PEARL – The Vicksburg Missy Gators’ state championship dreams came crashing down as quickly as the baton fell to the Pearl High track.

Instead of a triumphant win in its signature event, the 4-by-100 relay, the Missy Gators finished eighth in the race. Coupled with an unexpected finish in the pole vault, Brandon emerged as the state team champion in the Class 5A Track and Field Championships on Monday.

Rain and thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon had caused the meet’s final eight events to be run two days later.

Vicksburg entered the day guarding a 51-49 lead. After Chanice Cotton’s fifth-place finish in the 1,600-meter run, the Missy Gators led Brandon by six and Tupelo by one.

Next was the relay, Vicksburg’s strongest event over the last three years. Coming into Monday, their seed time was more than a half-second better than any other school.

They looked pretty good early, especially after a strong second leg run by Kendra Sims. Sims then gave the handoff to senior Kristin Ellis. As Ellis reached the last exchange, the handoff came off too high. Down went the baton.

VHS continued on, getting a point out of the race. Brandon got 10 points for winning the race and gave the Lady Bulldogs a three-point lead.

&#8220I’m not sure what happen,” Sims said.

Then it got worse. Brandon’s Emily Eads hadn’t cleared 8-feet in the pole vault all season. In a event that was called midway through on Saturday, Eads came back Monday and cleared 8 feet, 6 inches. Teammate Jensi Parker tied for third. By getting 15 1/2 points, about 7 1/2 more than expected, Brandon’s lead was now at 18 points, 74-56. It proved to be too big a deficit.

Brandon went on to finish with 92 1/2 points. Vicksburg was second, for the third straight year, this time with 85 points. Starkville, led by Santana Lowery, who tripled by winning the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes, was third with 70. Tupelo had 63.

Five-time defending champ Natchez was a distant sixth.

&#8220I knew the relay (loss) would hurt. But I didn’t run my best, either,” Cotton, a junior miler, said. &#8220At least we beat Natchez. They had beaten us the last two years. The strength of our team is in our junior class. That’s KP (Sims), Rachel (Jenkins), Courtney (Prentiss), me and Stephanie (Wright).”

So, maybe next year.

Brandon coach John McInnis, though, was living in the moment.

&#8220Coming in I thought this was a three-point track meet that could go either way,” McInnis said. &#8220This is a first for the Brandon girls. We had two things break our way. The 15 1/2 points in the pole vault and Vicksburg dropping the baton and finishing eighth in the 4×100 relay.”

Brandon also won the boys title with 85 points, easily out-pacing Tupelo and Madison Central. Vicksburg was seventh with 38 points.

The Gators’ best showing came in the 4-by-100 relay, where they were second after a photo finish.

&#8220I thought we won. We wanted to redeem ourselves after what happened to the girls,” said anchorman Marlon Maxey, who benefited from a great exchange from Mario Gray.

&#8220That (girls) drop (baton) was on my mind the whole time,” Gray said.

Hinds AHS rolls to second straight 2A title.

Hinds AHS won only one event on Monday, Marcel Young’s 400-meter dash victory, but by then the War Dawgs were so far ahead, it was just gravy.

Hinds finished with a whopping 158 points, 77 better than runner-up West Bolivar for the 2A boys team title. It’s the War Dawgs’ second straight and the school’s sixth team title in the last 10 years.

&#8220Coach Ballard won four and they’ve now won two in a row for me,” Hinds AHS coach Michael Fields said. &#8220The key has been discipline and consistency. We don’t have great athletes, we only won three events, but we have depth and it’s all about the team.”

A testament to their depth, the War Dawgs were second in the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays.

The Lady War Dawgs were third in the team standings at 76 behind St. Andrew’s 111 and West Bolivar’s 99. Shanita Hodge won the 300 hurdles on Monday. Jerrica Thomas (long jump) and Candace Burks (high jump) had wins on Saturday.

In the 1A meet, St. Al’s Holly Fagan was sixth in the 800 run, while Bray Jones was seventh in the 300 hurdles.