SATELLITE BEACH, FL – Four Richland School District Two students won a national title in Track and Field. Paris Asmond, Peyton Hightower, Madison Ross, and Olivia Taylor became the youngest group of females from South Carolina to win a National Championship for the 4×400 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) relay race.
Ross, a sixth-grader, and seventh-graders Asmond and Taylor attend Blythewood Middle School. Hightower is a sixth-grader at Kelly Mill Middle School. The group is a part of Team Blaze Track Club.
The 2019-2020 season marks the first year that this group ran together as a relay team. Despite losing much of the season due to Covid-19, Asmond, Hightower, Ross, and Taylor began training at home and in the community.
On Friday, Aug. 8, the group traveled to Satellite Beach, Florida to compete in two events, the 4X100 meter relay and the 4X400 meter relay. They placed third in the 4X100 meter relay and placed first in the 4X400 meter relay, earning the distinctions of All-American and National Champion. Asmond, Hightower, Ross, and Taylor now hold the South Carolina record in both events for their age group.
