Mar 16, 2015

After setting two All-Time Records and winning her second national title, Ryen Frazier lost the mile - to Nevada Mareno, giving NC a 1-2 sweep.

What more can North Carolina's athletes do? On the heels of indoor national championships by Isaiah Moore and Trentavis Cherry last March, the Old North State will be bringing home 3 more titles this year, not to mention a bunch of new state records and even more All-Americans. New Balance Nationals Indoor was a roaring success for our boys and girls, who seem to become more at home in the Armory in New York City every year. When you consider that two of this year's three champions will return next year, it feels like this run of excellence has a good chance of continuing. Let's break down the biggest highlights, and then check out all the performances at the bottom!

North Carolina is a Distance Power

Everyone knew coming into this meet that Ryen Frazier would be in contention in every race she ran. After all, she was the runner-up at Foot Locker Nationals, and she led the nation in the mile all winter, even moving onto the US Top 10 All-Time list. Frazier started the weekend off with an incredible duel against the same girl that had defeated her in San Diego, Anna Rohrer. Time and again Ryen challenged, and time and again Rohrer responded, until the cross country national champ was able to pull away by just a few seconds. Rohrer had to run a national record to beat Frazier, and the Ravenscroft senior's time of 16:12.81 falls at US #3 All-Time. It is also a North Carolina All-Time Record, giving Ryen two of the three (cross country and indoor, her sister Wesley still owns the outdoor 5K record).

That incredible effort had to take a lot out of Frazier; fortunately, she had Saturday off to recover, then came back for two races Sunday. First was the 2 Mile, and Ryen looked unaffected by her 5K as she steadily pulled away to earn her second national championship (she won the mile last June in Greensboro). Her time of 10:02.86 moves her up to US #5 All-Time and set her fourth North Carolina All-Time Record, and it was only 5 seconds shy of Wesley's outdoor record at the same distance.

Finally, the mile came around - Ryen's favorite event, it seems, but also a short turn-around from the 2-Mile in the curious NBNI schedule that compresses three distance races into Sunday's schedule. The race devolved into a 3-girl breakaway, with Stephanie Jenks leading early, followed closely by Frazier and Nevada Mareno. Jenks fell off the pace late, leaving the two NC girls to duke it out, and in the end it was Mareno out-kicking Frazier on the final lap to take the win. Nevada ran 4:43.23, rocketing all the way up to NC #2 All-Time, while Ryen had to fight off a late charge from Danielle Jones to finish second. Mareno is a sophomore, and the scary thing is that she probably has not reached her full potential yet. North Carolina now has 9 indoor and outdoor national titles in the girls' distance races over the last 3 years, although (to be fair) 8 of those belong to girls named Frazier.

It wasn't just the girls putting up big times, either - Philip Hall (South View) ran 9:06.90 in the 2 Mile, moving him up to NC #5 All-Time as well as US #7 this season, although he missed out on All-American status by 1 place.

Skip to the bottom to see all the distance performances by NC athletes at NBNI!

North Carolina is a Sprints & Hurdles Power

Anna Cockrell was saving something after all. The Providence Day junior tied the North Carolina All-Time Record with an 8.35 in the prelims, then broke it by running 8.32 in the semifinals. That was all a prelude, however, to her showdown with national leader Sydney McLaughlin in the final. Though Cockrell did not come away with the win, she did rise to the occasion, dropping a stunning 8.21 that crushed the old state record and also makes her the 5th-fastest performer in US history in that event. The meet had an FAT camera set up at the 55 mark, and her time of 7.64 is also a North Carolina All-Time Record by a huge margin (and would make her the 6th-fastest performer ever at that distance).

Two other NC athletes matched Cockrell's runner-up performance. Layla White (Cary) finished 2nd in the 400 with a time of 54.60, and Katlin Sherman (Parkland) clocked 24.05 NC #5 All-Time while taking the silver in the 200. It was a rough day for our boys, though, as none made the finals of any sprint or hurdles race.

Skip to the bottom to see all the sprint/hurdle performances by NC athletes at NBNI!

North Carolina is a Relay Power

Parkland's girls got their first taste of what a national championship feels like in June, when they won their signature race, the 4x200. Since then, they have wanted nothing more than to add an indoor win to their outdoor title, and they brought that dream to fruition Sunday. It wasn't their fastest race of the year - that was the US #1 NC #2 All-Time US #8 All-Time 1:37.75 they ran in the prelims Saturday. That doesn't matter one little bit, though, because the Mustangs are wearing the gold medals on their trip home. For the second straight day, Ebony Williams clocked a sub-24 anchor leg, and that took its toll when she had to run the hurdles not long after. I suspect that doesn't matter much, either, as the main goal of the indoor season was accomplished.

We did have one warning that Nevada Mareno was getting ready to do something special in the Mile. Taking the baton in 4th place during the fastest section of the girls 4x800, she dropped a 2:07.60 split - the fastest run by any leg of any team in the race. That powered Leesville Road to a 2nd-place finish and a North Carolina All-Time Record of 9:03.63, destroying the previous record by 15 seconds. Soccer season is already underway for Mareno, but this weekend has to give her some serious food for thought in regards to her future in running.

Two other squads joined the Mustangs and Pride among the ranks of the All-Americans. Green Hope's boys ran 3:31.02 in the opening race of the 1600 sprint medley, then had to wait through 3 more sections to find out that they had finished 6th overall. In similar fashion, Wakefield's girls clocked a season-best 3:50.95 NC #1 in the 4x400's third section, then had to sweat two more races before winding up in 5th place.

Skip to the bottom to see all the relay performances by NC athletes at NBNI!

North Carolina is a Field Events Power

Sydnei Murphy (Apex) actually had a bit of a rough meet, at least up until her final event. She jumped 19' 1.5" to finish 4th in the long jump, which is a good result but not the 20-foot jump that she still hopes to get. She made the semifinals of the 60 Dash and had a great start there, but couldn't seem to find her top gear and did not make the finals. She was able to shake off that disappointment, however, and produce a tremendous result in what has become her best event, the triple jump. Her mark of 42' 0.75" earned her second place, but more importantly it was a North Carolina All-Time Record.

Several other NC athletes had All-American performances over the three days of the meet. Christopher Garrick (Marvin Ridge) finished 6th in the high jump, clearing 6' 9.5". Anna Eaton (Apex) cleared 13' 0.75" to finish 4th in the pole vault,

And while Marcus Abraham (Victory Christian) finished 9th in the shot put, he did move up to NC #5 All-Time with his 59' 1.25" mark.

All North Carolina Performances from NBNI

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Full Meet Results

2,886 Total Performances (188 NC)

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Videos (342)

Articles (78)

Elite Performances

Girls (94)
60m	F 1 5th	7.67	Charminiqu Hackney	Cary
60m	p 2 1st	7.68	Charminiqu Hackney	Cary
60m	p 1 9th	7.57	Sydnei Murphy	Apex
60m	p 2 12th	7.60	Katlin Sherman	Parkland
60m	p 4 21st	7.67	Gabriele Cunningham	Mallard Creek
60m	p 5 37th	7.82	Lauren White	Carolina Elite Track Club
60m	s 1 10th	7.58	Gabriele Cunningham	Mallard Creek
60m	s 2 16th	7.61	Katlin Sherman	Parkland
60m	s 1 17th	7.62	Sydnei Murphy	Apex
200m	F 2 1st	24.40	Charla Ward	Ragsdale
200m	F 2 3rd	24.05	Katlin Sherman	Parkland
200m	F 2 4th	25.02	Lauren White	Carolina Elite Track Club
200m	F 1 5th	25.10	Miaysha Bryant	Parkland
200m	p 2 1st	24.46	Charla Ward	Ragsdale
200m	p 5 2nd	24.89	Lauren White	Carolina Elite Track Club
200m	p 6 2nd	24.06	Katlin Sherman	Parkland
200m	p 4 5th	25.01	Miaysha Bryant	Parkland
200m	p 7 15th	24.63	Ebony Williams	Parkland
400m	F 2 2nd	54.60	Layla White	Cary
400m	F 7 5th	57.24	Lakeisha Warner	Cary
400m	F 4 11th	59.95	Mariah Atwater	Rocky River High School
400m	F 4 12th	58.16	Kristoni Barnes	Wake Forest
400m	F 4 15th	58.48	Asya Macon	Southeast Raleigh
400m	F 2 17th	58.56	Lydia Gamble	Durham School of the Arts
400m	F 5 19th	58.78	Kleo Torres	Southeast Raleigh
400m	p 3 2nd	54.95	Layla White	Cary
400m	p 2 13th	56.52	McKinley McNeill	Parkland
400m	p 5 26th	57.65	Tia Robinson	Wakefield
400m	p 3 35th	58.98	Erin Morrison	Parkland
800m	F 3 2nd	2:12.76	Malia Ellington	Community School of Davidson
800m	F 3 25th	2:22.32	Maddie McHugh	Hough, William A
Mile	F 3 1st	4:43.23	Nevada Mareno	Leesville Road
Mile	F 3 2nd	4:44.48	Ryen Frazier	Ravenscroft School
Mile	F 3 8th	4:53.48	Malia Ellington	Community School of Davidson
2Mile	F 2 1st	10:02.86	Ryen Frazier	Unattached (NC)
2Mile	F 2 10th	10:38.92	Elly Henes	Green Hope
2Mile	F 1 23rd	11:21.14	Sophie Ebihara	Cardinal Gibbons
2Mile	F 1 26th	11:22.60	Alexa King	Marvin Ridge
5000m	F 2 2nd	16:12.81	Ryen Frazier	Ravenscroft School
5000m	F 2 10th	17:23.54	Caroline Yarbrough	Page
5000m	F 1 12th	17:50.48	Lily Anderson	T.C. Roberson
5000m	F 2 14th	18:03.86	Rebekah Greengrass	Panther Creek
5000m	F 1 19th	18:31.49	Theresa Enright	Green Hope
60H	F 1 2nd	8.21	Anna Cockrell	Providence Day School
60H	F 1 6th	8.52	Gabriele Cunningham	Mallard Creek
60H	F 1 7th	8.94	Cathy Jackson	Sanderson
60H	p 3 3rd	8.35	Anna Cockrell	Providence Day School
60H	p 3 6th	8.94	Cathy Jackson	Sanderson
60H	p 3 7th	8.58	Gabriele Cunningham	Mallard Creek
60H	p 2 8th	8.61	Ebony Williams	Parkland
60H	p 3 13th	9.08	Amaka Awuruonye	Olympic
60H	p 5 13th	8.70	Ariel Davis	Platinum Sports
60H	p 1 19th	8.79	Kylie Mcmillan	Southern Guilford
60H	p 5 20th	8.81	Breanne Bygrave	Wakefield
60H	s 1 2nd	8.32	Anna Cockrell	Providence Day School
60H	s 2 4th	8.52	Ebony Williams	Parkland
60H	s 3 5th	8.56	Gabriele Cunningham	Mallard Creek
60H	s 3 13th	8.70	Ariel Davis	Platinum Sports
60H	s 3 14th	8.72	Kylie Mcmillan	Southern Guilford
60H	s 2 22nd	8.97	Breanne Bygrave	Wakefield
4x55SHR	F 6 8th	34.43		Wakefield
4x200m	F 1 1st	1:38.10		Parkland
4x200m	F 4 19th	1:45.47		Wakefield
4x200m	F 2 20th	1:45.62		Olympic
4x200m	F 4 21st	1:45.65		Southeast Raleigh
4x200m	p 3 1st	1:37.75		Parkland
4x200m	p 6 8th	1:39.69		Cary
4x200m	p 4 15th	1:41.72		Wakefield
4x400m	F 3 5th	3:50.95		Wakefield
4x400m	F 6 7th	4:00.16		Cary
4x400m	F 2 8th	4:01.71		Southeast Raleigh
4x400m	F 1 23rd	4:00.56		Rocky River High School
4x400m	F 4 26th	4:04.59		Parkland
SMR	F 4 1st	4:08.10		Cary
SMR	F 4 10th	4:19.30		Wakefield
4x800m	F 2 2nd	9:03.63		Leesville Road
4x800m	F 1 16th	9:24.15		Cary
DMR	F 2 16th	12:25.93		Green Hope
DMR	F 1 21st	12:32.51		Robbinsville
HJ	F 1 1st	5-7.25	Kenya Livingston	Rocky River High School
HJ	F 1 16th	5-4.5	Elizabeth Olesen	Hickory Ridge
LJ	F 1 2nd	18-7.25	K'Lynn Beal	Broughton
LJ	F 1 4th	19-1.5	Sydnei Murphy	Apex
TJ	F 1 2nd	38-8.25	Imani Bennett	Southern Guilford
TJ	F 1 2nd	42-0.75	Sydnei Murphy	Apex
TJ	F 1 25th	37-1.75	K'Lynn Beal	Broughton
TJ	F 1 32nd	36-5	Nateja Hale	Parkland
PV	F 1 4th	12-0.75	Chesney Ward	Ragsdale
PV	F 1 4th	13-0.75	Anna Eaton	Apex
PV	F 1 18th	12-0.75	Zoe Early	Apex
WT	F 1 3rd	48-6.25	Alycia Springs	Mallard Creek
S	F 1 7th	45-11.25	Alycia Springs	Mallard Creek
S	F 1 8th	45-7	Khayla Dawson	Olympic
S	F 1 23rd	40-10.5	Hasana Clark	Southeast Raleigh
Boys (43)
60m	F 1 5th	7.02	Daniel Estrada	Platinum Sports
60m	p 3 14th	6.95	Daniel Estrada	Platinum Sports
60m	p 5 19th	6.98	Rodney Rowe	Clayton
60m	p 3 24th	7.03	Chuka Soronnadi	Butler
60m	s 1 13th	6.95	Daniel Estrada	Platinum Sports
60m	s 3 14th	6.95	Rodney Rowe	Clayton
60m	s 3 22nd	7.05	Chuka Soronnadi	Butler
200m	F 2 5th	22.47	Elliott Graves	Reidsville
200m	p 4 4th	22.29	Elliott Graves	Reidsville
200m	p 3 15th	22.06	Dylan Peebles	Wakefield
200m	p 6 16th	22.76	Kendell Fullmore	Ragsdale
200m	p 1 19th	22.11	Michael Davenport	Platinum Sports
200m	p 8 30th	22.41	Chuka Soronnadi	Butler
200m	p 6 40th	22.65	Jayon Woodard	Southeast Raleigh
400m	F 6 25th	51.20	Corey Thompson	East Gaston
400m	p 1 24th	50.83	Jayon Woodard	Southeast Raleigh
800m	F 2 11th	1:56.27	Jayquan Williams	Southeast Raleigh
2Mile	F 2 5th	9:25.22	Connor Lane	Cardinal Gibbons
2Mile	F 1 7th	9:06.90	Philip Hall	South View
2Mile	F 2 21st	9:26.63	Tanis Baldwin	East Henderson
2Mile	F 2 26th	9:44.25	Zachary Boone	Concord
60H	p 1 3rd	7.94	Marcus Krah	Hillside
60H	p 4 19th	8.09	Emmanuel Jackson	Sanderson
60H	s 2 14th	7.98	Emmanuel Jackson	Sanderson
4x200m	F 5 28th	1:32.66		Green Hope
4x200m	F 3 30th	1:32.74		Hopewell
4x400m	F 4 13th	3:26.05		Southeast Raleigh
SMR	F 1 6th	3:31.02		Green Hope
4x800m	F 1 13th	7:57.78		Lake Norman
4x800m	F 2 18th	8:10.97		Southeast Raleigh
4x800m	F 2 24th	8:19.40		Marvin Ridge
4x800m	F 2 24th	8:13.63		South View
HJ	F 1 2nd	6-5.5	Tevin Quick	Ragsdale
HJ	F 1 6th	6-9.5	Christopher Garrick	Marvin Ridge
LJ	F 1 3rd	22-3.5	Tevin Quick	Ragsdale
TJ	F 1 10th	47-8.5	Darryl Shaw	Jack Britt
TJ	F 1 11th	47-5.25	Mekhi McGuyver	Asheville
PV	F 1 1st	15-4.25	Bailey Frederick	Marvin Ridge
PV	F 1 3rd	14-10.25	Liam Dixon	Mooresville
PV	F 1 5th	14-10.25	Elijah Coley	Millbrook
PV	F 1 9th	15-4.25	Tristian Shaver	Ledford
PV	F 1 19th	14-10.25	Drew Pedersen	Apex
S	F 1 9th	59-1.25	Marcus Abraham	Victory Christian