Lady Cyclone track and field team garners spotlight in Dobyns-Bennett Opener
Published 5:33 pm Thursday, March 20, 2025
Photo contributed Cyclone freshman Ava Rodgers sent the shot put on its way to a mark of 33-11, which won the event for Elizabethton.
Photo contributed Diesel Russell uncoils as he prepares to launch the discus. Russell finished at the top with a personal record of 164-10.
Photo contributed The Elizabethton girls 4x400-meter relay team finished in second place. Pictured are, from left, Chyanne Everett, Vella Nave, Naye Musa, and Addison Merryman.
Photo contributed Jamira Smalls sends the shot put on its way on a toss of 33-4, good for second place.
Photo contributed Liahna Nave prepares to release the discus. Nave's toss of 131-2 made her the top girls' discus thrower in the state in both public and private schools and won the event at Dobyns-Bennett.
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SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
It might have only been the fourth track meet of the season for the Elizabethton track team, but that hasn’t stopped the team from setting the bar high for other girls’ programs in Northeast Tennessee.
The team, coached by Matt Campbell, collected six first-place finishes and four second-place finishes in the Dobyns-Bennett Opener on Wednesday despite having some events with as many as 100 competitors from 11 teams.
Some of the impressive highlights from the meet included:
- Sophomore Liahna Nave won the discus with a throw of 131-2, which puts her as the top overall girls’ thrower in the state. This includes all conferences, including private schools.
- Freshman Arvella Nave broke the school record, winning the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:22.14. The previous record was 5:22.81, set by Lauren Pilkton in 2019. Nave also took first place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.
- Sophomores Chyanne Everett and Naye Musa took first and second place, respectively, in the 100-meter dash with times of 13.10 and 13.37. Everett also took first place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.76.
- Freshman Ava Rodgers and junior Jamira Smalls took first and second place in the shot put with throws of 33-11 and 33-4, respectively.
- Camdyn Garland collected a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.13.
- The 4×400 relay team of Everett, Vella Nave, Musa, and Addison Merryman ran a 4:30.17 to claim second place in the event.
- Garland also performed well in the field events, claiming second in the high jump at 4-10, fifth in the long jump with a leap of 14-9, and third in the triple jump with a finish of 31-10.75.
- Besides finishing first in the shot put, Rodgers also scored points for the team with a fourth-place finish in the discus with a throw of 92-3.
On the boys’ side, Diesel Russell was the only Cyclone to take a first-place finish as he threw a personal record 164-10 to win the event.
Jeremiah Norris picked up a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 44.32, while the 4×400-meter relay team of Dagan Walker, Jerry Behrmann, Cooper Chinault, and Norris finished fifth with a time of 3:44.60.
