GREENSBORO –The North Carolina High School Athletic Association conducted the 1A and 3A Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships at Marcus T. Johnson Track at the University of North Carolina A&T in Greensboro. The 2A and 4A Championships will take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 20.
Swain County Claims 1A Women's Track and Field Title
The Swain County Maroon Devils earned their third consecutive NCHSAA 1A Women's Track and Field State Championship on Friday. Swain County racked up 100 points in the event, 17 points clear of Albemarle in second place. Mountain Island Charter took third place with 51 points, North Rowan placed fourth with 48 points and Robbinsville took fifth place with 42 points.
Swain County took first place in four events and saw a tremendous performance by sophomore Arizona Blankenship. Blankenship won the 1600 Meter and the 3200-meter races, and she won the 4×800 Meter Relay with teammates Amaya Hicks, Gracie Monteith and Annie Lewis. Blankenship also took second in the 800 Meter.
Swain County senior Amelia Rogers took first place in the pole vault with a height of 11-00.25, setting a new 1A state championship meet record in the process.
Albemarle senior Akala Garrett won and set new 1A state championship records in the 200 Meter Dash, 100 Meter Hurdles and 300 Meter Hurdles. Her 300 Meter Hurdles time of 40.26 blistered the old record of 44.55. She was also on the record-setting 4×400 Meter Relay team with Amari Baldwin, Abigail Clayton and Mary Grace Krol.
Mountain Island Charter rode a strong performance in relays to their third-place finish. They won the 4×100 and 4×200 Meter Relays and took second in the 4×800 Meter Relay.
South Stokes' Jalee Brown set a new meet record in the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 11.86.
MVP: 1A Women: Akala Garrett – Albermarle
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner: 1A Women – Swain County – Annie Lewis
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner:1A Women – Albermarle – Mary Grace Korl
Union Academy Denies Swain County 1A Sweep with First Track and Field Title
Union Academy scored 3.5 points more than Swain County to take the school's first NCHSAA 1A Men's Track and Field State Championship on Friday. Carver came in third with 40 points, Mountain Heritage posted 39.5 points to just miss the top three and Pamlico County scored 26 points to round out the top five.
Union Academy sophomore Evan Pardue won both the 200 Meter and the 400 Meter Dashes to lead the Cardinals. He also took third in the 100 Meter. Senior Ezra Martin added a first-place finish in the long jump.
The Maroon Devil team of Abhi Patel, Connor Lambert, Connor Brown and Kane Jones won the 4×800 meter relay with a time of 8:17.69, four seconds better than Christ the King's relay squad. Swain County also took first place in the Pole Vault as Matthew Gray set a new 1A championship meet record with a height of 16-06. Nse Uffort earned a second-place finish in the Discus with a distance of 162-07, which would have been good enough for a new meet record if not for Mountain Heritage's Jesse Shelton.
Shelton took the top spot in the discus with a distance of 177-11, crushing the old record of 159-06.
Carver's third third-place finish came on the strength of two first-place finishes in relays as they topped the podium in the 4×100 and 4×200.
Christ the King's Blake Nicholson set a new 1A championship meet record in the 3200 Meter Run with a time of 9:27.44.
MVP: 1A Men: Zy’Mire Harper – Pamlico County
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner: 1A Men – Swain County – Matthew Gray
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner: 1A Men – Union Academy – Ezra Martin
Dudley wins first NCHSAA Women's Track and Field Championship since 1990
The Dudley Panthers used a slew of second-place finishes to climb to the top of the team standings on Friday at the NCHSAA 3A Women's Track and Field Championships. Dudley scored 70 points on the day, 21 points ahead of Statesville in second. Franklin and West Carteret tied for third place with 35 points and West Henderson just missed the podium with points.
Dudley junior Senadzi Rankin claimed second in the 100 Meter Hurdles and was a part of the relay team that took second in the 4×100. The Panthers also placed second in the 4×200 and took third in the 4×400. Noelle Millner added a second place in the discus.
The Statesville Greyhounds' Janiya Johnson set a new 3A State Championship Meet record in the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 11.77. Johnson also took the top spot in the 200 Meter. The Greyhounds also won both the 4×100 and the 4×200 Meter Relays.
Frankin sophomore Laura Covarrubias took second in the 300 Meter Hurdles and was a part of the 4×100 relay team that took third.
Ashbrook junior Camryn Massey set a new meet record in the discus with a throw of 148-02, besting her own record set in 2021 of 140-09.
Cormauni Morrison from North Brunswick won both the 100 and 300 Meter Dash in the Unified Division.
MVP: 3A Women: Janiya Johnson – Statesville
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner: 3A Women – Dudley – Senadzi Rankin
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner: 3A Women – Statesville – Alaya Gillespie
Franklin takes top spot in 3A Men's Track and Field Championship
The Franklin Panthers left Greensboro on Friday night with their first NCHSAA Men's Track and Field Championship since 1995. Franklin scored 59.5 points in the Championship, 5.5 more than Dudley in second place. Croatan took third place with 51 points and North Lincoln, 34, and Southern Guilford, 31, rounded out the top five.
Franklin 12 Blake Cassada won the pole vault with a final jump of 13-06 and teammates Adam Rogers and Aaron Jennings also scored points in the event with fifth and seventh-place finishes, respectively. Panther Cal Drake added a second-place finish in the high jump with a height of 6-06. Union Pines' Christian Hackett won the event with a 6-08 jump. The Panthers picked up points with third-place finishes in the 4×400 and 4×200 Meter Relays.
The Dudley 4×100 Meter Relay squad of Sofiyan Oumarou, Rory Baker, Tylei Woolard and Le'Ezra Brown took first place with a time of 42.30. Dudley finished second in the 4×200 Meter Relay as well.
Croatan earned 20 points by winning both the 4×400 and 4×800 Meter Relays.
Zacchaeus Flemming from Bunker Hill took first in the Unified 100 Meter Dash and Jeremiah Elliot from North Brunswick won the Unified 200 Meter Dash. Jedidiah Hunda-Esquerre from Athens Drive won the Unified Shot Put.
MVP: 3A Men: Sincere Moss – Ashbrook
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner: 3A Men – Dudley – Anthony Taylor
Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award Winner: 3A Men – Franklin – Cal Drake
