Iron Horse boys’, girls’ track teams capture state championships

For two years, there was talk about potential when it came to the Philip Simmons High School (PSHS) track and field program.

 

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams showed promise in 2019 when the youthful teams fared well as individuals and as a group at the State Track and Field Championships.

 

Last year, the Iron Horses’ dreams of possible state championships were put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic put the spring high school sports season on pause in the Palmetto State.

 

But the talk didn’t turn out to be idle chatter. The Iron Horses proved to be a powerhouse on Saturday as both the boys and girls left Lower Richland High School with state championship trophies.

 

The meet was highlighted by great efforts from Noah Ward and NaJhyrai Watson who both turned in national elite efforts. While Ward failed in his bid to set a state record in the 1,600-meter run, he did accomplish his dream that he shared with coach William Muhn when he first arrived on the PSHS campus.

 

“Noah’s biggest goal since his freshman year has been to lead us to a team championship and he accomplished that goal,” Muhn said. “He showed all our other athletes what it takes to be a state champion, and this program was built around him.”

 

The Iron Horses made it look easy on Saturday. The boys’ team outscored Greer Middle College 99-67, while the girls blew away the field, topping runner-up Woodland 161-60.

 

“Winning both team championships hasn’t really sunk in yet on how big of an accomplishment it really is,” Muhn said. “It was great seeing all the joy on all our athletes’, their parents’ and our coaches’ faces. It has been such a great group of people to work with and

they earned both trophies with the work they have been putting in the last four years.”

 

Muhn said the girls’ goal was to set a record for points scored by a team at the state meet. J.L. Mann owns the record with 165 points, which was set in 2007.

 

The Iron Horses seemed destined to score 10 points in a relay race in which they enjoyed a big lead. But a dropped handoff on an exchange cost the Iron Horses the record.

 

Ward left the Midlands on Saturday with what appeared to be a state record in the 1,600-meter run. His time was reported as 4:06.41, which was almost two seconds faster than the state record. But there was a glitch in the automatic timing and his time was adjusted to 4:11.16.

 

He also had national elite times in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.10. His third gold medal came in the 3,200-meter run.

 

Watson joined Ward as the star of the show with national elite times in three events: the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes with respective times of 11.86, 24.57 and 56.61.

 

“Naj had an incredible day winning three spring events in very tough (heat) conditions and seemed to get stronger after each event,” Muhn said.

 

Bishop England, meanwhile, finished fifth in both the boys and girls Class AAA state championships which was contested Friday at Lower Richland High School.