Bethel girls to get early test down in Mobile

MOBILE, AL -- The Bethel girls, coming off a strong indoor track campaign where they claimed the Group AAA team title as well as had state champions among their relays and individuals, will get their first quality meet of the season in at the Mobile Meet of Champions in Mobile, Alabama this weekend. The Mobile meet is traditionally one of the stronger meets in the southeast as it garners not only the best athletes in Alabama, but talented athletes from all over the region.

Bethel junior Francena McCorory is entered individually in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes in Mobile as both dash events should be hotly contested. McCory was an All-American indoors in the 60 meter dash and has personal bests of 11.83 and 24.09 in the 100 and 200 meter dashes respectively. This spring McCorory will be shooting for become a three-time Group AAA state champion in both events as she won her first state titles as a mere freshmen. The competition McCorory will face in Mobile will be the toughest she has seen besides at a national championship event as three competitors in the 100 meter dash and four competitors in the 200 meter dash have faster personal best times than McCorory.

Bethel teammate Shakirra Pinnock, a state champion at 500 meters indoors and All-American indoors at 400 meters will have a strong field in the 400 meter dash at Mobile to pull her along to a fast time. Pinnock has a personal best time of 56.04, while four of her competitors on Saturday have faster personal bests including Mississippi\'s Bianca Knight, an All-American athlete with a 52.96 personal best.

Pinnock and McCorory will join forces as members of the Lady Bruins\' 4x400 meter relay, which hopes to get an early state meet qualifier out of the way and most likely a state leading time in Mobile. The Bethel girls ran a season best time of 3:57.81 indoors, but are hoping to re-establish themselves as the dominant relay team in the event as their district rivals Kecoughtan usurped them at the indoor state meet against a McCorory-less Bethel 4x400 relay squad with the best indoor time of the year of 3:57.63. The Bethel girls ran a 3:49.74 4x400 meter relay time last spring at Penn Relays where McCorory split a 53.5 leg on.

Shylan Bumbrey of James Monroe is making a third consecutive trip to compete in Mobile. In 2003, Bumbrey finished third in the invitational 800 meter run with a time of 2:15.18 and in 2004, finished third once again but bettered her time to a 2:14.01. Bumbrey was an All-American at 800 meters indoors last year as a junior.