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Independent schools took a big step forward this indoor season with the completion of their first ever Indoor Postseason meet. Though the NCISAA doesn't sanction an official indoor track season, many schools fielded a indoor program for the first time gearing towards the end of season JDL Independent Invitational.
The meet was open to any school from any NCISAA classification resulting in Providence Day sweeping the team titles on the boys and girls side with 156 and 174 points respectively. Schools participated from all over the state from Asheville all the way to Wilmington to compete at the inaugural event.
This event could be a large stepping stone for NCISAA running as a whole as it would give athletes an additional track season to compete in, and would give schools a running sport in all three seasons of high school athletics.
Highlighting the meets performances was a strong triple effort by Sophie Spada (Charlotte Country Day) who ran a leg on CCDS' NC#2 4x800m relay clocking 9:28.40, then won the 1600m and 1000m in 5:18.61 and 3:05.27 over a short time frame.
Teammate Clarkson Graham would double back from their 4x800m relay to win a tight 500m battle in the 500m over Camryn Taylor (Providence Day) in 1:19.26 to 1:19.73.
Sophomore Falon Spearman (Providence Day) would take individual wins individually in the 55m Hurdles and 300m Dash running 8.29 and 41.06. Spearman would also run a leg on Providence Day's 4x400m that ran an impressive 4:05.24.
Kaia Putman (Charlotte Country Day) would run a new seasons best for a win in the 55m Dash clocking 7.21 beating her pervious season best by .04 seconds.
Freshman Ryann Aycock (Cary Christian School) doubled back from a second place finish in the 1600m to win a battle with 8th grader Allison Hall (Cary Academy) in the 3200m clocking 11:38.
Eliza Cardwell (Providence Day) would land a PR en route to a Long Jump win with a mark of 17-10.5.
On the boys side Jack Stajos (Charlotte Country Day) took a win over a strong Shot Put field yielding a mark of 53-3, just off his seasons best.
Kenny Eheman (Cary Academy) and Zach Moore (FCDS) battled in the 1000m as both would run new seasons best of 2:37.45 to 2:38.01 as Eheman would squeak out a win.
Stephen Loy (High Point Central) would set a big PR in the Pole Vault taking the individual win in 14-4, good for a current NC#5 mark.
Olufemi Cole (Providence Day) clocked a 6.57 in the 55m Dash as Julian Williams (Charlotte Country Day) would take home in individual title in the 300m Dash in 35.87.
The end of season event should continue to pick up steam each year as more and more independent schools get into competing during the indoor season. It'll be a great thing for the sport in our state as more athletes competing will continue to increase the level of competition in our area.