»RELATED: Saturday’s high school scoreboard
Potts won the 100-meter hurdles, 200 dash and was on the winning 800 and 1,600 relay teams. Hatcher won the 100, 200 and was on the 800 relay. In all, CJ won 10 events combined.
“One this is they’re naturally talented, but the other thing is they work very hard,” Puckett said of Potts and Hatcher. “I don’t know how good either one can be. They’re both getting interest from big-time schools. The sky is the limit for them.”
In the 100 hurdles, Potts’ time of 15.46 edged Northmont senior standout Lelia Hill’s 15.60. Potts finished second in the 100 hurdles at the Division II state meet last season. Hill, meanwhile, finished sixth at the D-I state meet in the 300 hurdles, which Hill also won Saturday in 46.79. Potts won the 200 in 27.30 to finish just ahead of freshman teammate Jadyn Haywood (27.43).
“I honestly don’t know (where the talent comes from),” Potts said. “I started doing the hurdles when I was 13 and I was not good at all. I got really good my freshman year. … I was not confident in the hurdles until last year.”
Hatcher held off Belmont senior Herman Chongwain to win both the 100 and 200. Hatcher won the 100 in 11.25 to Chongwain’s 11.35 and added the 200 in 22.86 to Chongwain’s 23.08. Last week Hatcher set meet records in both evens at the Up and Running Invitational in Troy.
“He’s always the first one (to finish drills in practice). He’s always at the top,” Puckett said. “He’s very competitive. Talent and competitive is a hard combination to beat.”
Hatcher, who competes in Division II, topped a strong field of D-I competitors on Saturday.
“I look at it like we’re all in high school,” Hatcher said. “It’s just up to that: whoever wins is whoever wins.”
So far that’s been Hatcher. And the Eagles.
Junior Meyah Haywood won the 100 in 13:15 with junior teammate Imani Wortham second (13.42). Junior Julia Diloreto won the 400 in 1:01.93 with senior teammate Jayda Grant second in 1:03.93. CJ’s girls 400 relay also won.
CJ won the girls meet with 108 points to runner-up Northmont’s 91. Fairmont won the boys meet with 73 for a narrow victory over runner-up Northmont (70.25) and CJ (70).
Also at Northmont on Saturday:
• Oakwood freshman Grace Hartman set a meet record with 5:02.08 in the 1,600 run. Hartman won the event by 30.09 seconds.
• Troy swept the boys discus behind senior Spencer Klopfenstein (133-07 feet), senior Jesse Westmeyer (131-0) and B-team member senior Garrett Jones (125-03).
• Covington senior Lauren Christian won both the girls shot (36-02.5) and discus (98-0).
• Fairmont senior Andrew Samir won the 800 in 2:03.84 and added a victory in the 1,600 in 4:28.59.
• Centerville sophomore Emma Bucher won the 5,000 run in 17:43.28, topping a tough field that included three state qualifiers in the 1,600 a season ago – including Bucher – and seven runners who competed at the state cross country championships last season.
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