WAKEFIELD, KNIGHTDALE WIN 4-A CROWNS; CARDINAL GIBBONS,ASHEVILLE ARE 1-A/2-A/3-A WINNERS IN NCHSAA WINTER TRACK
FAYETTEVILLE — Junior Ariah Graham helped lead Raleigh Wakefield to the women’s 4-A team championship in dominating fashion in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s winter track and field championships at Daskal Stadium on the Reid Ross Classical School campus on Saturday.
For 24 years the NCHSAA has offered indoor track as a sport, but the only indoor facility in the state, the Eddie Smith Indoor Arena on the UNC campus is involved in construction this year and was unavailable. Therefore, this year’s championships were classified as “winter track” and included indoor events but run at an outdoor facility.
Graham was the women’s MVP as Wakefield swept both of those individual 4-A honors. She won both the long jump and 300 meters in addition to running a leg on the victorious 1600 meter relay team. Wakefield tallied 93.25 points to take the team title with Cary Green Hope second at 45. Watauga was third with 43.25 and Asheville T.C. Roberson finished fourth with 27 points.
Senior Aaron Covington earned the men’s MVP, as he was a double winner in the 300 and 500 and ran a leg on the state runner-up 1600 meter relay squad, but his Wakefield team finished second overall to a strong performance by Knightdale. Knightdale had 62 points to 44 for the runners-up.
Sarah Rapp of Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons had a tremendous meet in the 1-A/2-A/3-A classification as she successfully completed a difficult triple to earn MVP honors and lead her team to the championship. Rapp was the distance star as she grabbed first place in the 1000, 1600 and 3200 races and helped account for 30 of her team’s 36 points.
Gibbons held a two-point margin over Waxhaw Marvin Ridge to clinch the crown, with Weddington in third with 33 and North Rowan fourth at 22. Burlington Cummings had won all four of the previous state indoor titles for women in the 1-A/2-A/3-A class.
In the men’s competition among 1-A/2-A/3-A schools, defending indoor champ Asheville tallied 55 points to take the team title. Marvin Ridge was second with 39 points, followed by Nash Central (37) and Charlotte Berry Academy (34).
Nash Central senior William Bass was the MVP as his performance included first-place finishes in the 1600 and 3200 and a leg on the 3200 relay team that finished second.
Wendy’s is the presenting sponsor of the NCHSAA sports programs. The Cumberland County schools served as the hosts for the championships.
COMPLETE RESULTS CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING ON CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS LINK ON RIGHT SIDE OF FRONT PAGE AND THEN CLICKING ON TRACK AND FINDING THE 2011 WINTER TRACK RESULTS/
