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Sports Editor
Aberdeen football wide receiver and basketball guard Mario Lucas has shown his leaping ability on the court. He showed it in Pearl over the weekend by taking home a first and third place finish in the 2009 MHSAA state track meet.
Lucas, a junior, finished first in Class 3A high jump with a 6-6 leap. After tying for second in long jump, he finished third with a 22-02 effort after being out-jumped on his second attempt. The 22-02 jump was longest of his career. Teammate Rashad Pargo's 5-08 was good for seventh in high jump.
"No matter where you finish, to be one of the top eight in the state is a testament to how well you've worked the whole year," Aberdeen coach Kris Pickle said. "No matter where you finish, you are the top eight. That's an elite group. By far, Mario exceeded his expectations."
Lucas finished first in division and regional high jump and second in North Half. His revenge against the North Half winner came on Friday.
Raymond (76) won the team title. Aberdeen (25) finished ninth of 34 teams. In girls team, Amory (14) finished 13th of 30. Pass Christian (105) won the team title.
Other highlights:
n In girls 100-meter dash, Raven Hampton (Aberdeen) finished third of eight runners with a time of 12.43. Nettleton's Shauntina Collier finished sixth with a time of 12.68. In girls 200 meter, Aberdeen junior Annalishe Harris finished fourth of eight runners with a time of 26.86. Collier was sixth at 27.26. In 100 hurdles, Aberdeen's Teana Dunlap finished sixth with a time of 17.61. Amory's Courtney Baker finished third in 300 hurdles at 49:14. In the boys 400, Aberdeen freshman Jordan Gathings finished seventh with a time of 1:03.78.
Aberdeen finished seventh in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Pickle said the 4x100 team probably would have finished third before Rashad Bates pulled his hamstring on the third leg.
The Bulldogs sent nine guys to boys competition after having no participants last year.
"We didn't run as well as I'd like for us to, but you cant take anything away from the kids," Pickle said. "We had nine this year make it. That's an accomplishment in itself."