Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Saturday, August 02, 2008 in Sports

Ward continues to raise the bar at national summer track meets

By Chris Goltermann

The Times-Herald

Two inches doesn't seem like much. But in the world of high school track and field, it's sometimes describes the measurement between gold and silver. Or in the case of Northgate High's Graylin Ward, third or seventh.

That's what two inches in the Class AAAA state high jump meant last season. And after working all summer to consistently improve on his top performance, it'll be interesting to see how much Ward can move up the ladder at next year's Georgia Olympics.

Nationally, the Viking junior has already made his mark at a pair of meets, finishing in the top seven at the USA Track & Field and Athletic Athletic Union Junior Olympic meets in the Intermediate Boys division, while also being recognized as an Elite Youth All-American.

After finishing seventh at the USATF National Junior Olympics on July 27 with an attempt of 6 feet, 2 3/4 inches, the 16-year-old from Sharpsburg again improved on what had been a personal best performance on Thursday at the AAU Junior Olympics held at Eastern Michigan University.

Ward, who competes with the Southside Pioneers summer track team out of Fayetteville, finished fourth at the AAU meet, setting a new personal best with a leap of 6-4. He reached the Junior Olympic level after finishing in the top three at both the regional and national AAU meets

The finish placed Ward 11th in the nation among Intermediate Boys in the Elite Youth ranking system. The National Elite Youth Ranking System combines performances from the USATF and AAU. To be recognized as All American in their event on the National Elite Youth Ranking System, an athlete must end the year with a verified performance in the event that placed in the top 20 performers for the year nationally.

It's been a continued climb for Ward, who in 2006 became the first Pioneers athlete to compete at a third consecutive national championship meet. In May, the Northgate standout finished in a seven-way tie at 6-2 that separated fifth through seventh place in the Class AAAA high jump, with finishers determined on least number of attempts. Both J.R. Williams of Cedar Shoals and Mario Jackson of Statesboro leaped 6-4 to finish third and fourth respectively.

Defending state champion D.J. Smith of Lovejoy won the event at 7-0, the first time a competitor cleared the 7-foot mark since 2005 at the Georgia Olympics. Lovejoy has since moved up to Class AAAAA starting this season.