Dukes lead area winners in conference meets
Published 9:59 am Thursday, May 25, 2017
The outdoor track and field programs for Buckingham County, Cumberland and Prince Edward County high schools all enjoyed success in their respective conference championship meets last week, with the Cumberland varsity boys leading the way.
The Dukes won the Conference 42 Championship at Charles City High School on May 18, generating 135 points to place first out of seven teams to score points. Mathews High School came in second with 126 points.
Of the Dukes, Cumberland Head Coach Kenneth Jasey said, “I was very pleased with their performance overall. Not boasting — we expected to go in and do what we did. Mathews is a tough opponent, they are very tough down there, very good program, but we expected to be where we were — in contention to bring it home.”
Dukes junior Muhammad Fulani won the boys 400-meter dash with a time of 52.83 seconds.
He was also part of the Dukes 4×400-meter relay team that won with a time of three minutes, 38.81 seconds. The team also included sophomore Jalen Foster, senior Jared Halvorsen and sophomore Devon Rivera-Reed.
Among the seven girls teams to produce points at the Conference 42 meet, the Lady Dukes placed third with 106 points, generating two individual titles and one relay title.
Cumberland sophomore Munirah Fulani, Muhammad’s sister, placed first in the girls 800-meter run with a 2:47.40 time, and she won the girls 1600-meter run with a time of 6:22.04, more than two seconds faster than her seed time.
Referring to the Fulanis, Jasey said, “Both of them, they are really a one-two brother-sister punch. They are awesome.”
Also claiming first was the Lady Dukes 4×800-meter relay team, finishing with an 11:50.78 time. The squad included sophomores Raelynn Stone, Samantha Riner and Nadia Elasha and freshman Jordan Cooke.
Buckingham’s varsity girls outdoor track and field team placed second out of five teams to score at the Courthouse Conference 37 Championships held May 17 at Appomattox County High School.
Appomattox won with 126 points, and the Lady Knights were not far behind with 107.
Coming in first for Buckingham was junior Keana Jones, sophomore Tamiyah Gough and freshman Christian Poole.
Jones won the girls discus throw, hurling the discus 80 feet 3 inches.
Gough tied for first in the girls high jump, producing a 4-06 leap.
Poole won the girls 3200-meter run, finishing with an 18:28.97 time.
Prince Edward’s varsity girls outdoor track and field team scored 97 points to place second at the Quad Rivers Conference 34 Championships on May 18 at Nottoway High School.
Lady Eagles freshman Makayla Morris won the girls high jump with a 5-02 leap.
She was also part of the girls 4×100-meter relay team that came in first with a 51.73-second time. The rest of the team included sophomore Salma Muhammad, freshman Mia Seay and sophomore Jordan Booker.
Booker, Seay, freshman Naomi Jones and junior Montiera Wynn comprised the girls 4×400-meter relay team that won with a time of 4:24.16.
Among the eight boys teams to produce points at the Conference 34 meet, Prince Edward placed fourth with 72 points, generating two individual titles and one relay title.
Eagles senior Bryan Moses won the boys 100-meter dash, finishing in 11.09 seconds, and he was also champion in the boys 200-meter dash, finishing in 23.00 seconds.
Moses gained a third title with his contribution to the Eagles 4×100-meter relay team, which won with a time of 43.81 seconds. Joining Moses on the team were sophomore J’Sean Dupuy and seniors Quantavis Nash and Brandon Scott.
Buckingham’s qualifying girls and boys competed in the Region 2A West Championships on Wednesday at Radford University.
“With rain, cold, vacation and an injury, we did not fare well today,” Lady Knights Head Coach Linda Amos said.
None of the Lady Knights are advancing to the Virginia High School League Group 1A and 2A State Championships at East Rockingham High School on June 2-3.
“Needless to say, I’m disappointed,” she said.
However, Buckingham will have several representatives at states from its boys team, including two triple-jumpers, senior Antonio Chambers and junior Will Davis, one sprinter, senior Rajheem Holman, who runs the 100 and 200, and the 4×100 relay team, which features, sophomore Kobe Hafley, Davis, Holman and Chambers.
Cumberland boys and girls will compete in the Region 1A East Championships at Sussex Central High School on Friday at 1:45 p.m.
Prince Edward boys and girls will compete in the Region 2A East Championships at East Rockingham on Friday at 1 p.m.