year in both events. Jackson won the 400-Meter Dash with a time of 48.20 seconds, and took gold in the 200-Meter Dash with a time of 21.88 seconds.
Vernon’s 800-Meter Relay and Mile Relay teams both finished third to move on to the regional meet. The 800-meter team of Ty Scott, Jamari Chance, Jerick Weaver and Julius Dawkins turned in their best time of the year, 1:29.5.
The Mile Relay team of Ty Scott, Julius Dawkins, Jamari Chance and Jackson Aydelott finished with a time of 3:24.39.
Julius Dawkins was named the Lions’ MVP of the Meet for setting a new school record in the Triple Jump.
Lions Track Coach Timothy Crosthwait said the Lions had a great day Thursday competing against some very tough competition. He said many of the athletes turned in their best times or distances of the year, and that the coaches were really proud of all the athletes. The coach added the athletes’ hard work all year in the weight room and on the track is paying off.
The Lions finished fourth in the team standings with 72 points. Brock won the Area team title with a total of 160 points, while Holliday had 115 points and Breckenridge had 76 points. There were 14 teams competing in the Area meet. The top four places in each event qualified for the Class 3A Region 1 Track & Field Meet, which will be held next weekend.
Kameron Plyler also competed in the Long Jump and finished fifth, while the Sprint Relay team of Ty Scott, Kale Sherrill, Jerick Weaver and Case Fleming finished sixth. Devin Arthur and Tayten Jasinki both ran in the 3200-Meter Run, but did not place.