Union City’s Ada Rogers Earns Berth in State Tournament
Union City High School junior Ada Rogers has punched her ticket to the State Tournament. (photos: Mike Hutchens – Union City Schools Communications Director)
Never count out Union City’s Ada Rogers.
School Communications Director Mike Hutchens said Rogers, who fearlessly battles cystic fibrosis and other health challenges, roared from behind to eclipse her personal-best time by six seconds in the 800-meter run and qualify for the Class A-AA state pentathlon on Monday.
The Union City High School junior placed second overall among a dozen participants in the state qualifier at Houston High School in Memphis, and will become the first Lady Tornado athlete to compete at the state level since the early 1980s when Tammy Critchfield made the elite field.
“What a great, great competitor she is,” Union City head coach Wade Maddox said of Rogers. “She loves trying to win at anything she does, and she’s just a fighter. To accomplish this with the many medical challenges she faces is simply amazing.”
The Class A-AA state pentathlon, which consists of five events (high jump, shot put, long jump, 100-meter hurdles, and the 800-meter run), will be held in Murfreesboro on May 17.
Union City could actually send a second performer to the event as freshman Ca’Lae Ervin placed third Monday and could be one of six wildcard entries. The top two finishers in the East, Middle and West Qualifiers automatically punch their state tickets, with the rest of the field filled by wildcards, to be determined in the next few days.
