For a first-time meet, the Hawk Invitational sure made a big splash! One of the few hosts brave enough to schedule on either end of the most common spring break week in North Carolina (not to mention the day before Easter), the West Meck staff nonetheless were able to draw an excellent field of teams, and the meet was competitive throughout. Furthermore, a total of 7 new state-leading marks were produced, even though the weather was cool with occasional rain. Imagine what this meet could be as its reputation develops!
The top performances of the day came among the very first events to be completed, the field events. That's where Kenya Livingston (Rocky River) cleared a new PR of 5' 10" NC #1 US #3 NC #4 All-Time. Not to be outdone, Khayla Dawson (Olympic) followed that up with two wins, throwing the discus 143' 5" and putting the shot 46' 6' NC #1 US #4. Youth was on display for Southeast Raleigh's girls, especially freshmen Sierra Fletcher and Kyna Robinson (above). Fletcher claimed wins in both hurdle races, clocking 14.83 NC #4 and 45.68 NC #3, while Robinson took the 400 with a NC #1 time of 56.83. Of course, the Bulldogs also have some talented upperclass girls, like Charminiqu Hackney, who won the 100 in 12.05 NC #2 and the 200 in 24.97 NC #3. Southeast Raleigh also won the 4x200 with a time of 1:40.65 NC #1. Sarah LaTour (Cuthbertson, running unattached) improved her 1600 time to 5:11.73, then also won the 3200 in 11:20.41, both times in the top 11 in the state.
On the boys' side there were a few less rankings-topping performances, but the ones we did see were outstanding. Brent Carroll (Berry Academy) set the tone with a 14.19 to run away with the 110 Hurdles, then Cravont Charleston (Mallard Creek, above) followed close behind with a 10.68 win in the 100. Both were wind-legal, and both are NC #1 this season! Malcum Tatum (Providence) earned his second NC #1 in as many weeks, adding a 39.72 in the 300 Hurdles this weekend to his state-leading 400 from last weekend (and if it weren't for a hard stutter-step on his seventh hurdle, he might have run 38). The Mallard Creek boys won both the 4x100 and 4x200, but the cool weather prevented them from improving on their existing NC #1 in the former.
More Hawk Invitational Coverage
For a first-time meet, the Hawk Invitational sure made a big splash! One of the few hosts brave enough to schedule on either end of the most common spring break week in North Carolina (not to mention the day before Easter), the West Meck staff nonetheless were able to draw an excellent field of teams, and the meet was competitive throughout. Furthermore, a total of 7 new state-leading marks were produced, even though the weather was cool with occasional rain. Imagine what this meet could be as its reputation develops!
