NCHSAA 2A State Meet Preview

Jeff George

Girls NCHSAA 2A Preview

Athletes to Watch

Tajah Walston was good last year.  She ran 11.92 in the 3A state meet, running for West Craven, but she was unable to finish the 200.  In the summer she moved to Burlington, and now she will represent Cummings at the 2A state meet her senior year.  The biggest difference?  She has gotten much better at the longer sprints, as evidenced by her indoor 300 title.  Walston will be the favorite in the 100 and 200 on Saturday, although Payton Russell (North Rowan) could push her in the 100, and Peighton Simmons (T.W. Andrews) may do the same in the 200. Russell is also the top seed in the 400, which is her best race - she clocked 55.70 last year and has a season best of 57.23 this spring.  Simi Gbadegesin (Durham School of the Arts) looks like the only athlete that can challenge her at that distance, as she is the only other athlete in the classification under 1 minute this season.

Brittany Stanley (Mount Pleasant) is hitting her stride at the right time, posting PR's in both the 800 (2:15.45) and the 1600 (5:04.02) in her regional races.  She won the 1600 and 3200 at the indoor state meet, but opted for the shorter pair of races this time around, and she will be extremely hard to beat in both of them.  Mariah Howlett (Lake Norman Charter) is the closest in both races at 2:20 and 5:08, while Kaitlyn Stone (West Stokes) and Amanda Hickey (Carrboro) are both over 10 seconds back in the 1600.  Stone and Howlett could also find themselves dueling in the 3200, where the latter will be the top seed.

The biggest question in the 100 Hurdles is, "Can Cummings get the 1-2-3 sweep?"  The Cavaliers are seeded 1-2-4 coming out of regionals, with Kayla Moore in the driver's seat for the win and Kenyae Majors comfortably in second.  The race for third is likely between Joya Blackwell (Hertford), Kelsia Moore (Cummings), and Hevan Sparks (Lexington).  The 300 Hurdles, however, could be a totally different situation.  Speaking of sweeps, Majors and the Moores hold the top 3 seeds in the long jump, although Tamiya Thomas (South Granville) and Ana Vann (Roanoke Rapids) both have 18-foot jumps on their profiles.

Of course, Cummings is also known for producing star triple jumpers, but they don't have the top seed there - that belongs to Simmons, who has a season best of 39' 5.5".  Majors, Kelsia Moore, and Lashonda Tate will try to bring in max points for the Cavaliers.  In the Discus Throw, Maya Stanley (Northside) is the favorite by all measures, but she doesn't have much breathing room ahead of Amy Yarborough (Hendersonville) and Chevalier Blaire (North Rowan).  Another T.W. Andrews standout, Mikel Franklin, is the favorite in the high jump with her mark of 5' 6"; Brianna White (North Rowan) is the only other girl that has cleared 5' 4" this season, but she struggled at her regional.  Similarly, Lacey Triplett (Wilkes Central) is the only vaulter in the field to have cleared 9' 6", although Leanna Seagraves (Draughn) should push her for the win.


Events to Watch

Kayla Moore has a legitimate shot at the double win in the hurdles (and could add a 3rd win in the long jump), but she will have to run better in the 300 Hurdles than the 48.01 she produced at her regional.  Her season best of 45.30 would probably do the trick, but Deja Davis (Durham School of the Arts) is definitely a threat at 46.11 from last weekend.  If Moore runs in the 48's again, she will find herself right in the middle of a group of 4 other girls who ran in that range last weekend, including Keyana Yeoman (North Brunswick) and Mya Jones (Newton-Conover).

The 4x400 could be exciting, although it probably won't play much of a part in determining the team champion.  The second place trophy, though?  That could very well be on the line when this race begins.  North Rowan is the favorite by virtue of being the only school under 4:10, but they have Carrboro and Lake Norman Charter just 3 seconds behind them.  If North Rowan is able to pull away, the battle for second could be very tight between those two schools, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Durham School of the Arts or Monroe also in contention for the podium.

If you only looked at regional results, you would think the Shot Put is shaping up to be quite a competition (and you would be right).  However, using season bests there is a clear favorite: LesLeigh Tabor (Franklin) has thrown 40' 9", which gives her a 2-foot advantage over the field.  Since she threw 37 at her regional, she won't be the top seed; Naadiya Faison (Monroe) will throw last when the final flight begins.  Her teammate Veranda Webb is also capable of earning a medal, as is Yarborough - those last three have all been over 38 feet.  Don't count out Kelsey Poole (West Stanley), who threw a PR of 37' 5" last weekend.


Teams to Watch

If Cummings is beaten in the sprint relays, it will be because something went wrong; last weekend the Cavaliers ran over 1.3 seconds faster than the nearest competitor in the 4x100 and 3.5 seconds better in the 4x200.  They're actually even more dominant in the 4x1 when you look at season bests, but in the 4x2 we could see T.W. Andrews making it a good race.  Lake Norman Charter has run 9:50 for the 4x800 this spring, and they proved at their regional that they could defeat their closest competitors by beating Polk County and Smoky Mountain.

In terms of overall team scoring, Cummings is right on track to earn another team championship, and nobody really even comes close - the Cavaliers should be well over 100 points, and the battle for second place will likely be in the 40's.  North Rowan, Monroe, T.W. Andrews, and Lake Norman Charter all have a legitimate chance to take that silver trophy, so that gives us a great reason to follow the scores throughout the day!


More NCHSAA 2A State Meet Coverage