COLUMBUS – Day’Lynn Garrett finished seventh at state run the 110 meter hurdles and Elyza Long finished 10th in the 3200 meter run despite suffering an unfortunate injury.
Elyza Long, a senior graduate, advanced to state in the 1600 meter run by finishing first place in the regional meet with a school record time of 5:07.63, but she wasn’t able to compete in the 1600 at state due to a hip injury she had suffered.
Fortunately, Elyza was able to compete in the 3200 meter run at state as she finished runner-up in the regional meet with a time of 11:28.18. Despite suffering in pain, Elyza put together a memorable performance by finishing tenth place with a time of 11:28.86. That was extremely impressive considering the circumstances she had to overcome to run on the track.
If Elyza Long was completely healthy, she likely would have placed on the podium in both events. Her school record in the time of 11:11.31 would have placed fourth at state in the 3200 meter run and her school record in the time of 5:07.63 in the 1600 meter run would have put her on the podium in fifth place at state.
Elyza closed out a great career as she holds the two school records and competed in the state track meet in three of her four years in high school. She qualified for state in 2022 as a freshman in the 3200 meter run and in the 800 meter relay in 2024 as a junior. Long followed up by qualifying for state this year as a senior in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. Her qualification in the 1600 meter run was the first in that event in the history of the Lady Buccs track program.
Day’Lynn Garrett, a junior, earned his spot on the podium by placing seventh in the 110 meter hurdles in the time of 14.85. This is Day’Lynn’s second state medal in track as he finished sixth in the 300 meter hurdles last year as a sophomore.
Plus, Day’Lynn qualified for state this year in the long jump, but came up short of advancing to the finals. Still, he has the potential to advance to state in all three events next year as a senior.
This capped another great season of Covington track with three athletes performing well and two earning state medals, Day’Lynn Garrett and Preston King. Preston King finished third in the high jump in the first day of the state track meet on Friday.
