Mia Williams, a senior at Fort Mill High School, won the Girls’ Triple Jump at the National Elite level of the adidas Track Nationals, held June 18 through 21 at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. Williams cleared 12.19 meters, or 40 feet even, to take first place against the top high school competition in the country.
Williams’ winning jump came on her fourth attempt of six. Her series read 11.86, 11.98, 12.02, 12.19, 12.08 and 11.83 meters, showing steady improvement through the middle rounds before the mark that won her the title.
The national championship caps a meet in which several other York and Lancaster County athletes also competed, though none matched Williams’ result.
Williams also entered the Girls’ Long Jump at the National Elite level, finishing 19th with a best mark of 5.22 meters, or 17 feet 1.5 inches. She opened with back to back jumps of 5.22 meters before fouling and finishing with marks of 5.04 and 4.75 meters. She additionally ran in the preliminary round of the 100 meters, posting a time of 12.11 seconds in the 17th heat.
Fort Mill freshman Chidi Codjoe competed unattached in two sprint events. He ran 12.87 seconds in the preliminary round of the boys’ 100 meters and 25.32 seconds in the boys’ 200 meters.
Fort Mill’s Reagan Hyslip, also competing unattached, ran 2 minutes, 35.37 seconds in the girls’ 800 meters, finishing 10th in her section.
Kyra Sonneborn Springfield Middle school graduate and rising Nation Ford High School Freshman competed in the middle school division took home the 4th place medal with a throw of 12.28 meters.
Regional athletes from other area schools
Nation Ford High School’s Brianna Watkins ran for the Elite T&F Training club in both the girls’ 100 and 200 meter preliminary rounds, finishing in 12.56 and 25.93 seconds respectively.
Northwestern High School junior Andrew Morton ran 21.83 seconds in the preliminary round of the boys’ 200 meters, competing under the Northwestern name. Fellow Northwestern junior Xavier Wright-Meeks finished 17th in the boys’ long jump with a best effort of 6.51 meters, or 21 feet 4.25 inches.
Irie Morton, also representing Northwestern, finished 3rd in the javelin, and was also named “All-American!”
South Pointe High School’s Christopher Jones ran 11.85 seconds in the preliminary round of the boys’ 100 meters.
York High School’s Levi Ward, competing for the YoCo Throwers Club, finished 17th in the boys’ hammer throw with a best toss of 47.81 meters, or 156 feet 10 inches.
Rock Hill High School’s Da’trell Watson, running for Elite T&F Training, posted a time of 11.50 seconds in the preliminary round of the boys’ 100 meters and ran the boys’ 400 meter hurdles final in 1 minute, 0.21 seconds.
The adidas Track Nationals draws qualifying athletes from across the country each June, with separate divisions for freshman, middle school and National Elite level competition. Full results from the meet are available through MileSplit.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
