Portal's Hunter Martin was one of 17 Panthers to clinch a spot in the state track and field championships last week, but competing in adapted races, he was separated from the rest of his teammates as he made the long trip up to Rome.

"It was a little boring being all by myself," Martin said.

Martin took the matter of creating excitement into his own hands as he blazed a trail to a pair of individual state championships, winning both the 200 and 800 meter sprints.

"I had a mediocre season," Martin said. 'I made a lot of minor mistakes. It feels great going from the bottom to a two-time state champion."

Portal track coach Tendai Haggins saw the growth and progression from Martin throughout the season and couldn't be more proud of his newly-minted state champ.

"He wasn't at his peak early in the season," Haggins said. "He was doing 250-300 pushups per day to get on track. He deals with health issues that sometimes affect the way he feels, but he always shows up and puts in the effort to reach his goals."