Poplarville’s Peters rules at state

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, May 14, 2014

PEARL — Poplarville senior standout Jenascia Peters made her final athletic appearance for the Lady Hornets a memorable one.

Peters captured two individual state titles in the Class 4A overall state track and field meet here at Pearl High, and in doing so set new state records in both events.

The talented Peters set new marks in both the long jump and the triple jump. She leaped 18-feet-10 and 1/4 inches in the long jump, bettering the previous mark by almost four inches. The previous mark was held by Erica Bougard of Byhalia set four years ago.

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Peters won the triple jump with a leap of 38-feet-10 inches. The old mark of 38-7 was set by Ebony Brinker of Pontotoc in 2011.

“She is a determined, hard working young lady that is dedicated to her sport,” Lady Hornet head coach Dee Cable said, of Peters. “We will miss her.”

Peters also finished fourth in the state in the 300 meter hurdles. She was a major reason that the Lady Hornets finished fifth overall in the team standings with 48 points.

Janell Johnson finished fifth in the 1,600 meter run for Poplarville, while Naomi White took third place in the shot put and finished seventh in the discus.

Zanashia Turner took home a second place ribbon in the triple jump, finishing behind her teammate Peters.

Lafayette High School won only one event — Janae Westbrook and Orianna Shaw finished one-two in the 400 — but edged McComb 76-72 for the girls team title. Four-time defending champion Pontotoc was third with 64 points and Corinth High finished just ahead of Poplarville with 54 points.

• In the boys Class 4A competition, Poplarville finished 20th with eight points.

Austin Rancatore earned all eight points for the Hornets as he finished second in the discus with a throw of 134-feet-10 inches.

McComb’s Victor Montgomery cruised in the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.58 seconds to lead his team to the boys title, its fifth team championship in school history.

The Tigers had 111 points, rolling past Rosa Fort (62), Senatobia (57) and Yazoo County (52) for the title. Montgomery was among the best hurdlers in Mississippi this season, and he coasted in the high hurdles to win by almost a second and capture his first individual state title in the event.

Tiger football star Alex Woodall, who signed with Louisiana Tech won the shot put (48-07) to go along with Montgomery’s win.