The Gatewood Gators boys and girls track-and-field season began Feb. 8, when the Gators played host to Piedmont Academy, John Hancock Academy and Twiggs Academy.
Under head coach Jeff Ratliff, Gatewood has been one of the top track-and-field programs in the state and looks to continue that success this season. Last year, the Gators came up just a little short of their third state championship in three years (excluding 2020 due to COVID).
In the boys’ 100-meter dash, Jackson Hewatt, Ames Johnson and Noah Bennett finished second, third and fourth behind Michael Joseph of Piedmont. In the boys’ 200-meter dash, Hewatt finished first with a time of 24.53 and Bodie Corry finished fourth in 26.63 seconds.
The boys’ 400-meter saw Gatewood runners finish two, three and four with Evan Bennett, Jackson Lundy and Kaden Keiser in that order, while DeMarian Maddox placed sixth for the Gators. In the boys’ 800-meter run, Gatewood’s Luke McNeil won with a time of 2:27:00 with teammates Cale Ferguson and John Van de Planque rounding out the top three.
In the boys’ 110-meter hurdles, Gatewood had only one competitor in Blake Callaway, who had a runaway victory with a time of 16.84. Callaway again finished first in the boys 300-meter hurdles with a time of 45.65, while teammate Lake Ferman posted 56.74 to finish third.
In the boys 4x100meter relay, Gatewood outlasted Piedmont with a team time of 45.68, and in the boys’ 4x400-meter race, the Gators blew out Piedmont with a team final time of 3:45:00 to Piedmont’s 4:15:00.
The boys field events began with the high jump, with Gatewood’s Blake Callaway clearing exactly 6 feet to win the event and teammate Lake Ferman making a jump of 5.00 to place third. In the boys’ long jump, Gatewood’s Jayden Daniel jumped 18-07.00 to win the event, with teammates Hunter Johnson and Ames Johnson finishing second and third place. In the boys’ pole vault, Gatewood swept the top three spots with Noah Bennett placing first with a jump of 10-06.00, followed by Dakota Davis and Jayden Daniel.
In the boys’ discus final, Evan Bennett was first for the Gators with a throw of 110-00.00, followed by teammates Blake Daniels and DeMarian Maddox in second and third. In boys’ shot put, Bennett again finished first with a throw of 43-01.25, while teammate Noah Bennett threw a 33-10.00 to finish second.
The girls’ 100-meter dash saw Gatewood’s Natalie Sills win with a time of 13.36, while teammate Lanie Nistler finished third. In the girls’ 200-meter dash, Gatewood swept the top three spots with Sills again finishing first in 28.95 seconds, followed by Presley Moss and Lexi Moss.
In the girls 400-meter dash, Gatewood’s Lanie Nistler finished in first place with a time of 1 minute, 6.93 seconds, followed by teammate Ellie McMillan in second at 1:10:64. In the girls’ 800-meter run, Gatewood’s Ansleigh Hillin placed second, and repeated that result in the girls’ 1600 and 3200meter runs.
In the girls’ 100-meter hurdles, Gatewood’s Anna Williamson won with a time of 17.11, with teammate Madison Hevesy finishing second. The girls’ 300-meter hurdles went to Gatewood’s Madison Hevesy in first with a time of 54.39.
In the girls’ 4x100-meter relay race, Gatewood won with a time of 55.18, and in the girls’ 4x400-meter the Gators won again with a time of 4:51:00.
In girls’ high jump, Gatewood’s Nistler placed second with a jump of 4-04.00. The Gators’ London Darden also was second in girls’ long jump with a jump of 13-08.25, while teammate Anna Williamson came within centimeters of Williamson’s jump at 13-08.00 in third, and Lexi Moss was fourth.
Gatewood’s Madison Hevesy won the girls’ triple jump with a jump of 32-06.00. In the girls’ shot put, Rose Tamasi won the event with a throw of 27-00.00.
Both the Gatewood boys and girls got off to a hot start in the Gators’ first meet of five regular-season meets before the GIAA Region 4-AA meet on April 19.