French Camp won a third straight girls 1A track championship at Pearl High School by tying with South Delta, each with 91 points. There is no tiebreaker. Both teams are champions, both receive the championship trophy and the championship banner.
MHSAA track ties are rare, but not unprecedented. Oxford and Port Gibson tied in boys 4A in 2003, J.Z. George and West Bolivar in boys 2A in 2007 and Columbus and Natchez in girls 5A in 1999.
South Delta finished ahead of French Camp at the Region 3-1A and South State meets, and led during most of the state meet, with a 16-point advantage going into the second to last event, the 3200. French Camp had a one-two-three finish with sophomores Kelsey Bridges, Ellen Ulerich and Lucy Littlejohn, good for 24 points and an 89-81 lead prior to the final event, the 1600 relay.
South Delta won for 10 points and French Camp was seventh for two points, resulting in the tie.
Running anchor, Bridges had to put on a late sprint to edge the Coffeeville runner at the wire by less than a fifth of a second, the difference between a tie with South Delta and falling one point short.
“Our girls finish well,” said coach Joe Watkins.
As usual, the distances were French Camp's strength. In addition to the 3200, Littlejohn was first in the 1600, Averie Jane Gundy third and Bridges fourth. And in the 800, Littlejohn was third and Averie Jane Gundy fourth.
Olivia Gundy, another talented sophomore, accounted for 25 points with a victory in the triple jump, third in the high jump, fourth in the 300 hurdles and fifth in long jump.
Her distance in the triple jump was 34-2½. She said it was her best ever “by half a foot. Morgan really pushed me.” She was an inch and a half better than Morgan Green of Hickory Flat.
French Camp was second in the 3200 relay.
South Delta is located in Rolling Fork, which was devastated by a tornado in March. Watkins gave credit to the Lady Bulldogs. “South Delta is an outstanding team.”
It was the school's first championship in either boys or girls track.
French Camp boys finished 15th with 20 points.
Christian Davis was second in the 800, Ayden Watkins, an eighth grader, fifth in the 3200, Silas Hodge fifth in the discus and Conner Shurden, a seventh grader, eighth in the 1600.
There are no seniors among any of the boys and girls who competed for French Camp.
Other team winners at the 1A-3A-5A meet were Ridgeland boys and Brookhaven girls in 5A, Tylertown boys and Alcorn Central girls in 3A and Tupelo Christian boys in 1A for the fifth year in a row.
The meet was interrupted for more than an hour when a thunderstorm passed through the area, making for a long day at the Woody Barnett Track & Field Complex. The meet began at 11 a.m. and ended 10½ hours later.
