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Championship Events | Emerging Elite Events

Although there are only 3 championship events on the first day of the three-day high school national championships, it is actually the busiest day for the state of North Carolina. That's because the majority of the Emerging Elite events are contested on Day 1, and this year the Old North State has several athletes in position to bring home gold medals in that division. After all of those events, the Championship 5000 will take the stage as the sun starts to go down, simultaneously wrapping up the first day and kicking off the other Championship events that the weekend holds.

Championship Events

Swedish Relay (100-200-300-400)

The weekend starts off with yet another battle between what are arguably North Carolina's two best female relay squads ever, Wakefield and Parkland. The two teams stack up very well, with Wakefield having a slight edge everywhere except the 100 leg (if they run their top girls at each spot). This could come down to handoffs (including the unfamiliar 200 - 300 exchange), and both teams should be in range of last year's winning time, putting them in contention for the national title here. The Northwest Guilford boys are also participating in this event, and they have good talent to put around strong anchor Phillip Bryant.

5000m Run

This race features a load of North Carolina's best distance runners, headlined by Wesley Frazier. The Ravenscroft senior won this event two years ago, but finished third last year. Her PR is 16:18.01, and she has been running the best races of her career this spring, so it's not out of the question to consider a run at the 16-minute barrier. With Erin Finn (West Bloomfield, MI) and Julie McConville (Hingham, MA) in the race to provide competition, and cool enough temperatures at 8:30 in the evening, this could be another big time for Frazier. As for our state's other strong competitors, Lily Anderson (TC Roberson) ran 18:09 two weeks ago at the Champions Tune-Up, while Mary Grace Doggett (Cardinal Gibbons) and Pegah Kamrani (East Chapel Hill) have both run under 10:50 in the 3200. Asher Smith-Rose (Broughton) is the only North Carolina male to attempt the longest race of the high school track season this year.

Heptathlon

Aminah Ghaffar (Fayetteville Academy) has a best score of 4464, which would have placed 6th in last year's meet, and her hurdling has improved significantly this spring. If she can produce decent marks in her least-practiced events, the discus and the javelin, she has a good shot to finish on the podium.

Emerging Elite Events

100 Dash

Maurice Eaddy (Jordan-Matthews), #5 in the state this spring, will look to break through the 10.60 mark in this race, while a healthy Aaron Tindall (Olympic) could be interesting to watch. Shakinah Brooks (Southeast Raleigh) came a mere fraction of an inch from breaking 12 seconds in the 100 at the state meet (into a headwind, no less), and surely she wants another crack at that goal on the same track. Sydney Murphy (Apex), Atlanta Woodall (Riverside), and Jamie Durham (Ashley) have all been 12.10 or faster.

400m Dash

Phillip Bryant (Northwest Guilford) leads four North Carolina boys who have run under 49, although Bryant is definitely the closest to breaking 48. Jaleesa Smoot (Salisbury) is the lone female from our state in this race, but if she can run under her PR of 56.13 she will represent us just fine.

1 Mile Run

The three North Carolina entries in this event raced each other two weeks ago in Kernersville, but it didn't turn out the way they wanted, so this is a "do-over" for them. All three of them - David Hager (Woodlawn), Nikolaus Kreiling (Jordan), and Ryan Speer (North Raleigh Christian) - have run under 4:20 this spring.

100/110 Hurdles

Jasmine Moore (Wakefield) and a very busy Ghaffar have the best chances to make some noise in this event, as both have run fast enough times to make the finals; Moore, in particular, could be a threat to win the race.

4x100 Relay

There is a very interesting wrinkle here: Wakefield has entered a B team in this event, but two of the four girls they have listed ran on the squad that crossed the line first at the 4A state meet (though they were disqualified in that race) and ran a low-47 time. Last year, only one school in this race broke 49, and that could put Wakefield in position to contend for first in both the Emerging Elite and the Championship 4x100.

4x200 Relay

The Apex boys have run faster than 1:28 this spring, a time that would have won here last summer. Both Cary's and Broughton's girls should be among the top teams in this race, with the Imps being particularly dangerous with Layla White on the anchor. Once again, Wakefield has a B team entered.

4x800 Relay

Southeast Raleigh's girls may have gotten overlooked in this event, as they were the third-best team from Wake County this spring. That doesn't change the fact that they ran 9:19, good for 7th all-time in North Carolina, and they will be contenders in this race. One of their season-long nemeses, Cary, will be right there with them, giving the Bulldogs one last chance for revenge. The Southeast Raleigh boys are also quite strong here, having run under 8 minutes, which once again would have been fast enough to win last year.

Discus Throw

North Carolina's young talent in the throws will be on display Friday, with freshmen Alycia Springs (Mallard Creek) and Khayla Dawson (Olympic) competing in the discus. Springs has thrown 135 feet and is already threatening to crack into the state's all-time top 25 in this event. Ryan Davis (Pine Forest) will be gunning for the 170-foot mark, while Marcus Abraham (Metrolina Christian) would love to get past 160 for the first time.

Pole Vault

Three of North Carolina's top female vaulters will compete on Friday: Anna Eaton (Apex), Zoe Early (Green Hope), and Taylor Drummonds (Watauga). Eaton, a sophomore, and Early, a freshman, represent the future of the vault in our state. On the boys' side, Ian West (Fike) has jumped over 15 feet a few times this year, while three other North Carolina vaulters look for their first clearance over that height.

Javelin Throw

Courtney Taybron (Wilson Track Club) has been the state's best javelin thrower the past two years, and she will look to improve on her 120' 9.5" PR.

Triple Jump

NC has two 37-foot girls in this event (Cummings' Ro'Daijah Faucette and Williams' Tamilia Wright), plus 46-footer Josh McSwain (Jordan-Matthews) in the boys competition.

High Jump

A flight of 6' 6" jumpers will compete for position (and a chance at 6' 8") in this event, as Caleb Conwell (Wakefield), Jesse Freeman (Harnett Central), and Myles Lazarou (Platinum Sports) square off.