4A Girls Indoor Preview
Photos by Mark Keenen
West Charlotte’s girls look to be the favorites here, led by sprinting star, Nyosha Bryant. However, you can’t count out Harding’s girls who are tough year in and year out. Also, a team that looks pretty good on paper is Pinecrest. They are led by their distance team, but with Shamika McRae’s points in the high jump and triple jump – they could sneak up. Other teams to watch are: Mount Tabor, Myers Park, Cary, SE Raleigh, and Jacinda Evans (Southern Durham).
Shot Put
Ashlynn Halvorson of Butler is the best thrower in the state this year and currently ranked 18th in the US. She has had a consistent season thus far, throwing just over 42’ regularly. The 2nd seed is Jessica Sanders of Ashbrook, over 6 feet behind Halvorson. So, the big question here is, can Halvorson crack 43 feet?
Long Jump
this event. There is plenty of talent behind her, so it won’t be an easy task. The 2nd seed is Chrishawn Williams of SE Raleigh, last year sheJacinda Evans of Southern Durham has the 3rd best jump in the US this season, 19-2.75. She is the favorite but anything can happen in won both the LJ and TJ at this meet. Ashlynn Chavis of Scotland finished 3rd at Nike Outdoor Nationals last year with a jump over 19 feet. You also have Alexis Hall of Page and West Charlotte’s star, Nyosha Bryant. This will be a fun event.
Triple Jump
Evans again leads this group with the #1 mark. She is the only athlete over 37 feet in this competition, as she is entered with a 38’ performance. Shamika McRae of Pinecrest will look to give her team some much needed points, as she is seeded 2nd. Again, Chrishawn Williams won this event last year, so don’t count her out even though she is seeded 6th.
High Jump
Shamika will also look to score big points for Pinecrest in the high jump where she is tied for the top mark. This competition looks to be crazy, with 7 girls entered with heights of 5-2. Patience Coleman has graduated so who will step up and claim the title? It’s wide open!
Pole Vault
Taylor Cook of Watauga has cleared 10-8 this season but following her very closely is Tori Rivers of Clayton at 10-6. Two others, Karen Kazaglis and Meredith Wilson, have cleared 10 feet, so this event should be tight. Will we see eleven feet? Hopefully with tight competition it will push the 7 athletes in the pole vault.
55m Hurdles
Harding’s Ashley Bethune is the obvious favorite here. Ashley is the 11th ranked hurdler in the US this indoor season and has a PR of 8.07. Battling it out for 2nd in the race should be JaQuanda Wright of Knightdale and Dannielle Davis of SE Raleigh.
55m Dash
Nyosha Bryant leads a talented group of girls in the 55m dash. Nyosha has been running very well with big wins on this track already and at the Virginia Tech Invitational. She clocked a 7.00 here in early January and will look to break 7 seconds. She is currently in a tie for 4th in the US! However, chasing after her and looking for the upset will be Ashley Bethune who just won the Eastern HS Challenge running a very impressive 7.10, good for 14th in the US. Two other girls in this race are among the top 50 in the US, Dominique Weathers of Vance is 47th and Shequyra Guy of West Charlotte is 48th. These girls will light up the track!
4x800m Relay
West Johnston is the favorite by time, but they haven’t cracked 10:00 indoors yet. Cary and Myers Park ran very well at the Eastern High School Challenge. I see this as a 3-team event with the winner running sub-10:00. As to who wins, it’s really up in the air. Cary ran 10:03 and Myers Park & West Johnston were both 10:05 at the last Chapel Hill indoor meet. Could come down to the anchors and Maraya Slatter of West Johnston is one of the top 800m runners in the state. Can’t wait for this one!
1600m Run
Kimberly Spano has raced indoors once this year, up at the New York Armory, and ran a 5:13 mile. No one else in NC has been under 5:20 this season, but Andie Cozzarelli has a 5:04 personal record. Look for Spano to take the pace out fast and others to try and hang on. Margaret Leak of Mount Tabor, a 9th grader, will be in the mix as she ran aggressively at the Eastern High School Challenge. This should come down to Spano and Cozzarelli.
500m Dash
Nyosha Bryant proved at the Durham Striders NC Opener that she has the strength to race the 500m well. She cracked 1:20 and that was over a month ago. Look for Bryant to win relatively easily. The 2nd seed is her West Charlotte teammate Kiara Gilliam who could make it a huge point total for their team. The battle for 2-10 should be great as all these girls are within less than 2 seconds on each other.
1000m Run
Cozzarelli won this event at the Eastern HS Challenge but she hadn’t run the 1600 prior to the event. This could make things a bit tougher as she may have a bit of fatigue setting into her legs. Maraya Slatter of West Johnston has run an impressive 3:04 and could take the win here. Anna Gillespie of Northwest Guilford and the Amanda’s (Lapp and Jones) have the talent to take this title as well.
300m Dash
Bryant could be going for her 3rd “sprint” win of the day here should she pull off victories in the 55m and 500m. She has the 12th fastest time in the US in the 300m, so it won’t be easy to defeat her. Dominique Weathers of Vance gave Bryant a run for her money (until the last turn) at the first indoor meet at Chapel Hill, so she should have the confidence to beat her.
3200m Run
Cozzarelli has the top time, but can she run everything she is signed up for? I’m going to give the nod to Spano whether or not Andie runs. Spano ran 10:48 at the Charger Tune-up before Foot Locker, a time not seen in North Carolina in some time. The Pinecrest girs, Lauren Bishop and Lexie Schustrom are running very well, but will also have a full meet under their belts. Tired legs could play a factor in this 3200m.
4x400m Relay
West Charlotte has the fastest time, 4:11, to Mount Tabor’s 4:12. Could West Charlotte already have won the meet? Mount Tabor and Cary, the 2nd and 4th seeds, also have shots of taking home the team title, so this race could be crucial. There will be a lot of tired girls out there running with everything they have left. Look for the winner to crack 4:10, as there are 8 teams with time ranging from 4:11-4:14. FUN!