Campbell Girls Win Region Crown, Boys Title Still Up For Grabs

After two days of competition in the Region 4-AAAAA track championships, only one thing is certain.

and McEachern are the class of the region on both the boys and girls sides.

But not everything has been settled. The boys championship will not be decided until Tuesday, thanks to Mother Nature's insistence on twice delaying Monday's meet at McEachern High School. The first delay came near the beginning of Monday's action after a deluge fell on the girls competing in the 3,200 meter run.

The second delay came near the end of the night and was accompanied by lightning. According to GHSA rules for outdoor sporting events, any lightning perceived to be within a three-mile radius of the event site automatically triggers a 30-minute delay. Any subsequent lightning resets that 30-minute clock.

That clock continued to reset until the storm finally dealt a death blow the school's electrical system, cutting the lights to the track.

"After that, we decided to call it a night," said Philip Hoskins, McEachern's head track coach.

The boys 4x400, set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, will determine the region champion. McEachern currently holds a 14-point lead in the team standings, but Campbell has two relay teams in the final event. A 1-2 finish by the Campbell teams and any finish below fourth (out of eight teams) for McEachern would give Campbell the title. If McEachern finishes fourth or better, they would be region champs.

"We could still fall to second, but we if finish fourth or better, we take that out of the equation," Hoskins said.

The Campbell girls bested McEachern for the region title thanks in large part to a 1-2 finish in the 100 meter hurdles.

"They got 18 points out of that and we just never could make that up," Hoskins said

The region championship determines which athletes will compete at next week's state meet. The top two finishers from each event qualified for state.