GREENSBORO, NC – The NCHSAA held the 2022 1A & 4A Track & Field State Championships at NC A&T State University’s Truist Stadium on the Irwin Belk Track. Team titles were claimed by the Cuthbertson Men’s & Women’s Team in 4A, while the 1A Women’s Championship went to Swain County and the 1A Men’s Title was earned by Mountain Island Charter.
1A Women’s Championship Recap | Swain County holds off North Rowan for back-to-back team championships
The Swain County women led the way in the 1A Women’s Championship Meet. The Maroon Devils managed to hold off North Rowan by an 80-77 margin to win the program’s third team title and second in a row. Amelia Rogers was the lone Maroon Devil to win an individual event championship, earning the top spot in the Pole Vault by clearing 10’ 00”. The Maroon Devils also got a state title in the 4X800 Meter Relay as Amaya Hicks, Gracie Monteigh, and Mazie Helpman passed off the baton to Arizona Blankenship who brought home the win in 10:05.85.
There were two 1A State Meet Records that fell in the meet. Zoie Shuler from Robbinsville set a new 1A Meet Record in the Triple Jump as she crossed 39’ 09.25” on her best attempt of the day. Her mark surpassed the performance of 39’ 4” set by Louisburg’s Vanisha Wilshire in 2015. Shuler also won the Long Jump with a best mark of 18’ 07” in the meet.
The other 1A Meet Record to fall was in the 800 Meter Run as Highland Tech’s Lauren Tolbert cruised to a time of 2:09.37 eclipsing the previous 1A Meet Record of 2;12.26 set by Community School of Davidson star Malia Ellington in 2015.
Tolbert was phenomenal in the meet. In addition to breaking the 800 Meter 1A Meet Record, she claimed wins in the 100 and 200 Meter Dashes. Tolbert sprinted to times of 12.54 and 25.27 seconds respectively in those three victories. She was named the 1A Women’s Meet Most Outstanding Performer for her efforts.
North Rowan’s runner up team was led by a pair of double-event winner, Brittany Ellis and Tai’lah Ward. Ellis claimed the gold in both throwing events, the shot put and the discus. Ellis tossed 37’ 02” in the shot put and hurled the discus 107’ 03” on her best attempt.
Briley Bickerstaff from Riverside-Martin was a two-event winner as well. Bickerstaff dominated the long-distance disciplines winning both the 1600 Meters and the 3200 Meters. Bickerstaff trucked off a time of 5:12.30 in the 1600 Meters and finished the 3200 Meter Run in just 11:14.47.
4A Women’s Championship Recap | Cuthbertson wins their second straight team title
Moving up in classification was no problem for the Cuthbertson Cavaliers Women’s team as the Cavs raced to an impressive 64-58 team win over Mallard Creek in the 4A Women’s Competition. Cuthbertson capitalized on the individual win by Charlotte Bell in the 800 Meter Run, as she crossed in 2:12.23. They also got a relay victory in the 4X800 Meter Relay as Lily Fierick, Lillian Nasta, Gabi Lassiter, & Alyssa Preisano combined to post a time of 9:12.43 to get the win. The State Championship is Cuthbertson’s second straight team title after the Lady Cavaliers claimed the 3A Championship a year ago.
Two all classification State Meet Records were snapped in the 4A races as the 1600 Meter Run record and the 400 Meter Dash record were shaved. Amelia Maughan from Chapel Hill set the new all-time Meet Record in the 1600 Meters as she rolled to a win in 4:49.69. Her performance trimmed the all-time meet record set one year ago by Lake Norman’s Maddie Huecker who ran 4:50.36. Wakefield’s Shawnti Jackson claimed the other all-time state meet record in the 400 Meters as she clipped the line in just 52.32 seconds. Jackson’s time edged the 2018 mark of 53.42 seconds set by Maya Singletary.
Jackson managed to win three events individually and earned a gold with her 4X400 Meter Relay team on her way to being selected as the 4A Women’s Meet’s Most Outstanding Performer. Jackson claimed the 100 Meter Dash in 11.45 seconds, just two hundredths of a second off of the meet record held by Gabby Mayo from Southeast Raleigh in 2006. Jackson grabbed gold in the 200 Meters in a time of 23.19 seconds. Finally she anchored the victorious Wolverine Relay in the 4X400 teaming up with Mihaly Harris, Daijion Lee, and Landon Spencer to post a winning time of 3:54.23.
Ija Mumford from Parkland managed to pick up a pair of jumping event victories. She grabbed the top of the podium for the Long Jump and Triple Jump, posting performances of 19’ 05” and 38’ 08” in those events, respectively. Harding University’s Akala Garrett also stepped to the top of the podium in a pair of events, winning the top spot in both the 100 Meter Hurdles and the 300 Meter Hurdles. Garrett’s time of 41.42 seconds in the 300 Meter Hurdles was just one-hundredth of a second off of the all-time State Meet Record of 41.41 set by Clayton’s Keni Harrison in 2011.
1A Men’s Championship Recap | Mountain Island Charter dominates to win second straight
Mountain Island Charter cruised to an easy victory in the 1A Men’s Team Competition, beating second place Union Academy by a 99-52 margin. The Raptors were absolutely brilliant in the meet winning five events outright, including a pair of relay races. The Raptors were led by Trevin Moyer who won the 100 Meter Dash as well as the 200 & 400 Meter Dashes. Moyer rolled to victory in the 100 Meters with a time of 10.66 seconds. He clipped the tape in 21.78 and 46.97 seconds, respectively, in the 200 and 400 Meter events. He was named the 1A Men’s Meet’s Most Outstanding Performer.
There was one 1A State Meet Record that fell during the day’s action. Swain County’s Matthew Gray sailed over the bar at 15’ 02” on his best clearance of the day in the Pole Vault, setting a new 1A record at the State Meet. His performance bested the mark of 15’ 01” established by Polk County’s Jake Justice in 2019.
Corvian Community’s Jacob Fiorillo won a pair of individual events, claiming victory in the 1600- and 3200-Meter Runs. Fiorillo was dominant in the 3200, completing the distance in 9:57.40 while he knocked out the 1600 Meters in just 4:27.79.
Robbinsville’s Brock Adams also doubled in the meet, picking up gold medals in the 110 Meter Hurdles and the 300 Meter Hurdles. Adams time in the 110 Meter Hurdle course was 15.54 seconds, while he completed the 300 Meter layout in 40.43 seconds.
4A Men’s Championship Recap | Cuthbertson at the top again, Cavs win second straight
Just like their women’s team, the Cuthbertson Men emerged at the end of the day with their program’s second straight team state championship in Outdoor Track. Just one year removed from winning the 3A State Meet Championship, the Cuthbertson Men bested runners-up Mount Tabor 57-51 to earn their first 4A crown. Cuthbertson athletes won three events with the lone individual winner coming in the 400 Meter Run as Killian Fahy finished the lap in 47.23 seconds to get the win. The Cavs Relay team of Brad Sweeter, Keenan Jackson, Fahy, and Reece Morgan also won a pair of relays, earning victory in the 4X100 and 4X200 relays with times of 41.57 seconds and 1:25.90, respectively.
Two all-time State Meet Records fell in the meet as Davie County’s Spencer Williams and Mount Tabor’s Terrell Robinson, Jr. both etched their names in the record book. Williams bested the oldest State Meet Record still standing when he tossed the Shot Put 64’ 3.75” to win the event. His performance ousts the record of Northern Durham’s Mike Salzano who threw the implement 61’ 4.5” in 1975. Robinson, Jr.’s all-time State Meet mark came in the 100 Meter Dash as he raced to a time of 10.31 seconds, shaving the 4A mark of 10.38 set by Mallard Creek’s Cravont Charleston in 2016 and the all-time mark of 10.37 seconds held by Sun Valley’s Kadarius Lotharp from 2015.
Robinson also won the 200 Meter Dash, sprinting through the line in 21.32 seconds for the win on his way to being named the 4A Men’s Meet’s Most Outstanding Performer. For his part, Williams also won another individual event, tossing the Discus 180’04” to win gold in the event.
2022 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winners
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association is committed to highlighting and promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with NC Farm Bureau to recognize two student-athletes in each NCHSAA State Championship event who have exemplified the values of excellent sportsmanship throughout the season. The 2022 Sportsmanship Award Winners for the 1A Women’s Championship were Arizona Blankenship from Swain County and Tia’lah Ward from North Rowan. The Sportsmanship Winners for the 4A Women’s Championship were Caroline Palmer from Cuthbertson and Kaylyn Brown from Mallard Creek. The Sportsmanship Award Winners for the 1A Men’s Championship were Jonavon Fisher from Mountain Island Charter and Liam Mackinnion from Union Academy. The Sportsmanship Winners for the 4A Men’s Championship were Carson Heagele from Cuthbertson and Terrell Robinson from Mount Tabor.
