Boys NCHSAA 2A State Meet Recap
A team that scores over 70 points would normally have several event winners. In the case of North Brunswick, though, there were only three victories! One was a relay win in the 4x100, and the other two were brought home by the same individual, Jayhlen Washington. The junior took both horizontal jumps, posting marks of 22' 6.75" and 48' 5" NC #2. Magnus Herweyer (Carrboro) also won two events, both by narrow margins. First he claimed the discus by only 5 inches over Mason Poteet (Draughn), then he threw 51' 3.75" in the shot put to edge three other guys who threw above 51 feet! By contrast, Desmond Lindsay (Forest Hills) won the high jump in dominant fashion, clearing 6' 8" to win by 4".
On the track, two individuals each walked away from the meet with double golds. Elliott Graves (Reidsville) took both hurdle races, posting times of 13.79 NC #2 US #10 NC #15 All-Time and 37.65 NC #3. None of the sprinters were able to duplicate his feat, although some excellent times were recorded: Tyshawn Smith (Lincolnton) ran 10.65 to win the 100, Brunce Squires (Chase) clocked 21.89 in the 200, and Derek Puryear (T.W. Andrews) ran 48.94 to lead the 400.
Noah Graham (Brevard) was the other double winner, holding off Justin Tucker (Shelby) in both the 1600 (4:26.69) and the 3200 (9:31.44). In the 800 it was Daniel Alvarez-Orlachia (Surry Central) taking his second title of the school year with a 1:57.51, only 0.06 ahead of Jaylen Drayton (DSA). There was also a double relay winner in the meet as Northeastern won the first and last track events, clocking 8:06.22 in the 4x8 and then ending the meet with a 3:25.85 4x400.
The 2A classification has been the heart of the wheelchair athlete boom in North Carolina over the last few years, and interestingly it was rural Eastern North Carolina that has led the way. First Southwest Edgecombe's Catherine Armstrong paved the way before graduating in 2014, and then two guys took up the cause: Dylan Pinder (North Johnston) and Bryce Floyd (South Lenoir). Last year Kenny Korff (North Brunswick) joined them, and the three have been competing against each other ever since. This time around, Pinder took both the 100 and 200, while Floyd won both the shot put and discus.