Wildcats Farrell barely misses medal at State Decathlon
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Tullahoma had two athletes competing at the State Decathlon, Xavier Farrell and Zane Hopf. Farrell finished one place out of a state medal and Hopf had a crushing injury at the start of day two while in second place.
The sophomore Farrell finished 9th overall with a total of 4,649 points, just 51 points shy of receiving a state medal. He finished 12th in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.57 seconds. Farrell placed 10th in the triple jump with a distance of 38 feet and 11 inches. He won the discus throw easily with a best distance of 114 feet seven inches. Farrell’s shortest distance was still five feet better than the best distance for the second place finisher. He tied in 10th place in the pole vault with a height of six feet six inches. In the 400, Farrell came in 12th with a time of 57.83 seconds. He ran the 110 meter hurdles in a time of 18.09 seconds, good enough for 6th place. Farrell tied for 8th in the high jump with a height of 5 feet 1.75 inches, three people tied in 5th with the height right about that mark. He placed 4th in the shot put with a distance of 37 feet 4.75 inches, just six inches away from a top three finish. Farrell tied in another event, the long jump. He tied in 10th with a distance of 17 feet and 11.25 inches. The last event was the 1500 meter dash. He finished in 4th with a time of 5 minutes 15.70 seconds.
Hopf, the senior, pulled a hamstring and could no longer compete in day two’s events. He started day two in second place and was on a pace well ahead of what he did at sectionals, which he won and had the highest seed. Hopf was not able to compete in the 110 meter hurdles, which is his best event and he was scheduled to compete at the State Championships in on Tuesday the 23. In the six events he completed, he totaled a score of 3,120. One of the six events was the shot put on day two, and he was hoping on one leg to even throw. Hopf came in 7th in shot put with a distance of 33 feet, 3.25 inches. In the 100 meter dash he finished 5th with a time of 11.54 seconds, less than a second from the first place finish. Hopf placed 3rd in the triple jump with a distance of 41 feet 8 inches. He had a distance of 88 feet, 10 inches on the discus throw for an 8th place finish. Hopf tied for 3rd in the pole vault with a height of 8 feet 11.75 inches. He finished the 400 in 3rd with a time of 54.07 seconds.
Tullahoma did not receive any points for the scores by Hopf and Farrell, but they both had a great day. Hopf had four Personal Bests out of the five events on Wednesday. Farrell had a better score in the state meet than he did in the Sectionals, and missed out on a state medal by 50 points. The school was not listed on the team rankings after the Decathlon had finished. The Wildcats will be back at MTSU Tuesday, May 23, for the State Championship meet. The first events start at 9 a.m.
