After 11 years of coming up short, the boys track team placed third in the state meet, bringing a trophy home to Grady for the first time since 2005 when the team placed second in Class AA. This is the team’s fifth time earning state hardware, having also finished third in Class AA in 2000, 2001 and 2003..

“It was a great year,” junior Ryan Jackson said. “We had a great supporting cast, our ups and downs, our highs and lows. We didn’t get what we wanted, but we’re going to use this to drive us for next year.”

The team earned 40 points to tie Woodward for the third place position. Junior Christian Jones led the team’s efforts with 19 individual points.

“Anytime you can finish in the top three or four in the state meet, that is quite an honor,” Delbert Ellerton, boys track head coach said. “There is a reason they award trophies to those places.”

The season starts with practice the third week of January and part of the goal, Ellerton said, is keeping everyone healthy until the end of the season.

During the season, several athletes suffered injuries that set the team back prior to the state meet. Jones and Jermaine Hosley were in treatment for injuries prior to the meet and Jacquez Sloan injured a hamstring twice that sat him down most of the season. Sloan finished third in the long jump with a leap of 22-8, matching the second best performance in school history.

“It hurt a lot, but getting second hurt more,’’ said Jones, who placed second in the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles. He also placed sixth in the long jump.

Senior Sohan Dongal, who joined the team from soccer, stepped in and helped the team place third in the 4×100 relay.

“During the very long track season, you know injuries happen,” Ellerton said. “You try to plan for any type of contingencies that take place, and you hope that by the end, you still have enough people standing so that you can come away with some type of token or reward for a job well done so that you’ll have something to commemorate your season.”

With the track team only having three graduating seniors in Drew Davis, who finished fifth in the 800 meters with a No. 2 Grady all-time performance of 1:56.20, Dongal and pole vaulter Kaughlin Caver, who finished the season matching his 11 foot pr at state, the team has a bright future.  The athletes know that the journey won’t be easy.

“You work hard in the beginning, and it will pay off in the end,” Randall said. “That’s how you get the results you want.”

In the coming season, the team will move up to the Class 5A, which includes competitors such as two-time defending champion Southwest DeKalb, Cedar Shoals, Starr’s Mill, North Springs and McIntosh and traditional powerhouse Carrollton, which has won more than 20 state track championships.

“You start planning from this point for next year,” Ellerton said. “If we’re going to have a chance to win the state championship, we’re going to need to score in events that they aren’t strong in.”