Vicksburg’s Douglas goes for gold in 800

Published 12:30 am Saturday, May 7, 2016

When she toes the line for the start of the 800 meter run Saturday at the MHSAA Class 5A state track meet, Vicksburg High’s Jade Douglas figures she’s a shoo-in to win.

After all, it’s simple math.

“In ninth grade, I made it to North State. In 10th grade, I made it to state but was on a relay. Last year I made it to state in the 800 and finished third,” Douglas, a senior, said before adding with a smile, “This year I have to win because it’s the process. It’s the plan.”

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It might not be quite as simple as that. Douglas will still have to beat out seven other runners to step to the top of the podium and have a gold medal draped around her neck. She is one of the favorites in the 800 meters, however, as she heads into the final track meet of her high school career.

Douglas won the North State championship last week with a time of 2 minutes, 34.72 seconds and has not lost in the 800 meters this season. If she can match or better her time, her main competition figures to come from West Harrison’s Talena Jones, who won the South State title in 2:33.26.

“I think I’ll make the podium. I hope I win,” Douglas said. “I definitely have to train hard this week and pray a lot. I’ll just work hard this week and get my time down.”

Douglas has excelled in one of the most difficult running events in track and field. The 800 meters requires a sprinter’s speed and a distance runner’s endurance, and the savvy to know when to call on each skill.

Run too fast early and an athlete risks tiring out and losing in the homestretch. Pace themselves too much, and they can fall too far behind to make up the distance. Douglas said she knows which half of the equation she’s better at.

“I’m a sprinter, because I cannot go over 800,” she said with a laugh. “I just think it’s a combination of endurance and speed. I feel good that I can have an individual race and can have the endurance to run that race.”

Douglas is one of 10 Missy Gators who will compete in the Class 5A state meet on Saturday.

Mia Thomas (shot put), Destiny Allen (triple jump), Tymesha Nabors (100 and 300 meter hurdles), Char’Davia Anderson (400 meters) and Keiyana Gaskin (100 and 200 meters) will compete in individual events, while Mikayla Banks, Keiyana Patton, Taylor Gray, Shadia Cain and Jamiracle Williams will run on relay teams.

A number of them are favorites to win their events, and Douglas was hopeful it will be enough to allow the Missy Gators to compete for a team title as well.

“We have 10 events this year, so we’ll do pretty good if we win some events,” Douglas said.

On the boys’ side, Vicksburg will have 11 athletes competing in seven individual events and three relays. The man to watch will be senior hurdler Leon Miles, who is looking to repeat as the state champion in both the 110 and 300 meter events.

Miles is better in the 300 than the 110, and doesn’t figure to be challenged. His winning time of 38.73 seconds last week at the North State meet was more than a second better than anyone in the field this week.

“This is my last meet, so I’m trying to do good things. I’m trying to run 37 (seconds) in the 300 hurdles. I know I should go 37-high,” said Miles, who has signed to run track at Hinds Community College next year. “When you know you’re going to win the race, that’s not the main thing. The only thing I’m focused on is getting a better time.”

In the 110, however, Miles expects to be challenged by Oxford’s D.K. Metcalf. The Ole Miss football signee beat Miles at the North State meet — sort of.

The two runners finished tied in a dead heat. Metcalf was declared the champion after winning a coin toss. It was a result that didn’t sit well with Miles, and he’s eager to redeem himself on Saturday.

“It messed my head up a little bit,” Miles said. “But I know I can do better, because I have done better and have had smoother races.”

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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