Hall keeps stellar career going with Demons

For three years, Cassondra Hall shined on one side of the rivalry between Northside and Warner Robins.

Trading the blue and white of the Eagles for the cardinal and white of the Demons, Hall hardly missed a beat on the opposite side of Watson Boulevard.

She capped a decorated high school career with first-place GHSA Class AAAAA individual titles in the 100 and 200 meters and was also part of the Demons’ 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams, which finished second in the state meet, carrying Warner Robins to a state runner-up finish.

Hall will leave high school and head to run for LSU as a three-time 200-meter and four-time 100-meter state champion, and for the third year in a row, she is The Telegraph’s All-Middle Georgia Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

“She has a willingness to not let anybody beat her. There were track meets when she was worn out and said, ‘Coach, I can’t go anymore.’ Then I would say, ‘Well, so and so is running’ and then she would be like, ‘OK, I can do one more,’ ” Warner Robins girls head coach Rebecca White said. “She wasn’t going to let anybody beat her. That’s what sets her apart, that (mentality of) ‘I’m going out there and want to be No. 1, and nobody is going to stop me.’ ”

Few other athletes managed to stop Hall during her prep career, both before and after a transfer to Warner Robins as a result of her mother moving, which forced a change in school districts.

Hall and her new teammates quickly jelled, on and off the track.

“Just leaving Northside and coming here — the freshmen we had and juniors, sophomores and seniors, these girls worked really hard and stayed focused,” Hall said. “To be able to provide leadership on this team, it was great, and I was able to push them and help them keep going and help them realize no matter what you do and how you do it, just to keep going.”

While some athletes have to be molded on the high school level or taught fundamental ways of doing things, White had no such issue with Hall.

“You only get an athlete like that once in your lifetime. She came to me pre-trained and pretty much knew what to do all by herself,” White said. “Pretty much the only thing I did was fine-tune small things like getting out the blocks and the hand-offs.”

Hall’s final state meet performance included winning the 100 and 200 finals by approximately half a second. Her individual athletic ability also spilled over to the team portion of the Warner Robins roster with her being part of a 4×400 and 4×100 relays. Her presence was physical and mental for the Demons.

“I had a junior, Aniya Clay, who would tell me that if she wasn’t in the same heat as her, that she wouldn’t run as fast. That pushed her; it pushed the young ones,” White said. “I only had three seniors and two juniors, and the rest were freshmen. You should have seen the looks in their eyes when they saw her run. They really rallied around her.”

Now, Hall will look to carry her driven determination to Baton Rouge, a path that she hopes will lead to the Olympics.

“I’m looking forward to it, I’m looking to do big things,” Hall said. “I want to be an Olympian and want to progress to the top. I feel like it’s where I belong and hope to see myself progressing there.”