TRACK & FIELD: Lady Indians qualify for State in six events

The Lady Indians placed third of the fourteen teams at Friday's Fairfield Track & Field Sectional and will be sending five girls to the IHSA Class A State Finals in Charleston this Thursday in a total of six events.

Du Quoin's Tarynn Mays and Quinn Kirkpatrick both qualified for Charleston in two individual events, and Kirkpatrick added a third as part of the 4x800 meter relay team, which also includes Andrea Lopez, Olivia Cravens and Hope Stewart. The 4x800 team finished first at Fairfield with a time of 10:50.69, a comfortable 25-plus seconds ahead of second place Anna-Jonesboro.

Mays was the winner in both the triple jump and the 100 meter dash at the Sectional. Her distance of 35'6.5 set a new Du Quoin High School record for the girls' triple jump. She finished the 100m with a time of 13.10.

Kirkpatrick will go to state in the 1600 meters, where she was second at Fairfield with a time of 5:57.30, and in the 800 meters, which she won with a time of 2:35.62. Her third place finish in the pole vault set a new school record (7'6).

Du Quoin's Andrea Lopez also qualified for Charleston in a solo race, coming in second place in the 3200 meters (13:33.16).

Two other Lady Indians came up just short of a state berth - Jaylyn Williams (3rd, shot put, 34'8.5) and Brittany Clark (3rd, discus, 96'11).