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Track and field Devils win region again
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    For the third straight year, Statesboro walked away champions from the Region 3-AAAA track and field meet. The Blue Devils won a tight and thrilling event by closing out Monday’s running events with 48 points to give them a total of 110, rocketing past Ware County (102).
    “It kind of looked like we weren’t going to get it,” said Statesboro coach Rico Campbell. “Ware had a good team — a real good team. It came down to the mile relay and that’s all we do — is train for the 400 (meter relay). It certainly helped us today.”
    Statesboro led by just half a point with two events left — the 3200-meters and the 1600-meter relay. A fourth place finish by Matthew Garman of Ware in the former put the Gators up 31⁄2 points. Taylor Snyder and Barrett Duncan finished first and third in the race, respectively, drawing Greenbrier within 13 points of the lead.
    It all came down to the 1600m relay, and all three frontrunners had two teams each in the race. They were no match for Statesboro.
    Jarie Wharton, Joseph Mainer, Mario Jackson and Patrick Jenkins blew away the competition. Ware County came in second, but Statesboro’s second team  of  Kentavius West, Justin Jordan, Johnathan Coleman and Aaron Lester finished third, giving SHS 16 points and the title by eight points.
    Wharton, Mainer, Jackson and Jenkins led the entire way and opened a big lead on Jackson’s third leg. Jenkins, the meet’s high-point winner, closed out the race, lifting his arms in celebration as he crossed the finish line.
    The meet started with the 400-meter event in a light drizzle. Ware County won that race, but Jenkins countered by winning the 400m in 50.17 seconds.
    Willie Roach sprinted to a 100m win for Ware while Jordan qualified for the state meet with a 2:03.41 in the 800m. Jordan led the entire first lap then fell behind right at the start of the second. He began to lose ground with 250 meters to go, nearly falling back into fourth place, but found an extra gear an nearly caught Zach VanOtteren of Glynn Academy for first.
    Mainer and Wharton earned points in the 200m, while Orlando Rock finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles and West was fourth in the 400m. The little points here-and-there may have turned out to be the difference.
    “We talked about it on the boss on the way over,” said Campbell. “Basically, if you qualified eighth — you try to move up. If you qualified first — you stay at first. That’s what the kids today.”
    Statesboro led with 62 points after Saturday’s field events. Jackson won the long jump and high while finishing the triple jump in second. Jenkins won the triple jump and finished third in the long jump.
    Statesboro will send five athletes in all to the GHSA state championships which begin May 8 in Jefferson, Ga.

    Chad Bishop can be reached at (912) 489-9408.