Michael Holland said he wasn’t disappointed by the Oglethorpe County girls’ 14th-place finish at the Class A Division I Track and Field Championships on Tuesday.
“I think that the girls came out and performed to their potential,” said Holland, who co-coaches the girls' team. “I do think there were some events that had a much stronger field this year.”
The Patriots, who won three state titles between 2021 and 2024, and placed ninth in 2025, arrived at the University of Georgia’s Spec Towns Track with nine athletes across 10 events.
They scored 25 points, highlighted by an impressive display in the 100-meter hurdles.
Senior Elin Turner and sophomore Zharia Burgess placed third and fifth, respectively, bringing in 10 team points. However, the pair wasn’t aware of their finishing position until the announcer called their names.
“When me and Zharia found out, we started jumping up and down, and we were hugging, and I was like, ‘That's crazy that I got third,’” Turner said.
This year marks Turner’s fourth state meet appearance. She placed eighth in the 100 hurdles as a freshman.
“It’s really exciting,” Turner said. “Just looking back on younger me, freshman year, the fact that I’ve grown so much, I’m pretty sure I got eighth that year, so just the fact that I’m going from eighth to third, is really exciting.”
Turner’s success continued into the 300-meter hurdles, where she finished fourth. She was also ninth in each of the long and triple jumps.
Burgess was slated to compete in the 4x100 and 4x200 events, alongside the 100 hurdles. Unfortunately for OCHS, the junior fell during her leg of the 4x100, resulting in a shoulder injury and causing the team to DNF.
Burgess went to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center for X-rays, and is expected to make a recovery, Holland said.
Sophomore Jacelynn McCall replaced Burgess, and the 4x200 team finished seventh, for two points.
“Having to do it so quick, with no week to run through it, or anything like that — it’s not like she got hurt one meet and couldn’t do it the next meeting,” Holland said. “So just having to do it right there on the spot, I was proud of Jacelynn for stepping up and jumping in there and doing a good job.”
The Patriots picked up four more points in the 4x800 race, with Georgia Turner, Emily Wisham, Jaliyah Glenn and Nora Turner finishing fourth.
The boys team brought 12 athletes and competed in 12 events, finishing 23rd with eight points. Senior Ke’Mauri Brown scored five points for the Patriots with a career-best fourth in the long jump.
The 4x800 and 4x100 teams finished seventh and eighth, while sophomore John Adams placed ninth in the 1,600.
Adams will be one of seven returning state qualifiers next season. With Brown, O'Maury Huggs and Corey Tillman graduating, boys coach Maurice Freeman expects incoming freshmen to push his veterans.
“We'll have a little bit more numbers than we did this year, just because that's such a sizable group that's coming in,” Freeman said. “I think that's going to kind of challenge people.”