NCHSAA 3A State Meet Preview

Girls NCHSAA 3A Preview

Athletes to Watch

If it's the 3A state meet, you want to watch Anna Vess (A.C. Reynolds).  That has been the case over the last 3 years, and this is the last chance for us to watch the ultra-modest senior superstar in action.  It doesn't matter what she ran in winning three races at the West Regional (although her 2:15.57 800 was pretty darn impressive) - when she gets to A&T, she's the one to beat in each race she runs, until someone beats her.  Vess is working on a 3-year championship streak in the 1600 if she can win this time, and she also won the 800 last spring and the 3200 in the winter (the only thing that kept her out of the 1600 indoors was the swimming state meet being scheduled on the same day).  She will face strong competition in all three races, if she elects to compete in all three, but she has the most dominant position in the 3200; her season best of 10:56.48 is 24 seconds better than second-seeded Marija Crook (Chapel Hill).  In the 1600, where Vess broke 5 minutes indoors, it will be two other Tigers that give her the best competition: Katherine Dokholyan and Clare McNamara have both been well under 5:10.

It looks like the 100 and 200 will both be two-girl battles, with the same two girls but in different order. Maya Daye (Northern Vance) is the only girl in the classification to have broken 12 seconds this year, having clocked 11.91, and that gives her the edge in the 100 over Taylor Henderson (Eastern Guilford) and her 12.07.  In the 200, though, it's Henderson with the lead coming in, having posted a 24.77 to Daye's 24.96.  Regardless, it should be fun to watch the two duke it out in both races- nobody else came close to their times on regional weekend, although it wouldn't be surprising if Statesville's Cambria Shuford got into the mix in the 200.  Speaking of Shuford, she is the heavy favorite in the 400 after running 56.22 last Saturday.  The only other 3A athlete to have gone under 58 this season is Michaela Nelms (Nash Central).

Torri Weathers (Hickory Ridge) didn't start the year as a senior, but she will finish it as one - she adjusted her course schedule to be able to graduate early, and now she wants to close out her third and final high school season with a win.  She holds the top seed in both hurdle races, but will have stiff competition from Sydni Fields (Cleveland) in the 100 Hurdles (see below for more on the 300 Hurdles!).  Imani Bennett (Southern Guilford) will have the top seed in both the long jump and the triple jump when the meet starts Friday; she leads all 3A long jumpers on the season, but Taylor Moncrief (Jacksonville) has a 39-foot triple on her resume.  Don't be surprised if Shuford has something to say about the long jump.  Maci Bunting (Asheboro) and Ciara Robinson (Cleveland) have both cleared 5' 6" this spring, but only Bunting did so at her regional, so she enters as the slight favorite.

If there is anyone in the meet who is a lock to win, it might be Tessa Sheets (Northwood).  She cleared a PR of 13 feet in the pole vault at her regional, and the next-best mark from the weekend was 10' 6".


Events to Watch

The 800 Run is absolutely loaded, with three potential stars at the top of the race and another battle among a cluster of sub-2:20 runners (6 of the competitors have already broken that barrier this spring).  Vess holds the top time, but Anna Passannante (Chapel Hill) is only 0.05 back, both of them in the 2:15's.  Brooke Turner (Tuscola) has run 2:16 this spring, and she has the best PR of the three at 2:13.85 from last May.  Behind those three are Naomi Cartier (Asheville) and Emme Fisher (West Carteret), who have both run 2:18 times.  You can't count out a handful of other runners, including Jennae Jacobs (Marvin Ridge), who has been under 2:20, and Alycia Higgins (Cuthbertson), who has been close.

The 300 Hurdles might be a two-girl race up front between Weathers and Jorja Medders (Marvin Ridge), but behind them are a whopping 4 more girls who have run in the 46-second range this season.  One of them is Mackenzie Whitaker (West Carteret), who dropped from the mid-46's to under 45 to finish second at the state meet last year.

There is no clear favorite in the Discus Throw, and that makes it even more interesting to watch.  Ania Dawson (Southern Guilford) has the top throw of the season at 124' 2", but she will be pressured by Nakeisha Jones (Hunt) and Rachel Rouse (West Carteret), both of whom have exceeded 120 feet.  The Shot Put could be even more competitive, as expected favorite Katelyn Prakash (Weddington) struggled just a bit in her regional.  As a result, the top 6 seeds will start the meet within 1 foot of each other!  Tiana Taylor (Eastern Guilford) enters with the best regional mark at 37' 11.5", but if Prakash can get back to her 39-foot form she will likely win.  Keep an eye on Patience Marshall (Anson) as well - she has thrown 38' 3", and in a wide-open field like this one you never know who will pop a golden throw.


Teams to Watch

The 4x800 looks like it will be the most spectacular relay, with 5 teams that ran 9:53 or faster just last weekend - and that doesn't even include Chapel Hill, who clocked a state-leading 9:22 back in mid-April, but only had to run 10:12 to win their regional.  Cuthbertson, South Iredell, Weddington, and Marvin Ridge all ran between 9:40 and 9:47 at their regional meets, and White Oak clocked 9:53.

The 4x400 is also loaded and looks to be very exciting, as the top 8 teams on the season are all in the race, and they've all got season bests between 4:05 and 4:09!  Eastern Guilford holds the top seed, with Western Guilford not far behind; considering the whole season, Nash Central is also a contender.

Cleveland could run away with the 4x100 and 4x200 relays, and they're looking for their first sub-1:40 time in the latter race after going 1:40.49 last weekend.  The Rams also clocked 48.08, and nobody else ran under 49 at any regional.  Nash Central is likely the top competitor, but if Cleveland can make solid exchanges the sprint relays are theirs to lose.

In terms of overall team scoring, this could be the most competitive of the 8 NCHSAA championships to be awarded this weekend.  Using regional seeding, Chapel Hill and Eastern Guilford are tied at 46 points; using season bests, Chapel Hill and Cleveland tie for 48 points!  Any of the three teams could end up on the podium, and there are at least 4 more teams within close striking range: Southern Guilford, West Carteret, Cuthbertson, and Nash Central.  And if Vess runs all three distance races well (which is MUCH easier to do under the expanded two-classification schedule), A.C. Reynolds might even get into the mix!

There are several strong throwers in the classification, but the one with the best chance to bring home double gold is Tyson Fortenberry (Ashbrook).  He leads the discus season rankings with a throw of 178 feet, which is over 10 feet farther than any other competitor.  If he throws well, then Zachary Farmer (Hunt) is probably the only one who can threaten him in that event.  The shot put, however, is another story altogether...


More NCHSAA 3A State Meet Coverage