Pettus wins district title

Published 10:41 am Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Junior Nadya Pettus led Randolph-Henry High School at the James River District Outdoor Track and Field Championships last week by bringing home a title in the girls 100-meter dash at Nottoway High School.

“She was the No. 1 seed, so we expected her to win,” R-H Head Track and Field Coach Joe Freeland said.

In the preliminary heat, Pettus beat her seed time of 13.09 seconds with a time of 13.04 seconds, and in the finals, she finished in 12.94 seconds.

“She tied her personal best,” Freeland said.

Pettus also ran in the girls 200-meter dash, placing 12th with a time of 29.54 seconds.

“We were happy to have five athletes in the meet,” Freeland said.

In addition to Pettus, junior Joey Hengeli competed in a trio of events, senior George Sandridge ran in the boys 800-meter run, sophomore Jacob Barker raced in the boys 3200-meter run and sophomore John Chaney competed in the boys discus throw.

Hengeli finished sixth in the boys 300-meter hurdles with a time of 47.04 seconds. In the boys triple jump, he leaped 38 feet 3/4 inches to place 10th, and in the boys long jump, he placed 16th with a 17-3 1/2 jump.

Eighth place in the 800 belonged to Sandridge, who finished with a time of two minutes, 15.84 seconds.

Barker produced a 12:39.34 time in the 3200 to place 12th.

Chaney came in 16th in the discus throw after a 90-10 1/2 throw.

Reflecting on track highlights this season, Freeland said, “Two students ran for the first time. Joey Hengeli competed in seven different events during the season, while John Chaney threw shot and discus and improved throughout season.”

Pettus, Hengeli, Sandridge and Barker advanced to the Quad Rivers Conference 34 Championships set for Thursday at 11 a.m. in Nottoway.