Charles City’s Johnson finishes as state runner-up in hurdles, places third in triple jump

Charles City's Derequa Johnson clears the last hurdle of the girls' 100-meter dash to place second in the event.

Charles City’s Derequa Johnson ran a time of 16.00 to place second in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles at the Group 1A State Track and Field Championships held June 6-7 at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.

Johnson ran a time of 15.74 in the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles on Friday before grabbing the silver on Saturday. Northampton’s Riley Coates grabbed the gold with a time of 14.45 in the event.

Johnson also earned two additional medals at the competition by placing third in the girls’ triple jump (36’3½”) and sixth in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles (49.20). Johnson teamed up with teammates Jaida Braxton, Jewel Otey, and Madison Bradby to run a time of 52.83 in the girls’ 4×100 meter relay, placing ninth. Johnson placed 15th in the girls’ long jump with a mark of 14’9½.”

Braxton also participated in individual events for Charles City, finishing 10th in the girls’ 100-meter dash (13.08) and 15th in the girls’ 200-meter dash (27.78).

Charles City’s Lady Panthers accumulated 17 points to finish in a tie for 11th overall in the state competition. Auburn emerged as the champions for the Group 1A girls’ division.