Published: April 23, 2008 12:05 am            

Devils tough on own track

FLATWOODS — Russell’s boys track team continued to roll Tuesday night with a victory in its own Red Devil Relays.

Russell dedicated the meet to the memory of Jeff Cooksey, father of Red Devil runner Tyler Cooksey. Jeff died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Tyler made an appearance at the track Tuesday to support his team in the 28th annual meet.

“It’s been a long, hard year for Tyler, but I think he’s handled it very well,’’ said Russell coach Alice Leigh. “He came out this season, worked hard and has done really well. I think he knew how much joy that brought to his father.’’

Russell scored 173 points to repeat as champion on a mild spring evening. Ashland finished second with 102 points among five schools in the boys division.

Cabell Midland’s girls successfully defended their title after getting a scare from up-and-coming Ashland. Midland finished with 119 points to win by 3.5.

Russell boys won their second meet in four days, coming off a strong performance in the Boyd County Classic.

“Every time we’ve run a meet this season, we’ve seen a lot of positives,’’ Leigh said. “We get a little better as we go along. We still haven’t reached where we need to be.’’

Senior Jacob Ferguson, one of several newcomers on the squad, is still learning his way but winning in the process.

The 6-foot-3 Ferguson swept all three jumps and also helped Russell take first place in the 400-meter relay. He was most pleased with his long jump of 19 feet, 6 inches and time split of 11.09 seconds in the sprint relay.

“The long jump was my best for a meet,’’ Ferguson said. “I scratched on a 21-footer today. In the relay, that’s my quickest time this year.’’

Russell won 12 of 14 events, overall.

In the girls division, Cabell Midland got a boost in the high jump to get squeeze past Ashland.

Midland’s Taylor Cassidy and Kinsey Hall finished one-two in the event to pick up 18 points and help bring the Lady Knights from behind.

“We needed every point we could get,’’ said coach Don Rogers of Cabell Midland, which finished fifth in West Virginia’s Class AAA last season. “We knew the competition here would be good.’’

Ashland, also runner-up in the Boyd County Classic, made another strong showing.

“We had a tremendous night in the field events,’’ said coach Kevin Stepp. “We scored two people in several events and had a 20-point lead before Midland blew up in the high jump. It feels good to be right in there against one of the best teams in West Virginia. I’m tickled to death.’’

        

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