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Toast of the Coast: Boys track and field
By Josh Hokejhoke@thesunnews.com
Even without winning either the 110- or 400-meter hurdles as a senior, Marcus Pope graduated from Andrews as one of the most decorated hurdlers in S.C. track and field history.
His willingness to sacrifice individual state championships was the ultimate reason the Yellow Jackets won the 2008 Class AA team state title in his final season.
For the second straight year, the Toast of the Coast Player of the Year ran both the 400 meters and 400 hurdles at the state meet. He won both the 400 and 400 hurdles as a junior, a trying test of will since the events are scheduled close together. He tried to win the double again in 2008, but temperatures hovering around 90 degrees made that nearly impossible.
His body gave up in the final 50 meters of the 400 hurdles, his signature event, and he finished a close second. Teammate Justin Duncan beat him in the 110 hurdles, so Pope took home two silver medals instead of two golds in the hurdling events. But he also won the admiration of his coach and teammates.
"Running those back to back is unheard of," Andrews coach Bill Peterman said. "We knew coming into the season we had the team [to compete for a state championship], but we knew our leaders had to do some unselfish things.
"He lived up to the expectations. He was disappointed with the way things went at the state meet, but he had a gutsy performance. He stepped up to the occasion."
Pope scored a total of 36 points at the state meet - first in the 400 meters, second in the 110 hurdles, second in the 400 hurdles and first in the 1,600-meter relay. Without those points, the team's state title wouldn't have been possible.
"It was really tough," Pope said of running at the state meet. "I had to keep a confident mind and stay focused. I tried as hard as I could. I did as good as I could. I would do anything for my team. I'm a team player. When you've got a team, I put that first."
Pope, a South Carolina signee, has a closet full of firsts. In his career, he won a 11 total state championships, a staggering number that will be hard to top.
"He's partly responsible for putting the program on the map ... not just locally, but statewide and even on the national level," Peterman said. "He really put the team and this town on the map for track and field."
GARY SESSION
School | Georgetown
Class | Junior
Specialty | Shot put
Notable | Finished third in the shot put at the Class AAA state meet, one week after finishing eighth at the state qualifier.
CAMERON GRIGGS
School | Myrtle Beach
Class | Sophomore
Specialty | Discus
Notable | Won the discus at the Class AAA state meet with a throw of 152 feet, 4 inches, more than 2 feet farther second place.
LaQUAN PRIEST
School | Georgetown
Class | Senior
Specialty | Triple jump/middle distance
Notable | Won the triple jump at the Class AAA state meet by more 5 inches.
JUSTIN DUNCAN
School | Andrews
Class | Senior
Specialty | Hurdles/long jump
Notable | Won the triple jump and 110-meter hurdles at the Class AA state meet, and added a third-place finish in the long jump.
JEFFREY LINTA
School | North Myrtle Beach
Class | Eighth grade
Specialty | Pole vault
Notable | Finished 12th in the pole vault at the Class AAA state qualifying meet with a vault of 10 feet.
MAURICE GRANDISON
School | Myrtle Beach
Class | Senior
Specialty | Sprints
Notable | Finished sixth in the 100 meters at the Class AAA state meet, one week after he was seventh in the qualifier.
ERIC SPARKMAN
School | Waccamaw
Class | Senior
Specialty | Sprints
Notable | Won the 200 meters at the Class AA state meet, and, despite stumbling at the start, finished third in the state in the 100 meters.
WES PARKER
School | North Myrtle Beach
Class | Senior
Specialty | Distance
Notable | Finished 14th in the 1,600 meters at the Class AAA state qualifying meet, and was the Horry County meet MVP.
DELTON WALTERS
School | Socastee
Class | Junior
Specialty | High jump
Notable | Won the Class AAA state qualifying meet in the high jump and finished second one week later at the state meet.
JEQWASKI WHITE
School | St. James
Class | Junior
Specialty | Middle distance/hurdles
Notable | At state, finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and ran on school's state-champion 1,600-meter relay team.
GAGE HICKS
School | North Myrtle Beach
Class | Junior
Specialty | Distance/middle distance
Notable | Finished 10th in the 1,600 meters and 12th in the 800 meters at the Class AAA state qualifying meet.
JARVIS TISDALE
School | Waccamaw
Class | Senior
Specialty | Hurdles
Notable | Finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and fifth in the 110-meter hurdles at the Class AA state meet.