Iron Horse track teams brush off long day, win Lower State

It was all in a day’s work.

 

The Philip Simmons High School track and field teams faced a 6 a.m. wake-up call on May 11, followed by a two and a half-hour bus ride to Camden High School to compete in the Class AAA Lower State championships.

 

Once there, the Iron Horses competed in a meet that lasted two hours longer than expected and was contested in 80-degree weather.

 

But it was worth it, as the Iron Horses claimed championships in a most convincing manner.

 

The girls posted a 156-83 victory over Camden High School, while Dreher High School was in third with 73.

 

The Iron Horse boys were also big winners, with a 144-105 victory over Dreher. Waccamaw High School was third with 90.

 

“Our athletes overcame adversity,” Iron Horse girls coach Emma Santor said. “Yet we still came out as champions. Where others find an excuse, we find an opportunity.”

 

The Iron Horses were just as dominant in the Region 8-AAA championships held the week before. Now, they are poised to make a serious bid for a state crown.

 

The Iron Horse girls won back-to-back state titles in 2021 and 2022 and finished as runners-up last year.

 

The boys have had much success in the same time frame. They won the state title in 2021 and were runner-up in 2022. They placed fourth last year.

 

Santor’s team prepared every day for the state championships, which are slated at Lower Richland High School on May 17.

 

“Leave it on the track and stay in your lanes,” Santor said when asked about state expectations. “That’s a double entendre, and our team motto.”

 

The Iron Horses had five athletes turn in national elite performances at the meet, including Avah Mallek and Laura Perry in the 1,600-meter run and Reagan Roush in the pole vault.

 

Corey Steed posted a national elite time in the 200-meter dash, while Bryce Ellington was elite in the triple jump.

 

The Iron Horses girls dominated the distance runs, taking the top four places in the 3,200-meter run as Perry led the way with a gold medal in a time of 11 minutes and 47.89 seconds. Mallek took the silver, Anna Alomar took the bronze, and Josie May took fourth.

 

Mallek earned a gold medal in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:12.62, and Perry won silver. Hailey Meyers won silver in the 800-meter run, and Lilah May took home the bronze.

 

Those top performances accounted for 65 of the girls’ points.

 

The Iron Horse girls also won the 3,200-meter relay race.

 

Steed had a big day for the Iron Horse boys with gold medal performances in the sprints. He won the 100-meter dash in 10.90 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.79.

 

Pierce Walker shone in the distance runs, capturing gold in both the 1,600 with a time of 4:26.39 and the 3,200 in 9:47.22.

 

Ellington earned gold medals in the long and triple jumps.