NORTH ROWAN WOMEN, NCSSM MEN WIN NCHSAA STATE 1-A TRACK AND FIELD TITLES
GREENSBORO– Teaunna Cuthbertson of North Rowan was named the Most Valuable Performer of the meet as she led her team to the championship of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 1-A women’s track and field championships at the Irwin Belk Track and North Carolina A&T State University on Friday.
Cuthbertson won the long jump and the high hurdles, setting a new 1-A state record of 19 feet, 3.25 inches in the long jump and also anchored the four by 100 relay as North Rowan won its first women’s NCHSAA outdoor track crown since 2001, when it won the 2-A title. North tallied 80 points, buoyed by wins in the 400 and 800 relays, to 75 for runner-up Durham North Carolina School of Science and Math, followed by Hendersonville (42), Monroe (40) and Kernersville Bishop McGuinness (35).
A total of 47 schools scored in the women’s meet.
Hailey Cook of Hendersonville won both the shot and the discus while Leroya Banks of Perquimans was a double winner in the 100 and 200.
The men’s championship was one of the closest in history, going down to the last event and decided by a mere 0.17 points. Science and Math tallied 58 points to 57.83 for Hendersonville, with the 1600-meter relay making the difference.
NCSSM finished fifth in the final event, just .07 seconds out of sixth, or it would not have captured the team crown. Hendersonville was third in that final relay, just .43 seconds out of second, or the Bearcats would have won their third straight state title.
Princeton placed third in the men’s field with 42.33 points, followed by Winston-Salem Prep with 40 and Mount Airy with 37. There were 44 men’s teams which broke into the scoring column.
T.J. Wilson of Princeton was the MVP of the men’s meet, winning both hurdle events and setting a new 1-A record of 38.58 seconds in the 300 intermediate hurdles.
Other double champions included Monroe’s Isaac Blakeney, who took top honors in both the long jump and triple jump, and Matus Kriska of Mount Airy, who completed a tough double by winning the 800 and 1600.
Robbinsville’s Landon Hunt established a new 1-A men’s pole vault record by clearing 15 feet, while Aaron Tribble of Gastonia Highland Tech set a 1-A state record with a time of 48.40 in the 400 meters.
COMPLETE MEET RESULTS MAY BE FOUND BY CLICK ON CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS ON THE FRONT PAGE, THEN TO TRACK
