Track and field: All hugs for Compton-Centennial's Flowers

The day's not only about victories or defeats -- it's also about hugs.

Just ask Gwendolyn Flowers, the Compton Centennial sprinter who received the biggest hug of the day when a woman overwhelmed her with a giant embrace just after she won her 100-meter heat at the Southern Section-Toyota Division III preliminaries. It was lots of hugging and lots of smiles.

"Is this your mom?" I asked Flowers.

The woman hugged her again.

"No, this is my auntie," she said, beaming a brilliant smile. Flowers ran an embrace-worthy 12.24 seconds and qualified for next week's division championship, where she'll undoubtedly earn another "hug of the day" from her auntie.

-- Anthony Stitt