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Sprints/Hurdles

Reneazia Collins (Monroe) is coming off of a great winter season, in which she led all 1A girls in the 55 Dash, 55 Hurdles, and 300. Collins also has the top returning times in the 200, 400, 100 Hurdles, and 300 Hurdles. Her biggest obstacle this spring will be deciding which races to run at the state meet! Sloan Williams (Winston-Salem Prep) also showed continued improvement in the shortest sprint, which should help with her 100 times. Her teammate, Deonica Reid, has the top returning 100 time in this classification and ranks second in the 200. Rebecca Rudisill (Highland Tech) looks like the closest challenger in the 100 Hurdles, and ditto for Rachel Moore (Andrews) in the 300 Hurdles.

Distance

Malia Ellington (Community School of Davidson) dominates the returning rankings in the 1600 and 3200, and she had a strong cross country season to back it up. Carly Kreber (Bishop McGuinness) had the fastest 1A times in the 1000 and 1600 during indoor season, although Caroline MacLeod (Gray Stone Day) was right behind her in the 1000. Bishop McGuinness teammate Brianna Eichhorn has the top returning time in the 800, which looks like the most competitive event for 1A distance this spring. You should definitely consider Kendall Toineeta (Cherokee) a contender in that race, as would be Ellington if she focused on it. Elizabeth Lackey (Hendersonville) comes out of the winter leading the 3200 list for this classification, but she will need to run a lot faster to stay on top through the spring. Her teammate, Erin Brooks, actually has a better PR in that race, and Kirsten Parries (Mount Airy) is a force to be reckoned with at long distances. Keep an eye out for Sophia Bhalla (Lincoln Charter), who went through the roof this fall and could do the same in the spring; another newcomer, freshman Hannah Zenker (Franklin Academy), is an unknown on the track side.

Field Events

Suprising nobody at all, Hailey Cook (Hendersonville) is the top thrower in the 1A ranks; she threw an indoor PR of 42' 10" this winter, and she will be looking to crack the 140' mark in the discus. Briana Blevins (North Wilkes) is the only other thrower to have gone beyond 100 feet last season, though there are three returning 33-foot girls in the shot who will vie for second place at the state meet. Kendall Cox develped as a viable second scorer for Monroe this winter, leading all 1A long jumpers with a mark of 17' 0.25" indoors. Her nearest opponent is Cierra Franklin (North Edgecombe) whether you look at 2012 outdoor or 2013 indoor. The triple jump starts off the spring just as hotly contested as it finished the winter, as Franklin and Julice Crowder (Monroe) jumped 34' 9.5" and 34' 7", respectively, at the indoor state meet. However, both will have to step up their game to contend with Chryssandra Tatum (Lejeune), who jumped over 38 feet last spring but does not compete indoors. Princess Stone (Science & Math) has a PR of 36' 4.25" as well, making her a viable contender in this event. Tess Rogers (North Stokes) has returned to form as the favorite in the pole vault for this classification. Finally, Makayla Roten (West Wilkes) is the favorite to repeat as 1A high jump champion, having cleared 5' 6" both last spring and this winter, although Morgan Lowe (Swain County) returns with her 5' 4" PR to challenge.

NCHSAA 1A Girls Winter 2013 Rankings

NCHSAA 1A Girls Returning Rankings from Outdoor 2012

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Sprints/Hurdles

To be perfectly honest, there isn't a short sprinter that stands out from the crowd among either the returning 2012 rankings or the winter 2013 rankings. That means the 100 is wide open, and ready for someone who want to work hard to claim it this spring. Ronald Ratliff (East Columbus) does have a strong 200 time from last spring, and Trentavis Friday (Cherryville) came out of nowhere to run 48.12 in the 400. Grant Rivers (Hendersonville) has the top returning time in the 110 Hurdles, with Chase Stevens (Mitchell) right behind (both are mentioned in other events below, too). Sterling Jones (Winston-Salem Prep) distinguished himself with a strong winter in the 55 Hurdles, ranking 8th for all classifications with a time of 7.82. That goes right in hand with his #1 ranking among returning 300 Hurdlers for the 1A's, although Anton Shaw (Southwest Onslow) is close enough to be considered co-leader in that event.

Distance

Zach Boone (Mitchell) emerged from the winter season with the top 1A times in the 1600 and 3200; his 9:45.38 in the two-mile is particularly impressive. Teammate Chase Stevens is the top returner from last spring in the 800, and Brandon King adds a third strong runner to what should be a powerful 4x800. Elijah Inuwa (Central Academy of Technology) finished the indoor season with the best 1000 time in this classification. Keep your eye on Dylan Johnson (Hayesville), Frank Cline (Robbinsville), and Sam Williams (Bishop McGuinness), who all had strong cross country seasons.

Field Events

Grant Rivers (Hendersonville) jumped 6' 2" this winter, a good way below his 6' 8" PR but still the leader in the 1A ranks. Frederick Miller (James Kenan) led all triple jumpers in this classification with his mark of 43' 5.5" during the winter. Ricky Ratliff (East Columbus) jumped 22' 2.5" (wind-aided) at the state meet last year, making him the heavy favorite to start this season. Matt Layne (West Wilkes) is the #1 vaulter in the 1A rankings, whether you look at the winter list or returning marks from last spring. Wesley Porter (Heide Trask) has already thrown farther this winter than any returning mark from the 2012 outdoor season, although Devin Velez (Southwest Onslow) will certainly challenge him. The most competitive field event, according to the rankings, will be the discus: this classification sports three guys who have gone farther than 130 feet. Joshua Smith (Heide Trask) is the top returner, followed by Parley Gentry (Mount Airy) and Dylan Williams (Hayesville).