Beginning on Monday, track and field championships have kicked into high gear across the state. That’s no exception for the schools here in Bulloch County, starting with Southeast Bulloch, which got a majority of its events off the ground Monday.
    Both the boys and girls teams took thunderous leads at their region championships. The boys are currently ahead by 32 points and the girls by 43 — barring some kind of collapse, it looks like both Yellow Jacket squads will take the region title come this afternoon when they kick off the final events at 11 a.m.
    “This is one of the hardest working teams I’ve been around since I’ve been head coach,” said coach Jeremey Gantt. “I can’t say we were totally surprised when we came out ahead after day one.”
    So far, the SEB boys have individual region championships from: Brandon Hill in the discus, Barhon Carter in the pole vault, Georgen Batton in the 300 hurdles, Jaleel Hodge in the 100 hurdles and Tyler Thorton in the 800. For the girls, they have titles from Emma Britt in the triple jump and the 100 hurdles, Cierra Jordan in the pole vault and Hattie Pitts in the 3200.
    The 100 meter finals will highlight today’s contest, where SEB has Batton and Chase Walker competing for the title.

Bulloch Academy
    The BA boys will look to repeat as region champions this Thursday in Brooklet. The girls will look to contend for a region title after tying with Pinewood as the runners up to champion Trinity-Dublin last season. According to girls coach Barbara Conner, the biggest advantage BA has on both sides is depth.
    “It’s going to come down to our number two’s,” Conner said. “I think for the boys and the girls the kids we have running behind our starters will be able to give us some big points.”
    The girls do return one state champion in freshman Regan Ellis, who won the GISA state title in the shot put as an eighth grader. Ava Hiller will be a strong contender in the hurdles as well.
    Seth Brandt returns as the defending title winner in both hurdles events for the boys side and should be the heavy favorite to repeat as a junior this year. Jack Fortune should contend in a number of sprints while Tyce Lovett should be the favorite in the discus.  

Statesboro
    After a dominant performance at the Statesboro Relays Saturday, Statesboro should be primed and ready to give another strong showing at their region championships in Waycross starting tomorrow.
    Statesboro’s girls are looking to win their fourth straight region title and the boys are looking to reclaim their throne as well. However both sides are going to be challenged in their new region, specifically by new kids on the block New Hampstead.
    The Phoenix bring a number of favorite to the table to try and knock Statesboro off their track and field pedestal. For the girls New Hampstead bring in the favorite in the 100, 200, 800 and the 4x400 relay while the boys bring the favorite in the 400, 800, 110 hurdles, 4x400 relay, long jump and triple jump.
    “We ded very well against New Hampstead when we saw them earlier this year, so I know we can hang with them,” said girls coach Kaylee Coleman. “We have a lot of depth, so we’re looking to steal double points in some events.”
    The Statesboro boys will be anchored by sprinter Jaden Adams who’s a region favorite in the 200 and should contend in the 100 as well. Noah Caplinger should be a top three contender in the 800 and 1600, while in the field Clayton Snyder is the region favorite in the pole vault.
    For the girls, their 4x100 meter relay team is one of the best in the classification. Dayonna Henry — one of the legs on that team — is also a region favorite in the 200 and the triple jump. Iyana McKeever and Journey Kearns are favorites in the long jump and high jump respectively.
    New Hampstead and Ware County will give both Statesboro teams a run for their money

Portal
    The Panthers are ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the county in terms of scheduling. Portal had their region championships last week at Southeast Bulloch and in terms of team points Portal didn’t fare quite as well as they would have liked.
    The boys placed 12th and the girls placed tenth, so while neither team will win sectionals or state they do have some individuals moving on to compete next week. Claudasia Mosley placed fourth in region 3-A in the 100 hurdles and Dashonda Morgan was the runner up in the triple jump.
    Both girls were apart of the 4x100 team along with Kiya Lewis and Keely Thomas that placed fourth. All will head to sectionals along with the lone boy, KJ Hayes, who placed fourth in the 100 hurdles in his first year ever running track.
    Of all the Panthers who’ll head to sectionals, coach Cliff Hubbard says Morgan has the best chance to make some noise at sectionals next week. Morgan is on the cusp of breaking the school record in the triple jump after hitting a personal record 35 earlier in the year.
    “After last season Dashonda has been on a mission to make it to state,” Hubbard said. “She’s put in the work this year and we think it’s going to pay off.”
    Morgan only jumped 34 feet four inches at regions, but if she can get past 35 at the Class A Public sectionals on April 29 in Claxton Morgan has a good shot at qualifying for state.