The NCISAA Division I State Championship will be live on MileSplit. Stream the action this Friday and Saturday here.
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Falon Spearman (Providence Day) has been on a tear over the hurdles throughout her freshman year. She's the state leader in the girls 300m hurdles at 43.02 and sits at NC No. 3 in the 100m Hurdles with a season-best of 14.22.
Spearman's 100m Hurdle PR of 14.22 from Bojangles Classic
This Friday and Saturday she'll compete at her first NCISAA Division I State Championship, where she'll look to sweep the hurdles and lead her team to a team title.
She'll follow in former Providence Day stars footsteps in All-American Anna Cockrell, who won 13 individual and 3 relay NCISAA State Championships from 2013-2016. As a freshman Cockrell won the 100m Dash, 100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdles.
Comparing Spearman's freshman year marks to Cockrell's she's not too far off where Cockrell started off her dominant high school career. Her 43.02 is just .10 seconds faster than Cockrell's 43.12 from her freshman year. Cockrell did run 13.93 and 12.06 100m Dash season best which is faster than Spearman.
100m Hurdle Progression
| ATHLETE | FRESHMAN | Sophomore | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Cockrell | 13.93 | 13.46 | 13.21 | 13.17 |
300m Hurdle Progression
| ATHLETE | FRESHMAN | Sophomore | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Cockrell | 43.12 | 42.68 | 41.31 | 40.42 |
Living up to what Cockrell did on the high school scene is likely to never be repeated, but it gives Spearman and her coaches some high goals to strive for. Spearman is likely to join Cockrell in a four-year sweep of the NCISAA Division I hurdle races. Also in that club is Charlotte Latin's Jasmine Isley who won 8 NCISAA DI hurdle state titles from 2005-2008.
Spearman came into high school with major track credentials from her youth career with Charlotte Heat Track Club. Just a year ago she was the USATF 100m Hurdle Champion running 13.97 (30 inch hurdles versus 33 inch in HS) as well as the AAU Club National Champion in the 100m Hurdles and 200m Hurdles running 14.05 and 27.79.
Outside of Spearman the hurdles have been special for Providence Day over the last six years. Dating back to Cockrell's freshman 100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdle wins they've won 6 of 6 state titles in the 300m Hurdles and 5 of 6 in the 100m Hurdles. Emerson Porter won the 100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdles in 2017 for the Chargers while Eliza Cardwell kept the tradition going in 2018 as a freshman.
NCISAA DI Girls State Leaderboard | NCISAA DI Boys State Leaderboard
This year they'll look to assert their dominance in a 1-2-3 sweep in both hurdle events. They have the top 3 hurdlers in the NCISAA in both events. Falon Spearman, Eliza Cardwell and Santana Spearman in the 100m Hurdles then F. Spearman, Cardwell and Camryn Taylor in the 300m Hurdles. They'll also have scoring potential in both events from Ijeoma Eziri. Taylor is a junior, Cardwell a sophomore while both Spearman's and Eziri are only freshmen.
It's hard to think things could be better in the hurdles from the Anna Cockrell era for Providence Day. But the star power that is to come from Falon Spearman, and the tremendous depth they have in the event are going to be a problem for the NCISAA over the next four seasons.
We can expect to see Spearman in the 100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdles as well as two relays this Friday and Saturday. She leads the NCISAA DI in the 400m Dash as well but would be a brutal double with the 300m Hurdles being the next event.