Porter puts worries to rest at Jefferson Relays

JEFFERSON - Tyler Porter whiffed on all his attempts in a meet last Wednesday, so when he drove back to Jefferson from Athens on Friday, he worried more about his pole vaulting than the tornado sirens.

Porter put the bad weather and Wednesday's bad pole vaulting behind him to win the event on Saturday at the Jefferson Relays. Porter and teammate Derrick Perkins both earned individual gold medals as Jefferson's boys took second in Group 2 behind Westminster.

Jefferson's girls also finished second in Group 2 to cap a strong outing by the Dragons at Memorial Stadium.

"I was driving back from seeing my sister in Athens last night, so I was driving back through all the tornadoes and everything," Porter said. "I was like, freaking out, thinking the meet was going to get called off because of all the bad weather and everything. I was had my mind set that I was going to go out and do it and I did what I do best."

A severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings hit Jefferson on Friday, which put the future of Saturday's track meet in doubt. But most of Memorial Stadium dried out enough for the meet to go forward on Saturday morning. Porter hit 14 feet, 6 inches in his first attempt to erase the memory of a no-height in his last meet.

"It tied my personal best," Porter said. "I hit 14-6 about two weeks ago, and I really hadn't had a good meet since then. Last Wednesday I no-heighted, so this was a big step. I was more afraid of no-heighting than the tornado. There's a lot of pressure on me."

Perkins also turned in a personal best that resulted in a gold medal. He ran a 15.72 to win the Boys Group Two 110-meter hurdles.

"I'm feeling more comfortable with myself to go out and do better every time. I feel like I can go faster every time out," Perkins said.

Jefferson scored 89 points to finish second behind Westminster in the boys Group 2. Westminster ran away with the team title with 135.50 points. Oglethorpe County was fourth (69.60), East Jackson was fifth (67.5), Athens Academy was seventh (53.5) and Commerce was eighth (30).

"I really blocked the weather out of my mind," Perkins said. "I was more focused on the track meet and I was hoping it wasn't going to be canceled. I didn't want it to be canceled because we need to get some meets in."

Jefferson's girls scored 92.5 points to finish second behind Lovett in Group 2. Lovett scored 132.5. Athens Academy was fifth (81.5), East Jackson was sixth (48.5) and Commerce was seventh (34).

In the girls Group 2, Athens Academy's Torie Owers swept first in the discus and shot put. She won the discus with a throw of 106-8 and the shot put with a distance of 32-9. The Lady Spartans' Lisa Sheppard was first in the pole vault with a height of 9-6.

In the Group 2 boys, East Jackson's Tyler Collins won the high jump with a leap of 6-2. He finished with the same height as Oglethorpe County's Deverious Jones, but won with fewer jumps. Scoop Shamp from Athens Academy was first in the triple jump at 42-8.

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