NCRunners Eastern Tour is a Success in its First Year

Jeff George

Jennifer Stephenson (Victory Christian) pushed herself to the top 1600 time in the state on the first stop of the tour.


As the weather continues to hinder the start of the competitive outdoor season, with several meets cancelled or affected this weekend, we can look back over the past week and at least be grateful that we had a few very nice days that allowed us to get in some meets. The improved weather coincided with the NCRunners Eastern Tour, and the combination of warm temperatures and strong competition led to some really impressive performances.


Stop 1: Princeton High School, Monday

(This section was written by NCRunners reporter Jentzen Jones.)

NC Runners traveled east of I-95 to share the spotlight with the athletes of the Coastal Plains who often are not afforded the opportunity to travel and compete against stronger competition. Our first stop of the Eastern Tour saw several early-season NC #1 marks, getting the outdoor season off to a strong, albeit late, start.

Among the meet's NC #1 performances were Jennifer Stephenson of Village Christian with her 5:18.87 1600m time and Samson Bradsher of Hobton with a discus throw of 143' 9" (although Bradsher would lose his top ranking to another athlete later in the tour). Leading the way in the pole vault was Savannah Creed of South Johnston with her jump of 10' 6" for a strong start to the outdoor season. Corinth Holders' Arden Vessie, who claimed wins in both the 800m and the 3200m runs, and Louisburg's Vanisha Wilshire earned a triple with wins in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump.

More Coverage of Eastern Tour #1:


Stop 2: Rocky Mount High School, Tuesday

This location had to be moved with less than a week's notice, and the Rocky Mount staff did an admirable job of stepping up to prepare for the meet. That effort paid off with a great competition that included two state-leading marks. Zachary Farmer (Hunt) threw the discus 147' 7", a big improvement over his previous PR, to take the top spot in the rankings from Bradsher; he also threw a PR of 48' 6" in the shot put for his second win. Courtney Miles (Beddingfield) won the long jump with a mark of 18' 0.5" that currently sits atop the state rankings in that event, and she also won the 100 Dash.

Several other athletes stood out with strong performances over the course of the meet. Nyana Edwards (Rocky Mount) won both hurdle races, going 17.66 and 48.72. Rocky Mount's girls won both the 4x100 (51.11) and the 4x200 (1:47.67, which was NC #1 at the time). Meanwhile, Nash Central took the girls 4x800 in 11:08, then closed the meet with a very solid 4:15 in the 4x4.

On the boys' side, Jonathan Romero (Rocky Mount) won both hurdle races, clocking 15.70 and 41.26. Kinston claimed two relay wins, running 1:31.46 in the 4x200 and 3:40.16 in the 4x400. Franklinton's Rondez Taylor claimed the high jump (6' 0") and long jump (20' 7.5").

More Coverage of Eastern Tour #2:


Stop 3: Heide Trask High School, Wednesday

Two-time indoor state champions North Brunswick came out in force for this meet, and they left with some impressive times. That includes a NC #1 mark of 3:31.31 in the 4x400, but it was an individual performer that really stole the show. Jayhlen Washington, who was the MVP of the Scorpions' 2015 indoor title, won the 100 Dash in 10.98, the first NC boy to go under 11 on FAT this season. That followed a 15.08 win in the 110 Hurdles, also the top FAT mark in the state, where he led a 1-2-3 sweed for North Brunswick. Washington also took the long jump with a 22' leap.

North Brunswick was not satisfied with one relay win, though - the Scorpions also took the 4x100 and 4x200 (running 1:31.52 in the latter race). The only other multi-event winner on the boys' side was Sean Mulherin (New Hanover), who ran 4:43.50 in the 1600 and 10:31.88 in the 3200. For the girls, Zenora Saelua (Dixon) took both the shot put (34' 8") and the discus (105' 9"), while Amy Lee (New Hanover) won the 100 Hurdles in 16.95 and the 300 Hurdles in 49.82. Laney's girls dominated the relays, winning all four, and also swept the top 5 spots in the 800. Finally, Desire Brown (Heide Trask) won the 100 and 400, but then had to leave to join her teammates on the softball squad.

More Coverage of Eastern Tour #3:

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