The smallest schools in North Carolina somehow always manage to produce some big talent. When the NCISAA 1A/2A classification gathered in Raleigh this past weekend for their state championship, the competition level was much greater than you would ever expect from a group of schools that would almost all be in the bottom half of the 1A public schools based on enrollment. Check out the two recaps below to see the highlights from the two days of competition!
More NCISAA 1A/2A State Meet Coverage
- Complete Results
- MileSplit Elite Performances
- Full Season Rankings: Girls - Boys
Girls Recap
Melissa Zammitti (Davidson Day) was unbeatable this weekend. She returned to the NCISAA this year after two years at Lake Norman High, and she won all three distance races to close out a remarkable junior year. Zammitti won the 3200 on Friday night in 11:01.50 after a duel with Jennifer Stephenson (Village Christian). Zammitti was dominant on Saturday, taking the 1600 in 5:13.47 (winning by 8 seconds), then wrapped up with a 2:22.74 in the 800 (winning by 3 seconds).
In the sprints, Grace Wellman (Victory Christian) took home a pair of golds in the 100 (12.88) and the 200 (26.67). Eighth-grader Jurnee Coleman (Victory Christian) won the 100 Hurdles in 16.34, signaling a bright career ahead.
Gracie Miller (Burlington Christian) won her third consecutive long jump championship with a mark of 16' 3.5". She fell just short of a double win, losing the triple jump to Zhateya Jones (Northside Christian) by 1.25 inches despite posting a season best 34' 1". Halei Gillis led a 1-2-3 sweep in the discus throw by Carolina Day, dominating the field by throwing 120' 9" and winning by 10 feet. Gillis finished 2nd in the shot put to teammate Mikayla Ray.
Westchester Country Day had bookend relay wins, claiming the 4x800 in 10:22.89 and then ending the meet with a 4:20.17 4x400 win. Victory Christian, however, was able to claim the team win with 85.5 points, holding off Carolina Day by 3 points.
Boys Recap
As was the case for the girls, you could say that the top performance of the boys' meet came in the 3200. That's where Quinn Schneider (Woodlawn) clocked 9:31.53, the top time in the classification this season. That happened on Friday; on Saturday he battled Christian Pigues (Trinity Academy) in the 1600. Pigues took the win in 4:33.62, then went on to get the double in the 800 by running 1:57.93 in the 800.
The two other double winners on the day both came from the same school. One was Joshua Brockman (Victory Christian), and if you haven't figured this out yet you can read it right now: this young man is going to be a star. As a freshman, he won the 110 Hurdles in 15.09 (#1 in the state for the class of 2019) and the 300 Hurdles in 41.26 (#2 in the state). I can't wait to see how this young talent develops over the next three years! His senior teammate Blake Motley (Victory Christian) also took home two golds, winning the 100 Dash in 11.02 and the 200 Dash in 22.76.
The balance of this classification was on display through the rest of the meet: no school won more than one relay, and no athlete claimed first place in more than one field event. Largely as a result of the two performances above, Victory Christian scored a narrow team win over Westchester Country Day, 101-99.