GREENSBORO — Top athletes from across the state of North Carolina will compete in a busy weekend of track and field as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association begins its state championships in the sport.
                 The weekend of competition features 1-A championships for both men and women on Friday, and then on Saturday the 2-A championships will be held, all at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.
               The 3-A and 4-A meets will be held next weekend.
               Action in the field events will begin at 10 am and running events will start at 11 am. It will be the 94th annual men’s championships and the 43rd annual renewal of the women’s event.
             Monroe is the two-time defending 1-A state champion in women's competition but has moved up to 2-A in the new alignment.  Rocky Point Heide Trask snapped a North Rowan championship streak after two by capturing the men’s 1-A crown last year. North Rowan has been a perennial power with nine state 2-A titles when it was in that classification from 1994 to 2007, and two more recent crowns at the 1-A level.
           Murphy swept both men’s and women’s 1-A regional titles last weekend.  Riverside (Martin), Trask and North Stokes also captured regional crowns for men.  In women’s 1-A regional action, besides Murphy the champions included Winston-Salem Prep, Rosewood and co-champs Lejeune and Camden in the East.
           Monroe rolled to a convincing team victory in the Midwest Regional and will be a contender at the 2-A level.  Other women’s regional titlists in 2-A included Valdese Draughn, High Point Andrews and Newport Croatan.
           Hiilsborough Cedar Ridge is the two-time defending champ among the 2-A men, while Carrboro has won the last three women’s titles in 2-A after Burlington Cummings had a string of five straight state championships before that.
           The 2-A regional team winners last weekend in men’s competition included Claremont Bunker Hill, Marshville Forest Hills, High Point Andrews and North Brunswick.
            Admission to the championships each day is eight dollars.
            The Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greensboro Sports Commission are serving as the host city sponsors for the event.
                  
NCHSAA FastFacts
Event: NCHSAA Track and Field Championships, 1-A and 2-A classifications
Date: May 9-10, 2014, with 1-A men and women on May 9 and 2-A men and women on May 10
Site: Irwin Belk Track, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro
First Held: 1913 for men, 1972 for women
Qualifiers: The top four finishers in each event, including relays, qualified from the regional level to the state championship meet
Defending champions:  women: 1-A, Monroe; 2-A, Carrboro; men: 1-A, Rocky Point Heide Trask; 2-A, Hillsborough Cedar Ridge.
Of Interest: The NCHSAA overall men’s track event  state record which has lasted the longest is the 400 meters, with the record established back in 1983 by Delton Hall of Greensboro Grimsley in 46.41 seconds. A shot put mark set by Mike Salzano of Northern Durham has stood since 1975, with a heave of 61 feet, 4.5 inches. 
Host City Sponsors: Greensboro Sports Commission, Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau