Bears place second in Region 3-AAA
By Anne Marie Kyzer annemariek@thetruecitizen.com

Damion Johnson was named high-point individual for Region 3-AAA. Staff - Anne Marie Kyzer

It turns out he can fly on the track, too.

All season long, crowds have been watching Burke County High School junior Damion Johnson fly to the far end of the long jump pit. He was the man to beat.

But when injuries got the best of Burke County's top sprinters at the Region 3-AAA meet last weekend, Johnson stepped up to fill the gap.

He filled it well. His time of 21.80 seconds in the 200-meter dash was good enough for second place and qualified him for state.

Before Johnson competed in the finals Saturday though, he had already earned his ticket to the state meet after placing first in the long jump and triple jump. His first-place long jump marked his second region title in the event in as many years, and it broke both the school and stadium records. Johnson's success won him the honor of high-point individual for Region 3-AAA.

"I'm very pleased with him," head coach Purvis Dukes said. "Damion hadn't run the 200 all year long and came in and placed second."

Dukes added that he was proud of the entire team for stepping up in the absence of some key runners. Despite the injuries that plagued the team, they still managed to claim the region runnerup trophy.

Bobby Burum and Damany Coleman also qualified for the state meet.

Burum placed second in the high jump, and Coleman claimed first in the 110-meter hurdles and second in the 300-meter hurdles.

One senior Bear who will sorely miss his shot at state this year is Cornelius Washington.

The defending 100-meter region champ, who also qualified for state in the 200 last year, wasn't able to run in those events at all last weekend. A hamstring injury limited him to a sole appearance in the 400- meter relay. Even then, he was obviously hurting.

Fellow sprinter Brandon Brown suffered a similar fate. After straining his quad in the 100 on Friday, he wasn't able to run in the finals.

Dukes said Brown turned in the second fastest time in the 100 when he ran in the preliminaries on Friday.
HEADED TO STATE
The following Bears qualified for the AAA State Meet with their region finishes:
Damion Johnson
Region champion:
Long jump (23'10 ½")
Triple jump (43'5 ½")
2nd: 200 meters (21.80 seconds)
Damany Coleman
Region champion: 110 hurdles
(14.42 seconds)
2nd: 300 hurdles (42.64 seconds)
Bobby Burum
2nd: High jump (6'4")