By Mike Clark
Records were falling left and right at the Public League indoor track and field meet on March 22, and no one had a hand in more of them than seniors Angelena Bullocks of Young and Armond Boulware of Kenwood.
Bullocks established new bests in the girls 60 meters and the 200 — breaking her own year-old marks in each — and ran a leg on the Dolphins’ record-breaking 4×200 relay. She also was part of the old record in that event as well.
Bullocks went 7.40 in the 60 and 23.79 in the 200. In between, she teamed with Simone Bernard, Ella Sweatt and Layla Bonilla for a 1:41.74 in the relay. Oh, and she took third in the long jump at 17-10.25.
Boulware had three records of his own on the boys side, in the same events. He and teammate Parrish Harley Jr. both went 7.03 in the 60 — tying Hartley’s year-old record. Boulware broke his own meet record in the 200, going 21.85 (with Hartley taking second) and he teamed with Jordan Robb, Nicholas Segura and David Campbell to run 1:29.76 in the relay.
Bullocks and Bouiware led their teams to titles at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center as Young’s girls beat runner-up Lane 141-91 and Kenwood’s boys outdistanced Young 136-90.
“My senior night, I wanted to make something memorable,” Bullocks said. “I wanted to set a record here so that people are here to chase my times while I’m gone.”
Even though she didn’t win the long jump, she was happy with her showing in an event she didn’t pick up till this season.
“My coach, one day at practice I was just having fun,” Bullocks said. “He was like, ‘Oh, you have a lot of potential.’ And boom, here I am.”
Next year, she’ll be at Minnesota after committing to the Gophers.
“The Minnesota coach, he had started talking to me at the end of state,” Bullocks said. “And that was the one coach that actually tried to connect with me. … I had talked to many coaches, but none of them had really tried to connect with me and that was the one I feel more comfortable with. So I was like, I gotta be a Gopher.”
Boulware is looking forward to using the indoor season as a springboard to bigger and better things. The Broncos have never won a state trophy in boys track, but they have many key pieces back from last year’s fourth-place team in Class 3A.
“Man, I’m ecstatic about outdoor season,” Boulware said. “I could never be happier about it with the way that my team is rolling. Me and my guys, I think we’re ready.”
Boulware’s teammate Logic West also was a triple winner. He ran a meet-record 49.28 in the 400, teamed with Jahari Horne, Campbell and Taylor Shurtliff for a meet-record 3:25.07 in the 4×400 relay and cleared 6-3.5 to take first in the high jump.
“I feel really good about the 400 now,” West said. “Hopefully hit 48 soon, by the time of state I can go 47.”
Payton junior Tra’Monti Williams, the reigning Public League cross-country champ, won the 800 with a meet record and PR of 1:53.72.
“I wasn’t expecting it, but I came here and that’s what I did,” Williams said. “I was expecting a PR, that’s what I was really coming here to do.”
South Shore’s Jordan Hamb broke the girls 60 hurdles record she shared with Young’s Bernard, running 8.72. Hamb also was runner-up in the long jump and third in the triple jump.
She was relieved there was no repeat of 2024, when the 60 hurdles final was run twice because of a timing malfunction during the first race.
“That ending last year had me so upset,” Hamb said. “That was frustrating. But this year I bring it back around. I told myself I’m not going to let this year happen the same way last year did.”
Payton sophomore Kate Murray dropped more than five seconds off her seed time to win the 800 by more than six seconds in a meet-record 2:17.12.
“I just wanted to win so bad and I knew this was going to be a good race,” Murray said. “Last couple weeks have been a little dry. But today I just woke up and I was like, ‘Today I’m going to PR.'”
Other boys meet records were set by Mather’s Christian Perez in the shot put (50-7.25) and Lane’s Owen Lee in the pole vault (12-5.5).
Also setting girls meet records were Young’s Bonilla with a 5-3.75 clear in the high jump and Young’s Courtney Burt in the triple jump (39-0.5).
Other winners on the boys side were Payton’s Vaughn Collier in the 1,600 at 4:25.30, Young’s Amilo Rajandram in the 3,200 (9:43.70), Kenwood’s Jahari Horne in the 60 hurdles (8.69), Young’s Max Warner in the long jump (22-10), Dyett’s Kevin Martin in the triple jump (41-5.25) and Young’s 4×800 relay team of Toby Anthony, Langston Ellis, Cael Rodriguez and John Stanton (8:17.79).
Also picking up girls wins were Lane’s Amelia Arquillano in the 400 (59.11), Lane’s Samantha Borg-Breen in the 1,600 (5:23.34), Lane’s Ainsley Carter in the 3,200 (11:35.24), Kenwood’s Jade Hamilton-Gill in the shot put (35-1.25), Ag. Science’s Taya Rice in the long jump (18-1), Lane’s Ariana Harris in the pole vault (7-7.75), Kenwood’s 4×400 relay of Ariel Haynes, Carley Wiggins, Jamiyah Jones and Mya Williams (4:05.99) and Lane’s 4×800 relay of Sophie Halliday, Eve Gray, Josephine Zupko and Antonina Leary (9:45.89).
Photos by Ashley Harris/OSA
