Hubbard — The Italy High School Track Team along with the J.V. track team, did not disappoint in Hubbard on Thursday.

“We had an outstanding showing in a very tough track district. The varsity boys finished third and the JV boys had a second place finish,” said Italy’s head track coach Stephen Coleman.

Outstanding performances turned in by Italy’s JV boys were Jase Holden who won 1st place in the triple jump, Bobby Wilson with a 1st place finish in shot putt, Kyle Jackson’s 1st place in high jump, Devonta Simmons who earned 1st place in the 300m hurdles, and Eddie Garcia who earned points in both the 3200m and the 1600m runs.

Our relay teams finished second in the 4 × 100m, third in the 4 × 200m, and second in the 4 × 400m. “The efforts by the JV boys were outstanding all day long,” stated Coach Coleman.

The varsity boys were led by John Isaac who qualified for the area meet in the triple and long jump, De’Andre Sephus who qualified in the 100m, Ryan Ashcraft who qualified for area in the 800m run and in the 4 × 100m relay.

Italy’s 4 × 200m relay teams consisted of: John Issac, Deandre Sephus, Jasenio Anderson, Chase Hamilton, Desmond Anderson, and Aaron Thomas.

The girls track team will be represented at area by Kaitlyn Rossa (sophomore) in the 1600m run and the 3200m run, Jaleecia Fleming (senior), Kaytlyn Bales (sophomore), and Lauren Geralds (senior) in the shot put.

Coach Coleman also stated, “I would like to thank Coach Craig Bales and Coach Stacy McDonald for the invaluable assistance all season long and DeeDee Hamilton and Barry Byers for taking pictures at all the meets.”

We have had a great track season so far, now ON TO AREA!

IHS District Meet Results:

Varsity Girls:

Kaitlyn Rossa – 2nd in the 1600m & 3200m
Kaytlyn Bales – 3rd in shot put
Jaleecia Fleming – 2nd in shot put
Lauren Geralds – 1st in shot put

All the above girls advance to the Area Meet in Alvarado on Wednesday, April 14.

Varsity Boys – 3rd place overall:

• 4 × 100m – 3rd Place
  • De’Andre Sephus
  • John Isaac
  • Chase Hamilton
  • Jasenio Anderson
  • Desmond Anderson

• 4 × 200m – 3rd Place
  • De’Andre Sephus
  • John Isaac
  • Chase Hamilton
  • Jasenio Anderson
  • Desmond Anderson
  • Heath Clemons

• 800m
  • Ryan Ashcraft – 2nd Place
  • Corrin Frazier – 5th Place

• 100m
  • De’Andre Sephus – 2nd Place
  • Desmond Anderson – 5th Place

• 200m
  • John Isaac – 6th Place

• 300m hurdles
  • Chase Hamilton – 5th Place

• 4 × 400m – 5th Place
  • Heath Clemons
  • Aaron Thomas
  • Corrin Frazier
  • Serone Stuart

• Long Jump
  • John Isaac – 3rd Place
  • Jasenio Anderson – 6th Place

• Triple Jump
  • John Isaac – 2nd Place
  • Heath Clemons – 3rd Place

De’Andre Sephus (junior), John Isaac (senior), Jasenio Anderson (junior), Chase Hamilton (freshman), Desmond Anderson (senior), Heath Clemons (junior), Ryan Ashcraft (junior), will all advance to the Area Meet in Alvarado.

Junior Varsity Boys – 2nd place overall

• 4 × 100m – 2nd place
  • Jacob Lopez
  • Kyle Jackson
  • Tavarus Griffin
  • Jase Holden

• 4 × 200m – 2nd place
  • Kyle Jackson
  • Tavarus Griffin
  • Jase Holden
  • Devonta Simmons

• 4 × 400m – 2nd place
  • Tavarus Griffin
  • Devonta Simmons
  • Jase Holden
  • Cole Hopkins

• 300m Hurdles
  • Devonta Simmons – 1st place

• Long Jump
  • Jase Holden – 2nd place
  • Kyle Jackson – 6th place

• Triple Jump
  • Jase Holden – 1st place
  • Brandon Souder – 4th place
  • Cole Hopkins – 6th place

• High Jump
  • Kyle Jackson – 1st place

• Shot put
  • Bobby Wilson – 1st place

• Discus
  • Jacob Lopez – 2nd place
  • Zach Boykin – 4th place

• 1600m
  • Eddie Garcia – 4th place

• 3200m
  • Eddie Garcia – 3rd Place

Summary:

Varsity Girls:
Kaitlyn Rossa did another outstanding job by medaling in both the 3200m and the 1600m. The lady shot putters did an outstanding job by qualifying all three for the Area Meet next week. Outstanding Athlete: Kaitlyn Rossa.

Varsity Boys:
We had a fabulous number of young men qualify for the finals on Thursday and almost ran the table with all of them qualifying for the Area Meet. The 4 × 100m relay team had the most exciting moment of the meet when second leg John Isaac stumbled and almost fell during the exchange when first leg De’Andre Sephus accidentally spiked him while handing off the baton. John Isaac regained his balance and a moment later his speed but the stumble had cost us valuable time moving us back into sixth place. John made up some ground and had an excellent exchange with Chase Hamilton. Chase had just been moved up to the Varsity and the 4 × 100m relay was his first varsity race. Chase did not show any nervousness and ran the curve really well moving us from sixth into fifth place. Another excellent exchange then took place with anchor leg Jasenio Anderson five yards behind the 4th place team and the final spot for the area meet. Jasenio gained ground the entire way and with the Italy faithful in the stands cheering him on passed the runner from Dawson at the finish line grabbing the last Area Meet qualifying slot. Outstanding Athlete: John Isaac who qualified for Area in four different events.

Junior Varsity
A determined squad of Junior Varsity tracksters took on the challenge of defending the 19-A Championship that they earned last season. The team did really well earning points in every event that was entered. Even though they fell just short of repeating as champions, their second place finish was certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Outstanding Athletes: Jase Holden and Tavarus Griffin who earned points in every event that they competed in and were ready to do more if they could have.

From Coach Stephen Coleman:
“It has been a fantastic track season up until this point and we are excited about the challenges at the Area Meet of qualifying as many athletes as possible for the Regional Meet. From the Junior High 7th grade girls to the HS Varsity boys, virtually every athlete that participated in Track this season did so with enthusiasm, hard work, dedication, and class. I am very proud to have been a small part of any success that the kids may have achieved. I would like to thank Coach Craig Bales and Coach Stacy McDonald who worked so hard to help the kids achieve success and were directly responsible for all of our achievements. I would have been lost without their help. I would also like to thank all of the parents for their support and understanding. I apologize for those late JH nights, I tried to keep them to a minimum. This has been an outstanding season on all levels with every team doing very well. I have been a track coach for almost ten years and this was by far the most rewarding season I have ever had.”

Good Luck at Area!!!