Senior Darius Freeman scored 23 points to lead the Cedar Grove Saints to a 67-45 win over Decatur to capture the Class 3A State Track and Field title at Jefferson’s Memorial Stadium over the weekend.

The victory was Coach Jermaine Smith’s Saints first ever boys’ state track championship and coupled with Southwest DeKalb’s Class 5A title kept the DeKalb County School District’s state track championship streak alive at nine consecutive seasons. It also marked the fifth time in those nine seasons for the district to win two state titles.

The Saints trailed Central Carroll after the first day of competition by 13 points when Freeman stepped on the stage along with his 4×100 meter relay teammates Andre Burrell, Adrian Green and Isreal Spivey. With Freeman running the second leg, the group ran a time of 41.77 to capture gold and pull them with six of the lead.

Freeman and Burrell were up next in the 400 meter dash and they did not disappoint as Freeman won the event (48.21) and Burrell finished third for bronze (49.01) to pull in a total of 16 points for the Saints as they took the lead for good with 42 points as a team.

Four events later Freeman got in the blocks for the 200 meter dash and came with .42 of winning his third gold medal of the day with a silver medal finish. The performance all but sealed the title for the Saints with two events remaining.

The Saints had a pair of teams set for the final event of the day in the 4×400 meter relay, an event the Saints had won the past two years and five out of the last eight state track meets.

Freeman, Burrell and Green were joined by Jessie Reverio on the Saints ‘A’ 4×400 team which went on to win the gold with a time of 3:18.98, almost two seconds faster than second place Washington County. The Saints’ ‘B’ 4×400 relay team came in sixth to add three more points for the final total of 67.

Central Carroll, the first day leader, would finish third behind Decatur with 42 points, 25 behind the Saints whom they led by 13.

Three silver medal finishes for McNair helped the Mustangs to a Top 10 finish in 10th with 23 points.

McNair was third in both the 4×100 (42.40) and 4×400 (3:22.80) meter relays to account for 12 of the teams points. Marcellus Boykins accounted for the rest of the points with a third in the 200 meter dash (21.92) and fourth in the 100 meter dash (11.04).

Towers finished in a tie for 25th with 3 points as Zacchaeus Jewell finished third in the triple jump (44-06.50).

CLASS 4A
The Redan Raiders ninth place finish in the Class 4A State Track and Field Championships at Jefferson’s Memorial Stadium over the weekend gave DeKalb County five Top 10 finishes in the boys’ state meets.

Senior Chris McBride led the way for Redan with his second consecutive State Track and Field Championships gold medal in the long jump with a leap of 23-11.00. McBride also added 10 more points with fourth place finishes in the triple jump (46-02.00) and 300 meter hurdles (38.62).

Arabia Mountain tied for 20th out of the 45 teams with 10 points. The Rams got four points from the 4×100 meter relay team which finished fifth and five more from Quincey Wilson, 4th in the 400 meter dash (48.61).

The Columbia Eagles finished tied for 29th with eight points led by the 4×100 meter relay teams’ fourth place finish in a time of 42.12.

Chamblee was 35 with five points as Will West finished fourth in the pole vault (13-00.00) and Lithonia was tied for 36th with four points provided by Jozahn Carter’s fifth in the 200 meter dash (22.33).