Taking a look at the 1A/2A/3A State Championships, there were surprises, obvious wins, and great performances. Let's take a look at the events and get an idea of how they played out.
Prior to the meet starting, the talk on the guys side was that some of the distance runners were going to "go the distance". Meaning, there were going to be some athletes running the 4x800, 1600, 1000, and 3200. There was a bit of hide and seek going on in the boy's 4x800, with both Asheville and Mooresville not letting on to who would be actually be running.
In the poll posted earlier this week, last year's state champs, the girls from Cummings did not receive many votes. However, just as they did last year, they pulled out the victory with stellar performances in a few events. Led by the meet MVP, Sherice Walker, they were able to rack up major points in the long jump, triple jump, and 55m hurdles.
Videos | Results | Photos (coming soon)
Sherice Walker, meet MVP, soared to three individual wins at the state meet.
Photo by Mark Keenen
Ladies Recap
Wilkes Centrals's Deirdra Morrison was the favorite headed into the girl's shot put and left the Eddie Smith Fieldhouse the state champ. Deirdra, the #2 ranked shot putter in the state, won the event by just over three feet, with a throw of 39-05.50. Second place was SE Guilford's Nakiesha Liggs with a throw of 36-03.50.
The girl's long jump competition proved to be huge for both Parkland and the eventual state champs, Cummings HS. Parkland's Jessica Morgan, Nadia Morgan, & Chelsie Carlton placed 3rd, 4th, & 6th overall, while Sherice Walker and Brittany Wilkins went 1st and 2nd. So Parkland came out of this evet with 14 points, while Cummings scored 18. Walker won the event with a jump of 17-07.50 - the top 4 girls were all over seventeen feet, so it was a close competition.
The girl's triple jump was another Sherice Walker event. This looked to be a great battle between some of the nation's top jumpers, and it didn't let us down. Sherice came in ranked 21st in the US, but Radiance Basden of Western Guilford came in ranked 5th in the country. In the end, these two girls were separated by 8 inches with Walker taking the title. Her jump of 37-10 was only an inch and a half off her best of the season. Cumming's also received points in this event from Brittany and Kortney Williams, who finished 4th and 7th respectively. These three girls totaled up 17 points for Cummings. So, in the two horizontal jumps, Cummings HS scored 35 points - that in itself would have been good enough for 6th in the team standings.
The girl's high jump was one to watch as it was very tight at the top. Eight girls were entered with jumps better than five feet. The winning jump ended up being 5-04, by Jordan Lee of Cedar Ridge. While I mention Jordan's name, I guess it's okay to also tell you she won the girl's pole vault with a height of 9-06. Jordan edged her competition in the high jump, as five other girls all attempted 5-04, but they were unable to clear. Second place, on misses, in the high jump was Leigh Taylor of Southern Guilford.
Jordan's 9-06 clearance in the pole vault was good for the win, but barely. She won on misses, as four other girls cleared 9-06, but missed at ten feet. Only Brooke Yeakley of Parkwood had cleared 9-06 coming in, so it was a great day for the lady pole vaulters as many recorded their best of the season.
The first running event was the girl's 55m hurdle prelims. Walker was the favorite with her 8.34 mark, and she was followed by Naadia Crutchfield of Ragsdale who has run 8.57. Coming out of the prelims, they went 1,2 and were the only two to crack nine seconds. Sherice Walker looked to be getting back to her old form, the form that ranked her as one of the top hurdlers in the US in 2007, as she ran 8.23 in the prelims. In the finals, there was a huge surprise, it was Lacreasha Jones of Cummings, who placed 2nd overall. Lacreasha's best coming in was 9.12, then she hit 9.02 in the prelims, and then 8.52 in the finals! There must be something in the water at Cumming's HS. Walker won the event, tieing her personal best of 8.16. She is now ranked 10th in the nation! It was a great race overall for the North Carolina athletes, as only two entered with marks under 9.00, but seven cracked 9.00 in the finals. Well done!
The 55m dash prelims proved it was going to be a great final, and that there is some talented sprinters in the smaller classifications. The favorite coming into the event was Kelsey McCorkle of South Central with a time of 7.18. After the prelims were concluded, she had the 3rd fastest time headed into the finals. Forestview's Stormy Kendrick, in her first indoor race of the season & 2nd race of the year, ran a blistering 7.06. Following closely behind her was Northwest Cabarrus' Sushannie Blake who ran 7.09. Their prelim times moved them to about 12th and 15th nationally. In the finals, Stormy Kendrick, sped to an even quicker time, taking the state title in 7.02 - the 7th fastest time in the US! Following her was Blake and McCorkle in 7.13 & 7.21. Also, Jania Bogle of Princeton and Christine Council of Parkland looked good in the event, cracking 7.30 with times of 7.25 and 7.29 respectively.
The girl's 4x800 was exciting, as Jacksonville got off to a great start and a big lead, but saw it closed on the final two legs by Sun Valley. Jacksonville ended up winning the competition in a new state meet record of 9:52.25. Not only did this break the 1A/2A/3A classification record, but it broke the All-Classification's state meet record which was held by Mount Tabor (however broke later in the day by Cary in the 4A meet). Ryanna Henderson of J'Ville opened the race up on the 2nd leg, splitting a very quick 2:21. However, Sun Valley's Dannielle Hobbs closed the gap on the final leg, chasing down Brandy Swann. As they came off the last turn, Swann just had a bit more than Hobbs and was able to hang on for a one second victory, 9:52.25 to 9:53.26. Note: Sun Valley also broke both previous records. White Oak took 3rd overall, with a fine time of 10:02.06.
After helping Jacksonville win the 4x800, Henderson had to come back off very little rest and race the 1600m. TC Roberson held their top girls out of the 4x800 in the hopes of placing very highly in this event. TCR's ladies came in as the 2,3,&4 seeds. Henderson's plan was to try and make them do as much work as possible and it paid off, barely. Someone else in the race, Olympic's Kenyatta Iyevbele, seemed to have the same idea. Kenyatta's seed time was only 5:37, but that didn't frighten her off from the lead pack. Five ladies broke away, Iyevbele, Henderson, Caroline Kirby, Kylie Smith, and Laura Hoer, and it was obvious one of them was going to win. Kenyatta hung at the back of the pack the entire time while Henderson pretty much sat in 2nd. There were numerous lead changes, but in the end it came down of a final kick by Ryanna Henderson and Kenyatta Iyevbele. Both clocked in with times of 5:18, but Henderson edged the Olympic unknown runner by less than two tenths. The first comment I heard was, "Who is that and where did she come from?" This remark was referring to Kenyatta, I guess they won't ask that anymore.
The girl's 500m dash was next, and Jacksonville gained another 10 points, from the top seed, Brandy Swann. Brandy is ranked 11th nationally, so this was definitely her event. She won with a time of 1:19.08, followed closely by Kaneisha Williams of Dudley in 1:19.82. Brandy will hopefully run this even at Nike Indoor Nationals in March, where she will be fresh, without a 4x800 leg prior! She is currently the 5th fastest in NC history over 500 meters.
The girl's 1000m was a great race, and a very competitive one. It was obvious that the old state record of 3:06 and change was going to go down, as the talent in the race was capable of much faster. With a bit of strategy taking place during the race, the race slowed a bit, but the top two girls still cracked the old record. Laura Hoer of TC Roberson won with a new state meet record of 3:05.49, followed closely behind by Lea Anna Godwin of Triton in 3:05.88. The top 6 girls were within three and a half seconds of one another which made for a great race.
Radiance Basden of Western Guilford proved she was the top 300m runner by winning by almost a full second in 40.65. This was a new personal record for Radiance, as her previous best was 41.56. Coming in 2nd, out of the 2nd heat of 4, was Parkland's Mytoia Gathings in 41.33. Mytoia had stiff competition from her own teammate Christine Council in the heat, which led to the two to them finishing 2nd and 4th.
The girl's 3200m run saw a very similar race to the 3A XC state championships. Lindsay Ester of Burlington Williams' sat and sat, waiting for the right time to sprint for the victory. Ester won in a time of 11:31.21, with Caroline Kirby of TC Roberson finishing 2nd in 11:33.71. For most of the race it was a three girl race, as Sarah Rapp of Cardinal Gibbons led much of the way. Sarah ended up 3rd in 11:43.84, with Kristen Stout of Hendersonville running 11:49 for 4th, and Kaitlyn Davis of Jacksonville finishing 5th in 11:55.83.
Western Guilford dominated the 4x400m relay, looking very strong and fast while doing so. They ran 4:05.98, breaking the previous 1A/2A/3A state record by almost 3 seconds. Jacksonville, White Oak, and Cedar Ridge also looked good, running 4:08, 4:08, & 4:10. Look for all 4 of these teams to challenge the 4:00 barrier this outdoor season.
For Western Guilford, the 4x400 topped off a solid day, finishing 2nd in the team standings. Cummings, who did most of their damage in 3 events, left with their 2nd straight 1A/2A/3A state title.
Boys Recap
The Mooreville boys team came ready to take on the world at the 1A/2A/3A state meet. Their team performed at the highest level and thus won the team title by 22 points. Patrick Campbell, one of the nation's leading distance runners, cruised to victories in the 1600 & 3200, while anchoring his team's 4x800 team to a win as well. Not chosen as the meet MVP, but many thought he deserved it, Patrick scored 22.5 points for his team and did so in dominant fashion.
Southern Guilford's William Graves, who pulled off two big wins in the 300m and 500m, was named meet MVP. Graves wasn't the top seed in either race, but ran impressively in both. He also helped his team to a 7th place finish in the 4x400, giving him 20.5 points on the day.
Mo-Town's Jake Deaton unleashed a huge throw in the shot put to give them ten points. Jake threw 55-05.25, two feet further than his seeding mark coming in. The competition was great in the boy's shot put as Kenneth Rowland of Northside and Kencie Brewer of Southern Guilford also had big marks. Kenneth threw 53-08.75 and Kencie put it out to 52-02.75. It's great to see the big boys stepping up when the competition calls for it. These three are the top boy's shot putters in the state. Jake is now ranked 32nd in the US.
The boy's long jump was close as the top 4 athletes were within one foot of each other. East Lincoln's Cody Earnhardt won the event with a jump of 22-06.50, three inches further than Bunker Hill's Centrail Williamson. Jamel Allison of Mooreville earned much needed points for them as Mo-Town looked for the team title, taking 3rd overall.
Allison then took the individual title in the triple jump, getting 10 more points for Mooresville. His mark of 46-07.75 just edged that of East Lincoln's Josh McCray, who hit 46-05.00. They are now ranked 21st and 24th in the US respectively.
In the high jump, future UNCW Seahawk, Dusty Kenealy of Rockingham County won the competition with a height of 6-06. Dusty is currently tied for 19th in the US. Rocky Mount's Charles Penny finished 2nd with a jump of 6-04, a season best for him as he was seeded at 6-02. Allison took 4th in this event, giving him 21 points in the jumps for Mooresville - HUGE!
The final field event was the pole vault. It was very exciting as Mount Pleasant's Landon Patterson who came in with a mark of 13-00, cleared 15-00! He attempted a new state record of 15-03, but fell just short. Landon is the 2nd ranked vaulter in the state this season behind one of the nation's best, Scott Houston. In 2nd place was Logan Shearer of Southern Lee, who cleared 14-00. Also clearing 14-00 was East Rowan's Wayne Parker. These two are ranked among the top 6 in the state of NC.
The boys 55m hurdles looked to be a showdown between John Bostick of North Rowan and Michael Simmerson of Owen HS. In the prelims they ran 7.51 and 7.60, and both looked solid. In the finals, it looked to be a very close race until Simmerson was unable to clear one of the hurdles and hit the track, hard. Bostick went on to win the race with Rocky Mount's Jacobi Jenkins finishing 2nd. Simmerson got up and finished hard, like the true competitor he is. I have a lot of respect for that kind of determination.
The prelims to the boy's 55m dash was cancelled because when they began to line up for the two heats, they realized they only had 8 competitors. With eight qualifying and moving on to the finals, it seemed silly to run the prelims. So, they ran the finals later in the day, based on their seed times. It turned out to be a great race as the 8 athletes were separated by 3 tenths of a second. Darryl Williams of White Oak was the winner in a solid time of 6.41. He beat out the favorite coming in, Asheville's Giovanni McKnight who ran 6.45.
The boy's 4x800 was not as close as the two seconds says it was. Nathan Craig of Mooresville raced Asheville's John Harwell to the line on the opening leg, around 2:03, and with that it seemed to be a done deal for Mooresville. They opend up a gap on the next two legs and then handed off to Patrick Campbell on the final leg. Patrick did what he needed to do to hold the lead and cap off the victory for Mooresville, securing them 10 more points.
In the boy's 1600, Campbell owned the field. With Asheville's Harwell and Presson attempting to run the 4x800, 1600, 1000, & 3200, they looked to be doing what they could to simply score points for the team and not exert too much energy. Campbell came through the first 400 in 65 and the field was through in 70. It was a done deal for Patrick and Mooresville at this point. The lead grew over the next two laps and then he shut it down. The finish, again, looked a great deal closer than it was. Nick Kelly of Williams and the Asheville duo had an amazing sprint to the finish coming off the final turn. The three athletes ran 4:36.03, 4:36.05, & 4:36.08 - all three separated by 5 hundredths of a second. Kelly was able to capture 2nd, with Harwell and Presson finishing 3rd and 4th.
In the 500m, Jarrell Elliott of Parkland was favored, but ended up taking 2nd in a great race. The final 50m of the race was a neck and neck battle between Elliott and eventual state champ, William Graves of Southern Guilford. At the line it was really difficult to tell who won. Everyone's eyes turned to the scoreboard where the LINK software was spitting out official results. The board read, Graves 1:06.97, Elliott 1:06.98. It was a remarkable race between these two athletes. Finishing 3rd was John Schilkowsky of Patton, he ran 1:07.36 in the 3rd section of 4.
The boy's 1000m was a great race. John Harwell of Asheville took the lead early, Alex Cremer of West Henderson moved up through the field after the first 200m and looked to be primed to move late in the race. However, it was the sophomore from Polk County, John Wolfe, who stole the show. John moved with about 300m to go and no one matched his move. The last 200m it was all Wolfe, winning in 2:36.76. This 1A athlete proved he was a force to be reckoned with! John's time qualified him to run at Nike Indoor Nationals in Landover, MD - should he choose to do so in March.
William Graves of Southern Guilford won his 2nd race of the day when he came across the 300m finish line in 36.55. He was able to hold off a late charging Anthony Council of Goldsboro. Anthony is a big boy and when he gets rolling it's a wonderful site to see. Chris Felmet of Eastern Alamance, out of the 3rd heat of 5, tied Council with a 36.70, but down to the decimals, he was given third. None the less, a very impressive performance coming out of one of the slower heats.
The 3200m was another Patrick Campbell show. He made 9:36 look effortless as he rolled to his 2nd individual victory of the day. Josey Weaver of Madison tried to challenge Patrick but was unable to do so. Josey, also a pole vaulter, attempting 13-06 and then immediately ran across the track to the starting line where the 3200m was about to go off. Josey ended up taking 3rd in 9:51, while a relative unknown, Ben Sterrett of Swansboro finished 2nd in 9:50. Ben unleashed a heck of a kick in the last 150m to blow by a few others and claim 2nd.
Carver captured the 4x400m relay title with a solid time of 3:29.37. It was a great race between them and Parkland, but Carver was able to pull away as Parkland stumbled a bit.
When the results were tallied, Mooresville had scored 68 points to Asheville's 46. In third was Parkland with 35.50 and Carver took 4th with 34 points. Mooresville won five events: triple jump, shot put, 1600, 3200, 4x800 and got a combined 43.5 points from Jamel Allison and Patrick Campbell!