McComb senior Ashley Bonds has been waiting for Saturday’s Camellia City Relays for most of her MHS career. Bonds hasn’t run in a meet on McComb’s campus since she was in the seventh grade. On a youthful girls’ team, most of her younger teammates have never run in a true home meet.
But with its brand-new track available for use this season, new Tigers’ head coach Jeffery Gibson and longtime MHS coach Mark Lang have brought the Camellia City Relays back to the Camellia City.
“The Camellia City Relays are a big meet, and it has been a long time since McComb hosted the meet,” Lang said. “This track has taken a lot of work. It hasn’t been easy. But the team and the school are thrilled to be able to host this year.”
The meet — to be held Saturday — will be the main attraction among the track & field community in this pocket of the state, with a large handful of local teams traveling to MHS for the Relays.
Teams attending the meet include North Pike, South Pike, Franklin County, Amite County, Wilkinson County, Brookhaven and Tylertown high schools. The meet is invitation-only, and Gibson was proud to be able to fill the field with local competition, reminiscing about his fond high school memories of running in the meet at MHS as a student at Amite County.
The head coach said he hopes this meet will be able to continue the momentum the athletics department and school district have gained since MHS won the boys’ 4A state championship last month, especially if his boys’ and girls’ teams have strong showings in the meet.
“We finally get a chance to run at home and let the community see what these kids have been working for all year,” Gibson said. “For us, being able to come home for Camellia City is big.”
Bonds expressed confidence in her girls’ squad and is eager to impress the home fans with a slew of individual winners in different events.
“We are all excited,” she said. “Me and the other seniors are stepping up as leaders, playing our part in the meet, and doing whatever it takes to get first.”
Gibson was quick to note his girls’ team’s youth and inexperience but added he is not threatened by either element.
“We’re young, but we’re talented,” coach Gibson said.
Bonds and Sharon Botley, a returning state champion sprinter from last year’s team, will be leaned upon heavily in Saturday’s meet due to their consistency from meet to meet, according to Gibson.
“Everyone on our team is hard-working and coachable,” Bonds said. “Me and the other seniors just try and lead by example.”
The boys’ team (also under the helm of Gibson) is hoping to continue a strong 2014 campaign at the Relays Saturday.
Victor Montgomery, a nationally-ranked hurdler for the Tigers, will lead a stout boys’ squad in a handful of individual events, while also anchoring multiple MHS relay teams.
“I’m definitely looking to Victor. He’s that constant and we can depend on him,” Gibson said. He also mentioned JaQuarius ‘Capri’ Landrews and Carl Williams as runners he hopes will have breakout performances in the meet.
“This is a big meet for McComb and for our team, and we all want to have a very strong showing,” Montgomery said.
Saturday’s meet will be extra special for one Tiger — assistant coach and former decorated MHS sprinter Comesha Tucker.
“Coach Tucker has really looked forward to us running on our own track, going back to her days as a student,” Gibson said. “She has been looking forward to Saturday for a long time.”
The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday on the MHS campus. Gibson said it will likely last “until 4 or 5 in the afternoon.”
