Despite miserable weather conditions, sophomore Taylor Brunskole said his first experience competing at the Georgia AAAAA Track and Field State Championships was incredible.

“The weather definitely affected how I ran,” Brunskole said. “Even though I ran two to three seconds slower than I usually do, it was still really cool to see all the top runners in the state and be able to compete against them.”

Brunskole finished seventh in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.21 seconds. Brunskole also finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.42 seconds, just behind freshman and fellow Panther Daniel Roberts.

“There were a lot of fast people in my race,” said Roberts who finished fourth with a time of 15.17 seconds. “There were a ton of people screaming, which was exciting and really fun.”

Roberts also finished seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 49-9 1/2  but said he could have jumped better if it had not been raining.

“It was the worst weather conditions I have seen in 16 years,” head track and field coach Chad Walker said. “Despite this, all the races were very competitive, leading to close team scores.” Fayette County rival McIntosh won the state meet with a score of 40 points.

Sophomore Cody Clements also competed in his first state championships and finished fourth in high jump with a height of 6-4. “I had a blast even though it was raining so much,” Clements said. “It was intense competition and I almost cleared 6-6, but clipped the bar with my ankle.”

The boys’ team, consisting of three athletes who competed for a chance to be top eight in the state and stand on the podium, finished 10th in the state out of 46 schools with a score of 18 points.

Walker said even though his athletes were younger than their competitors, they were still able to perform well. “It was awesome finishing 10th with one 9th grade and two 10th grade guys scoring points. There is a lot to build on for next year. I am really excited about how much potential there will be.”