SLHS Indoor Track Qualifies 21 for State Meet

Victories in the boys 55 meter hurdles, triple jump and girls 4×400 meter relay highlighted South Lakes High School’s indoor track team’s performance at the 6A North Region Championship Thursday at the Prince George’s Sportsplex. Twenty-one SLHS athletes qualified for the 6A State Indoor Championships Feb. 27-28 in Hampton, Va.

Both teams finished fourth in their divisions in the 26-team field. The top six finishers in each event earned a spot in next weekend’s state meet.

The SLHS boys team was led by juniors Anas Fain and Eric Kirlew, who took top honors in individual events with Fain capturing the 55 meter hurdles in 7.72 and Kirlew winning the triple jump in 45-01.50. Kirlew also teamed with sophomore Timiebi Ogobri and juniors Skander Ballard and Alex Rudison for fourth in the 4×200 relay (1:34.21). Ballard finished sixth in the triple jump (43-02.00). Senior Nathan Stone was sixth in the 55 hurdles (8.01).

Junior Golden Kumi-Darfour placed the girls team as the anchor on the winning 4×400 team that included senior Claire Nieusma and sophomores Nikayla Hoyte and Jessica Lister and ran a 4:03.42. Kumi-Darfour also finished second in the 500 meters (1:18.07) as did sophomore Devyn Jones in the 55 meter hurdles (8.58).

Senior Comfort Reed finished third in the long jump (16-05.25) and fifth in the triple jump (35-05.00). Senior Jordan Lozama finished fourth in the 55 meters (7.45). Lozama, Hoyte and seniors Samantha Webb and Delaney Wickman finished third in the 4×200 meter relay (1:47.09).

Senior Ozioma Chinaka set a school record with a clearance of 8-09.00 to finish 10th.

The 4×800 meter team of senior Andrew McCool, juniors Connor Smith, John LeBerre and sophomore John Swecker ran a 8:15.73 for third.

Swim and Dive

Freshman Emma Bulger finished second in the VHSL State Diving meet on Thursday.

Sixteen SLHS swimmers qualified for the state meet. All six relays qualified for Saturday’s finals. Individual swimmers in the finals included Sabrina Groves, Natalie Obando, Emily Landeryou, Megan Carney, Mac Sogandares and Tyler Ellis. Overall, South Lakes placed 14th out of 39 teams.

Basketball

Both SLHS teams advanced in the Liberty Conference basketball tournament. The boys beat Langley 53-38. The girls beat Hayfield 71-52. Weekend semifinal games were postponed. The girls are now scheduled to host Langley Monday at 7:30 p.m. The boys will travel to at Fairfax at 7:30 pm.