NCHSAA 4A State Championship Meet Preview



Boys Field

High Jump

Idris Bernard (Mallard Creek), Charles McBride (Apex) and Randolph Ross (Garner) all have jumped 6'10" this year, and they all cruised to victory in their regionals to set up a show down at the state meet. Kendall Artis (Rolesville) and Russell Parham (North Mecklenburg) have both cleared 6'6" this year and make up the second group of high flyers that will contend for a podium spot. Jide Huntley (Porter Ridge) won the Midwest, and though his highest jump of the season has been 6'4", only Bernard, Artis and Ross jumped higher than him at regionals.

Long Jump

Khalil Scott (Olympic) and Eric Haddock (Southeast Raleigh) have both jumped 23-8 this year, with Christopher Alexander (Rocky River) and Ryan Richardson (Z. B. Vance) not far behind at 23-7.75 and 23-5 respectively. Brandon Holmes (Panther Creek) was the winner of the Mideast, and has the fifth furthest jump on the year of any of the competitors. Midwest runner up Austin Richardson (Porter Ridge) had his furthest jump of the year at regionals and is coming into his top form at the right time to be a competitor for a podium spot this weekend.

Triple Jump

Eric Haddock led the way at regionals with his 47-6, a mark that stands out as the second longest of the year from anyone in the field. Only Christopher Alexander has jumped further with his 48-2 at the Bojangles Track and Field Classic in April. Behind Haddock at the East regional was Emannuel Lewis (South Central) who jumped the season's fourth best distance in his runner up performance. Carlos Horcacitas-Martin took down the reigning indoor triple jump state champ Alexander at the Midwest regional with his season best mark of 46-10, and Terrence Lackey (Mooresville) dominated the West by more than a foot to establish himself as another top contender.

 Pole Vault

Spencer Evans (Lake Norman) led the field at regionals, jumping half a foot higher than anyone else last weekend. He also holds the highest mark of the season by the same margin, having jumped a clean 16 earlier this season. Behind him at the West regional was Seth Rabinowitz (Providence), a senior whose 15-6 mark from earlier this season stands a foot beyond the third best mark in the state this year. Evans' teammate Jonathan Lehe was third at the regional and ranks fourth in the state and will look to join his teammate on the awards stand. Jeremy Huang (Apex) won the Mideast and at 14-6 on the season will look to snag a medal this weekend.

Discus

Isaiah Belk (Butler) has by far the furthest mark of the season, but he was taken down at Midwest regionals by the dynamic duo of Mason Ellis and Nathan Myers. Those two are continuing West Forsyth's reputation as a throwing powerhouse after their 1-2 finish at the regional, and expect both to be at their best this weekend as they contend for a podium spots.  Chancelor Crawford (North Mecklenburg) showed this weekend that he may be in the best form in the state. He will ride in hot after a 167-10 heave to win the West regional, almost ten feet further than anyone else last weekend. Jack Choiniere (Myers Park) also shined at regionals finishing behind Crawford. He hasn't finished worse than third place yet this season, and he certainly has the potential to finish the season even higher at the state meet.

Shot put

Like in discus, Chancelor Crawford was the cream of the crop at regionals, but this time by a slimmer margin. Mason Ellis, Timon Edelen (Wakefield), Jack Choiniere and Dontae Mack (Olympic) make up the chase pack, each having throws better than 53 feet this season. A look at the indoor shot put state championship gives the nod to Edelen and Ellis, who duked it out to a close 1-2 finish in February.

Wheelchair Shot Put

Ladale Gambrell (Broughton) threw a 16-2 at regionals to come in as a favorite to win the shot put title. Christopher Coke (Ragsdale) notched a 13-1 at Midwest and has a shot at the win with a good day.

Wheelchair Discus

Gambrell and Coke will also compete against each other in the discus, each having thrown 38 feet or better this year. Gambrell is the favorite with his 47-7.5 at regionals standing out as the top mark in all classes this year.