Pineda and Woodason place at state

Published 12:01 am Sunday, May 8, 2011

Two area athletes scored on the final day of the GHSA’s boys track and field state meets at Memorial Stadium in Jefferson on Saturday.

Dalton senior Christian Pineda took third in the Class 3A 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute and 58.21 seconds. Northwest Whitfield senior Luke Woodason finished fifth in the Class 4A 110 hurdles with a 14.8, and was eighth in the 300 hurdles with a 44.14.

All five classifications hold their boys track meets simultaneously at the site.

“He did just what we told him to do,” Dalton track coach Scott Thompson said of Pineda. “He stayed with the pack for the first lap, which about a :58 pace, which is pretty slow. But he ran a good race, and they had a good kick at the end.”

Pineda also took eighth place in the 1,600 Thursday with a 4:26.61.

Dalton scored 13 points to finish in 15th place. Region 7-3A champion Allatoona scored one place higher. Carrollton pulled away in the team competition with 84 points to repeat as Class 3A champion.

Woodason also took third place for Northwest in the pole vault Thursday, clearing 13-0.

“(Woodason) ran real well in the 110 hurdles,” Bruins coach Jason Jackson said. “I think he’s real close to a school record. The reason for his time in the 300 was he fell over the last hurdle. I hated to see him fall, but I’m proud of him.”

Clarke Central won the tight Class 4A team scores with 36 points, ahead of Alcovy’s 33 and Kell’s 32. Northwest finished tied with Chapel Hill for 15th place with 11 points.

“I thought it was a good trip,” Jackson said. “It was good to get the some experience. Most of the kids we took had never been. Now they know what to expect.”

See more results from all five classes  at ghsa.net.