SLHS Outdoor Track Girls Team finished second at 6A State Championship on June 1, 2019. Photo contributed
Despite championship performances in three of 17 events, the South Lakes High School girls team just missed out of winning the 6A State High School Track and Field Championship June 1.
The Lady Seahawks scored 79.50 points but Western Branch finished with 81 for its sixth consecutive state championship. Tallwood was third with 54 points followed by T.C. Williams (40) and South County (36).
Junior Hannah Waller led South Lakes with all-state performances in five events:
She won the triple jump with a 39-03.00 on her final attempt, which broke her school record of 39-01.00 set last month. It is also a Nationals qualifier.
Waller was second in both the 100 meters (12.16) and 400 meters (55.40) as well as third in the 200 meters (24.65) and sixth in the triple jump (17-06.25).
Freshman Jillian Howard, juniors Mary Gregory, Emily Lannen and sophomore Juviannadean Mullings closed out the meet by winning the 4x400 meter relay in 3:52.01.
Lannen was also a member of the winning 4x800 meter relay team of freshman Annika Yu, junior Caitlyn Morris and senior Isabelle Gulgert. With their winning time of 9:15.76, they broke the school record and also qualified for Nationals. The previous record of 9:15.79 was set by Sophie Halkett, Olivia Beckner, Sarah Wolfe and Golden Kumi-Darfour in 2016. Lannen also finished third in the 800 meters (2:15.10).
Gulgert and Morris also had standout individual performances, with Gulgert finishing second in the 3,200 meters (10:45.99) and Morris taking sixth in the 1,600 meters (5:05.88).
Other outstanding performances from the state meet came from:
Sophomore Amelia DiBiase, who finished 10th in the pole vault with a 9-06.00 to tie the school record.
Mullings, fifth, in the 200 meters (24.99)
Gregory in the 400 meters (57.35, 8th), seniors Samantha Van Haaren in the high jump (5-02.00, 7th tie) and Nicole Post in the 300 meter hurdles (46.63, 8th).
Nine athletes will participate at Nationals June 13-15 in Greensboro, N.C.