CHAPEL HILL— Zahra Bichara from Mountain Island Charter and Jake Justice Polk County High School have been named recipients of the NCHSAA Performance of the Week awards. Each week two athletes in North Carolina High School Athletic Association competition are selected for this award from nominations received from media and school administrators. 

Bichara, a sophomore from the Raptors women’s track team, took home first place in all three events she participated in at the Olympic Track Meet. She won the long jump, 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash. Bichara is ranked first in the conference in the long jump with a distance of 16’ 3”. She is also first in the conference in the 100 meter and 200 meter dash events, including a tie for the fastest time in 1A for the 200 meter dash this season. She has also already helped the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relay teams qualify for regionals this year.

Justice, a senior on the Polk County men’s track team, scored 33 of Polk County 138 points in the Times-News Invitational Track meet. Justice, the defending 1A state champion in the pole vault, won the event and set a new school record by clearing 15’ 0”. He also won the long jump by over a foot with a 21’ 8” performance. He competed in the triple jump for the first time this season, finishing in second and also ran the 300 meter hurdles for the first time, posting a time of 44.82 seconds, which was fourth in the meet.

Weekly recipients will be recognized on the NCHSAA Website and social media pages. They will also be honored at a banquet for all recipients from this year in April. The deadline for nominations is each Monday at 5 p.m through the online form that can be found here.