Winterboro senior Bacardy McClendon has won the state triple jump competition each year since 2008. He now has another piece of hardware to go with the championship medals.

Winterboro High School held a schoolwide assembly Aug. 16 to honor McClendon for his three state titles. Balfour, in conjunction with WHS, presented McClendon with a state championship ring representing the three straight years that he won the event.

McClendon’s first championship came in Class 2A with a jump of 42-feet, 4-inches. That performance beat the second place finisher by 7.5 inches.

The Bulldogs moved back to Class 1A for the 2009 competition and McClendon took home the title once again with a jump of 43-feet, 5-inches to beat out the runner-up by 1 inch.

McClendon’s most recent championship came in the spring of 2010. As a junior he posted a jump of 43-feet, 1.25-inches to win the 1A crown by 3 feet over the second place finisher.

In addition to track and field, McClendon has played all male sports offered at Winterboro. WHS Athletic Director and head football coach Adam Fossett said McClendon has been a huge asset to all athletic programs at the school.

“The things he has done for this program to this point have changed this program for the better, all of athletics,” Fossett said in an earlier interview.

Winterboro officials said McClendon’s championships are the first for the school in nearly a decade.