A handful of Warren County track and field athletes will roll into the MHSAA Class 6A state meet as championship favorites.

Vicksburg High’s Tyler Henderson and Koury Vample remained undefeated this season in the triple jump and 300 meter hurdles, respectively, and Warren Central sophomore Dwight Palmer was also victorious in the 200 meters at the Class 6A boys’ North State meet on Saturday.

Henderson, who won the Class 5A triple jump title last year, had a mark of 43 feet, 9 1/2 inches on Saturday to beat runner-up Romen Williams of Ridgeland by a foot. Warren Central’s Ricky Neal finished fourth, with a mark of 41-7, to also qualify for the state meet.

Henderson also finished second in the 100 meters, with a time of 11.23 seconds, and will be a top contender in that event as well.

Vample was eliminated from the 100 meters — he finished fifth, with a time of 11.46 seconds — but will be the favorite in the 300 meter hurdles after finished second in the event in 2023.

Vample ran a fast time of 39 seconds even to beat Willians by 1.10 seconds. Vample has not lost in the 300 hurdles in five meets, and his time Saturday was his fastest of the season.

In addition to Henderson and Vample, Vicksburg will have three throwers competing in field events at the state meet.
Korzabian Hill qualified with a fourth-place finish in the shot put. Jayden Woods and Shaun Archer both advanced by finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the discus.

Palmer, meanwhile, clocked a time of 22.10 seconds in the 200 meters on Saturday to win by .10 seconds over Grenada’s Chance Jenkins. Palmer has only lost once in six meets this season.

Palmer will also lend his speed to Warren Central’s 4×100 and 4×200 meter relay teams. The 4×100 team of Palmer, Zach Evans and Garrett Orgas won the North State title with a time of 43.30 seconds. Palmer, Evans, Orgas and Landon Green finished third in the 4×200, with a time of 1:30.50, and will also race at the state meet.

Warren Central’s 4×400 team of Stanley Doyle, Robert Williams, Michael Godshaw and Chester Savage also advanced to the state meet, with a second-place North State finish in 3:32.30.

Neither Warren Central nor Vicksburg were factors in the race for the North State team championship. Warren Central tied Center Hill for seventh place with 54 points, and Vicksburg was ninth with 50. Ridgeland won the team title with 130 points and Columbus was second with 100.

The top four finishers in each event at the North and South State meets advanced to the Class 6A state meet on Saturday, May 4 at Pearl High School. Field events will begin at 11 a.m.

The Class 1A and 3A state meets will be held on May 3 at Pearl. Classes 5A, 6A and 7A compete on May 4, and Classes 2A and 4A on May 6.