Four St. Andrew’s Parks & Playground athletes head to Oregon for the National Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships
from Staff Reports
It was another great year for the St. Andrew’s Parks & Playground track and field team. It had approximately 70 boys and girls, ranging from 6-15 years old on the team this year.
It’s first two meets of the season were hosted by the Mt. Pleasant Track Club and featured several standout performances. SAP&P girls finished second overall in both meets, no small feat considering that the first meet featured 17 teams and the second meet had 14 teams.
Also, 21 SAP&P athletes chose to participate in the USATF State Championship meet in Florence SC, and each of them performed well enough to qualify for the regional championships in at least one event.
The highlight of the state championship meet was Payton Heyward taking gold in the 11-12 girls shot put. “Payton has worked extremely hard over the last three seasons and it was great to see that work pay off as she captured her first state championship,” said SAP&P head coach Nick Bianchi. “This was the second year in a row that our club has had at least one state champion and we are hoping that streak continues in the years to come.”
Seven SAP&P athletes recently went to Tampa for the USATF Region 4 Championships, where they competed against the best athletes from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
“Our region is one of the toughest in the country, but four of our athletes managed to finish in the top eight of their events and will be headed to Eugene, Ore. to compete in the USATF National Championships,” said Bianchi. “The same track recently held the U.S. Track & Field National Championships and has also hosted the world championships and a U.S. Olympic qualifying meet in recent years. Earning the right to compete on a track where the world’s best have done the same will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience for all of them.”
Bobbi Cutcliff will be competing in the 8 and under girls 1500-meter run; Heyward will be competing in 11-12 girls shot put, discus, and javelin; Claire Gora will compete in 11-12 girls shot put and discus; and Olaina Butts will compete in 13-14 girls discus.
For the season as a whole, SAP&P sprinters were led by Christopher Counts (3rd place, 13-14 boys 100 and 200), Sophia Bianchi (3rd place, 11-12 girls 400 and 6th place, 11-12 girls 80-meter hurdles), and Clare Wofford (6th place, 9-10 girls 400). Cutcliff (2nd place, 8 & under girls 800 and 1500 meter runs), Reese Bianchi (6th place, 13-14 girls 1500) and Tallon Tirozzi (7th place, 13-14 boys 3,000) consistently turned in top performances in the distance events during the season, according to Bianchi.
Female throwers were led by Heyward (1st place, 11-12 girls shot put, 3rd place discus and 7th place javelin) Gora (7th place, 11-12 girls shot put, 4th place discus), Butts (5th place, 13-14 girls discus), Russie Kate Kendrick (4th place, 9-10 girls javelin) and Ellie Bianchi (6th place, 9-10 girls shot put), while brothers Sam Foushee (6th place, 11-12 boys shot put) and Micah Foushee (7th place, 9-10 boys shot put) were our top male throwers. Wesley Hider (4th place, 13-14 girls high jump), Eva Auwaerter (7th place, 13-14 girls long jump) and David Rice (7th place, 11-12 boys high jump) all delivered medal winning performances at our state championship meet.
“Not only did we have a number of athletes perform well in our state and region championships, but all of our athletes showed tremendous improvement as the season progressed, running faster and throwing and jumping farther with each meet,” said Bianchi. “Just as importantly, they showed great sportsmanship at every meet, not only cheering on and congratulating each other, but doing the same for each of their competitors. Those results and those positive attitudes are a result of not only the hard work put in by our athletes, but the great dedication from all of our volunteer coaches who worked incredibly hard to help our athletes.”
