By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Cummings athlete D’Anna Cotton added to her credentials in youth track and field with another busy meet during the Amateur Athletic Union National Junior Olympics last week at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.
Cotton won the triple jump in the 15-16-year-old age group in 41 feet, 1¾ inches.
Cotton was third in the 100 hurdles in 14.08 seconds and third in the long jump at 18-5¼. There were 83 entrants in the long jump.
Several other area athletes had notable performances as well.
Kaili Payne was sixth in the 100 hurdles (14.43), also in the 15-16 class.
In the 17-18 class, Leila Henderson was third in the shot put.
In the 12-year-old class, Arielle Moore-Wiggins was the fourth-place finisher in the long jump at 15-7¼. Also in that division, Dallas Brooks was 10th out of 52 entrants in the high jump (4-7).
In July, Alamance County athletes representing the Durham Striders youth organization took part in the International Youth Championships in Landover, Maryland.
Cotton won four events in the 15-16 division.
Her winning efforts were a meet-record 14.16 seconds in the 100 hurdles, 1:03.48 in the 300 hurdles, 5-5¾ in the high jump and 40-5 in the triple jump.
Also in that division, Payne was third in the 100 hurdles (14.74), third in the long jump (17-2¼) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (1:06.89). Janay Pegram was third in the 100 (12.27) and seventh in the 200 (25.33).
Honesti Trollinger was fifth in the 100 hurdles (15.46), fifth in the triple jump (34-6¼) and seventh in the 400 hurdles (1:11.02)
In 17-18 girls, Henderson won the shot put (39-4) and discus (129-9), while Diamond Moore captured first in the triple jump (37-11½), third in the long jump (17-5½) and fifth in the 100 hurdles (15.23) and Brooke Packingham placed second in the triple jump (37-3¾), fourth in the long jump (17-3½) and eighth in the 100 hurdles (15.90). Ge’Kayla Goins was second in the 400 hurdles and long jump and fifth in the triple jump.
Other results for area girls’ entrants were Taylor Johnson (8-and-under, long jump, first place, 10-10¾), Payton McGahee (9-10, 400, third place, 1:07.87), Moore-Wiggins (11-12, long jump, first place 16-11½; 100 and 200, fourth place), Brooks (11-12, high jump, second place, 4-6; 80 hurdles, second place, 14.19) and Gabrielle Lopez (11-12, 80 hurdles, sixth, 16.44).
On the boys’ side, Josiah McGinnis (9-10, javelin, fifth place, 71-4), Robert Davis (13-14, shot put, second place, 42-8¼) and Melvin Hatfield (15-16, high jump, third place, 5-7; long jump, sixth place, 19-1¼).
- Later in July, the Russell Blunt Invitational in Durham drew 77 teams from the United States, Bermuda and Aruba.
Cotton won the 100 hurdles, triple jump and long jump. She was on the winning 400 relay with Pegram, Trollinger and Payne.
Other winners in that meet in various age groups included Payne (15-16) in the 400 hurdles, Moore (17-18) in the triple jump and long jump and and Antonio Trollinger (8-and-under boys) in the shot put.
Cotton was the Most Valuable Performer for the girls’ 15-16 division and Trollinger was the MVP for the boys’ 8-and-under division.
