Performance List
The 1A/2A/3A girl’s state title may once again go to Cummings High School. They seem to have no shortage of elite jumpers, which has helped them claim the title the last couple years. Sherice Walker is attempting to win 3 events and place in another, which as we all know scores major points in a state meet. There are a couple other teams that I believe will put up some points. Parkland has a solid overall team, as they should receive points in the sprints, hurdles, and many of the field events. They will need their seeds in the 4-8 spots to step up and try to finish higher should they want to pressure Cummings for the title. Other teams that should be near the top of the team list are: Winston-Salem Prep, TC Roberson, Cardinal Gibbons, and Dudley.
The boy’s state title looks to be a little less obvious. There look to be many teams that have a shot at the title. Cordell Livingston will try and lead a Southwest Guilford team who looks to have change, Marvin Ridge has kids all over and will need David McCuiston to come through, Hendersonville has depth in the mid-distance areas, and definitely don’t count out Nash Central. If I had to predict . . . I’m going with Marvin Ridge, Nash Central, & Hendersonville separated by about 8 points. Then in 4th, Southwest Guilford, with East Rowan and Asheville following.
Girls 55m Dash
The showdown between two of the top sprinters in the nation should be a good one. Sushannie Blake of NW Cabarrus looked very good at the Eastern HS Challenge, running an impressive 7.06. Stormy Kendrick of Forestview knows how to run when it counts and has plenty of experience at the elite level. This one should be fun.
Boys 55m Dash
This race looks to be up for grabs, as the majority of the times come from Polar Bear meets, where most are hand-timed. Karl Clemons of Overhills has run 6.59 indoors this season and could be the favorite based on that performance. I’m looking forward to finding out who these other low to mid 6 second runners are!
Girls 300m Dash
This race truly looks to come down to two athletes. Mytoia Gathings of Parkland ran an impressive 40.87 at Virginia Tech. Winston-Salem Prep’s Trisha Bennett broke 41:00 earlier in the season at the Eastern HS Challenge. I’m looking for a lean at the line. Don’t count out Stormy Kendrick, Kaneisha Williams, or Sherice Walker.
Boys 300m Dash
Darryl Demps of Hendersonville has been running much better than his 51 second 400m personal best. He has run 35.65 indoors this season at Virginia Tech, so he has proven himself indoors. I’m going to pick him as the winner, but as many of these races go, there are a lot of unknowns.
Girls 500m Dash
Similar names to the 300m dash should appear at the top of the 500m dash. Kaneisha Williams of Dudley comes in with the fastest time, but it was outdoors. She did run 1:19 at the Eastern HS Challenge. Trisha Bennett of W-S Prep will be right there battling for the title.
Boys 500m Dash
I’m looking forward to this one. Brandon Neale is part of a very strong Hendersonville team. This team has been running very impressive in the 4x400 and should prove themselves here against the rest of the state. He has the fastest time coming in and it’s from Virginia Tech. Brandon clocked 1:06.78. He’ll be racing a couple of 800m specialists for the title in David McCuiston of Marvin Ridge and John Schilkowsky of Patton High School.
Girls 1000m
Lea Anna Godwin has been running well this season and has the fastest time in North Carolina. It’s one of the fastest times in NC history, as well. She has run 3:01.97 this season to Kenyetta Iyevbele of Olympic’s 3:08. However, you can’t count out Kenyetta as somehow she has the knack of racing her best when it counts. This girl doesn’t come from a distance/mid-distance hotbed but has loads of talent. Coach Bollinger has done a really nice job with both her and his son, Steven.
Boys 1000m
Last year’s champ, John Wolfe of Polk County, is definitely a contender. Once a little more unknown, he doesn’t have that going for him this season. David McCuiston of Marvin Ridge is busting onto the scene as one of the most talented mid-distance runners in the state. He’ll be hard to beat, as he seems to have impressive speed and strength. There will be others in the mix for a bit, but I’m guessing it really opens up with about 400m to go.
Girls 1600m
It’s humorous that Kenyetta’s time is listed as 4:19, which is faster than the boy’s seeds, but we all know it was a 5:19. This should be a great race, like most in this meet. Sarah Rapp of Cardinal Gibbons is a very fine miler and easily could push the 5:10 barrier. Laura Hoer of TC Robinson had an outstanding XC season and hasn’t seen an indoor track yet. However, looking back, that doesn’t mean you can count out a TCR girl’s distance runner. This is a team that knows how to win.
Boys 1600m
Steven Bollinger of Olympic has taken it to another level this year. His XC season was outstanding, running 15:30’s at McAlpine. Then he ran 4:24 at the Eastern HS Challenge with a huge kick over the last 100m. I’m going to call him the winner here, but there are others in the field who could give him a run. Isaac Presson has a personal best of 4:19 and John Harwell has run 4:22.
Girls 3200m
This one is Sarah Rapp’s, but I’m not sure what she plans to run. She is entered in the 1000m, 1600m, and the 3200m. If she chooses to run all three, it’s going to make things very interesting. She has a time of 11:16 from the Apex Polar Bear meet, which is 30 seconds faster than her nearest competitor.
Boys 3200m
Once again, this race should belong to Steven Bollinger. There are others with PR’s around his time of 9:32, but he is running much better than the others at this point in the 2009 track season. Dillon Hawley has run 15:38 for 5,000 on the track and seems to be getting back to that form. Look for him to challenge Steven, along with John Harwell and Jack Anderson.
Girls 55m Hurdles
Sherice Walker is the overwhelming favorite here. Sherice has been one of the top hurdlers in the state for the last few years and looked very good at the Eastern High School Challenge. Sherice is not only one of the top hurdlers in NC, but she’s one of the best in the US.
Boys 55m Hurdles
Southwest Guilford’s Cordell Livingston leads the way with his 7.60 clocking at the Eastern HS Challenge. This should be a tight race and could come down to who’s the one that doesn’t touch a hurdle. Daishion Barger of East Rowan, David Lindsay of W-S Prep, and Danny Allen of Nash Central will be in contention.
Girls 4x400
At the end of the meet, this event could be deciding the overall winner of the meet. The top 4 teams in the event are separated by just under 2 seconds. I’m looking for Dudley to pull off the victory as they have done very well in this event as of late.
Boys 4x400
Hendersonville has a 5-second gap on the rest of the field and they should come away with the win. The battle for 2nd will be fun to watch as it will probably change hands numerous times. Marvin Ridge has some very talented 500m runners, so I’m looking for them to pull away and grasp 2nd with a solid time, under 3:30.
Girls 4x800
Sun Valley’s girls ran the 9:55 early in the indoor season and haven’t run that fast indoors yet. They are the favorites as most of these ladies were on their stellar team from outdoors last year. TC Roberson has the ability to challenge them and I suspect they will for most of the race. Could come down to the anchor legs here.
Boys 4x800
Once again, Hendersonville is favored over Marvin Ridge in the relay. I’m not sure about Hendersonville’s team, but I’m guessing they have some fast-twitch 400 guys moving up in distance. Marvin Ridge could put together a very impressive team if Coach Starr is able to use the guys he wants here. I’m going to go with Marvin Ridge assuming the Jackson twins are running along with McCuiston.
Girls High Jump
Another event where the winner could come from anywhere in the field. To qualify, athletes needed to jump 4-10. There are 14 girls who met that mark and only 2 of them have cleared anything higher, and that is only 5-0. This one is up for grabs and should come down to whomever steps up.
Boys High Jump
Unlike the girl’s event, the boys seems a bit more obvious. Logan Elliston of Western Alamance has been jumping extremely well and has a best this season of 6-09! He is currently ranked 4th in the US.
Girls Pole Vault
Ashleigh Culpepper of Franklin and Rebekah Johnston of White Oak have both cleared 10-00 this season and the rest of the field sits at 9-00 & 8-06. However, this could be much like the girl’s high jump, and the winner could be anyone.
Boys Pole Vault
This looks to be a 3-person event, but I could be way wrong. Keith Leonard of East Rowan cleared 14-00 thus far and Alex Lomax of Maiden traveled all the way to Reno to clear 13-10. Then there is Evan Sandling of Rockingham County who has been near the top for the last couple years. He has been over 13-06 so far this season.
Girls Long Jump
Sherice Walker has been garnishing major points for a number of years in the jumps and I don’t see that changing in any way. Sherice comes in with the #1 jump of 18-9.50, which is almost a foot better than her nearest competitor. That person just so happens to be her own teammate, Brittany Wilkins. Second place looks more up for grabs as the next 7 girls have all jumped over 17-00.
Boys Long Jump
The top two seeds are just 4 inches apart which could make this very fun. Cordell Livingston has jumped 23-02 and Avery Griffin of Dudley has leaped out to 22-10. All 13 athletes in the field have been out to 21’ or better this season, so honestly, with one big jump, anyone can win.
Girls Triple Jump
This event should play out much like the long jump. Sherice Walker and Brittany Wilkins once again come in with the top 2 seeds and will most try and stay that way. However, West Craven’s Kayla Jackson could pull the upset, as she is only 8 inches behind Sherice. Cummings has 3 of the top 4 seeds, which could help them to their 3rd consecutive state title.
Boys Triple Jump
This looks to be a great event as the top 7 athletes are basically within 2 feet of one another. They are led by NW Cabarrus athlete, Trevor Anderson, who has a mark of 46-07.25. Only one other athlete has been over 46-00 and that is Eric Ebron of Parkland.
Girls Shot Put
Gayshawna Watkins of East Rutherfordton has the best throw of the season at 38-10.5. She will be pushing for the 40’ mark as well as a state title. Her best is over 3 feet further than the rest of the field, so it’ll take a big throw for someone else to get her. Chante Hopkins who is seeded 3rd does go to Farmville Central and that should scare everyone. There’s something in the water at that school that turns athletes into top contenders.
Boys Shot Put
Kenneth Rowland of Northside is the overwhelming favorite here as he has thrown over 60’ on the season. The next closest competitor is Nolan Cobb of Farmville Central with a toss of 52-02.25. I watched Kenneth throw that far in his warm-ups at the Eastern HS Challenge. Look for Kenneth to win and set a new state meet record, he's already thrown more than 3 feet further.