Cahokia High standout Ja’Mari Ward is only a sophomore, but he has already established himself as one of the top young jumpers in the country. He is also keeping up a fine tradition of jumping excellence at Cahokia High, which is in the midst of a dynasty in boys track.
Ward was at it again last week as he swept both the long jump and triple jump to lead the Comanches to the team championship at the Norm Armstrong/Belleville West Invitational. Ward won the long jump with a leap of 23 feet 4 inches. He also won the triple jump with an impressive effort of 49 feet 6 inches.
Travelling such distances in the air is nothing new to Ward, who has been a star performer in age-group summer track meets before entering high school. In his first state meet as a freshman last spring, Ward won the long jump with a leap of 23-7 ½ on his final jump to edge teammate Chris Moore for the state title.
The Comanches won the meet with 95 points. They also got a boost from junior sprinter Keveion Akins, who won the 200-meter-dash with a winning time of 21.8 seconds.
Edwardsville got a 1-2 finish from Isaiah Michi and Craig James in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Michi finished first in 37.99 while James was right behind in 38.13. James was also second in the 110-meter high hurdles to Belleville East sophomore William Session, who was first in 14.2 seconds.
Record-setting sprinters
McCluer South-Berkeley’s girls have been quite impressive in the sprints during the opening weeks of the season. At last weekend’s Charlie Beck Invitational at University City, the set meet records in the 4×100- and 4×200-meter relays. They won the 4×100 in 47.47 seconds and the 4×200 in 1:40.32. They also finished second in the 4×400. Kamira Franklin was first in the 200-meter dash in 25.22. At the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Relays in East St. Louis, Franklin won the 100 in 12.09 while teammate Octavio Cato was second in 12.25. The Bulldogs also broke a 21-year old meet record by winning the 4×200 in 1:40.91. They also won the 4×100 in 47.8.
Team champs
Kirkwood’s boys and Hazelwood Central’s girls came away with the team championships at University City. Sprinter James Willis was a double-winner in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Eric Phillips won the long jump, finished second in the 100 and anchored the Pioneers’ 4×200 relay team to a victory in 1:29.8. The Pioneers also finished first in the 4×100.
Hazelwood Central racked up 130 points to win the girls team title. Senior Ashley Henderson won the 100 and finished second in the 200. Arianna Phillips finished first in the 400 and the Hawks also finished second in the 4×100 and 4×200.
Other top performances at University City came from the Hazelwood Central boys’ 4×400-meter relay team, which posted a winning time of 3:18.8, which is very impressive for early April. Gianni Cook of University City set a new meet record in the boys’ pole vault with a winning clearance of 14 feet.
Meets on the docket
There are a host of meets on the docket this week. The Henle Holmes Invitational at Parkway Central began on Wednesday and will conclude today. The Fort Zumwalt East Relays will be held on Friday. The Corey Siebert Invitational at Rockwood Summit will be held on Saturday. The Dale Collier Kirkwood Invitational will be held on Saturday. Some area athletes will also be headed to Lawrence, KS. to participate in the Jayhawk Invitational, which runs through Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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