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Winston-Salem, NC - Providence Day continued its dominance and Coastal Christian picked up where it left off last outdoor season, as both swept their respective divisions at the NCRunners Independent Schools Indoor Track and Field Championship Tuesday at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.
It was the first year of split divisions for the meet, which began in 2020 after Cary Academy's Conrad Hall worked diligently and quietly to make the meet happen so private school student-athletes could have the opportunity to compete in an indoor track and field championship meet.
Hall's boys' team won the runner-up trophy, another successful year for the longtime Cary Academy head cross country and track coach, who has guided teams to seven state team titles in cross country and track, and 74 individual state titles in track and cross country.
"About 10 years ago, a small group of NCISAA coaches, Brett Honeycutt (Metrolina Christian), Ben Hovis (Providence Day), Carol Lawrence (Providence Day), Russ Campbell (Cannon School), and myself, began to develop a vision for what NCISAA indoor track and field could be and what was possible," Hall said. "Going into 2019-20, I was confident we could do it, and I decided it was time to make it happen. Craig Longhurst and JDL Fast Track, along with NCRunners, have been immensely supportive and worked with us to make the meet a reality."
"This was our fifth annual event, and each year our championship meet has gotten better, and each year the sport of indoor track has grown in the NCISAA. This season over 800 NCISAA athletes from 40 NCISAA schools participated in indoor track & field, and over 450 athletes competed in our meet on Tuesday. It's really gratifying to see that growth and the opportunities it has given to our athletes during the winter season. It has been a true team effort, and I'm thankful to work with so many dedicated and talented colleagues. What we have now is something immensely positive for our kids, and I'm really proud of what we've been able to create."
That has created an opportunity for private school athletes to shine indoors and compete against each other on a state level, which has had all-time North Carolina greats and Hall of Famers like Providence Day's Anna Cockrell and Ravenscroft sisters, Wesley and Ryen Frazier, along with others, who never had a chance to win indoor titles.
But now private school athletes do have the opportunity, thanks to Hall and others' work, which was seen through individual and team victories on Tuesday.
One of those team victories was Providence Day, which swept the girls' and boys' championship for the fifth straight year and is the only school to ever win the meet since its inception in 2020. The Chargers outdistanced Charlotte Country Day, 148-118, to win the girls' title and they outdistanced Cary Academy, 126-79, to win the boys' championship.
Although Providence Day dominated, they won just three boys' events (Aiden Ray, 55-meter hurdles and triple jump, and Austin Skeete, Chase Roemer, Ethan Tucker, Zach Makemson in the 4x800-meter relay), and three girls' events (Morgan Boonshaft, 3,200 meters and Nia Poole, long jump and triple jump).
Longtime Providence Day coach Ben Hovis attributed that to the selflessness of his team.
"Indoor track is such a fun and unique season," said Hovis, who is in his 25th season of coaching and was recently inducted into the North Carolina High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame. "We were able to take 41 athletes to the championship meet and 32 of them contributed a point or more. I love that so many athletes are able to compete to the best of their ability and come away feeling like they contributed to the team's success.
"This year Coach Kris Jones and I noticed that we had an enormous number of athletes willing to do whatever it took to help the team. We were rearranging relay teams and changing athlete's events up until the day of the meet. We appreciate these athletes more than they'll know. Being selfless and doing what is best for the team says a lot about their character. The teams take a lot of pride in continuing the tradition as now they've swept the Independent School's Championship for each of the five years it has existed. They realize that many different faces and names have been part of the team's overall success."
In the Division II/Division III portion, Coastal Christian won both titles in a meet where all of the schools competed together, but the scoring was separated between the two divisions (Division I and Division I/Division III). Coastal Christian, which also swept last year's Division II outdoor meet, outdistanced Forsyth Country Day in both girls' and boys' meets on Tuesday, winning the girls' meet, 100.5-76, and the boys' meet, 120-75.
Coastal Christian, which was runner-up in 2021, won five boys' events (Aiden Garrett, 500 meters, 1:08.28; Buckley Hubbard, 55-meter hurdles, 8.68; Cole Hudson, pole vault, 10-feet, 6 inches; and Jake Garrett, Corban Cazier, Miles Herrmann, and Aiden Garrett, who teamed to win the 4x400-meter relay (3:44.27), and 4x800-meter relay (8:41.60). Hannah Grace (long jump, pole vault) and Morgan Robinson (shot put) won girls' events for Coastal Christian.
"It was great to see our kids be competitive as a team at the indoor level," Coastal Christian coach Maya Baxter said. "I have many that are new to the sport, so it warmed my heart to see both teams come together for the win. Track is not a dying sport; it's a growing one. The decision to split the scoring allowed our younger kids to grow and have opportunity they would not have originally gotten. Being able to have separate meets in the future will push the incentive to build all programs across the board."
---HIGHLIGHTS---
Coastal Christian's girls were led by the best girls' pole vaulter in North Carolina history, and one of the best in national high school history, Hannah Grace, no. 2 in the nation this indoor season and tied for No. 10 all-time nationally indoors at 14-feet, 2 inches.
Grace won two events in meet records, totaling seven career indoor titles (and 11 total including four outdoors) and further cementing her legacy as one of the best girls' athletes in private school history. She won the pole vault in a meet record 13-feet, 9 inches, for her third straight title in the event, and she also won the long jump for the second straight year, this time in a meet record, 18-feet, 1 inch. Her seven career independent schools indoor titles started in 2022 with two titles, high jump and pole vault, then she won the high jump, pole vault and long jump in 2023, and high jump and pole vault on Tuesday.
Grace wasn't the only all-time ranked girl in North Carolina history who competed and won on Tuesday. Others highlighting the meet were:
Fayetteville Academy's Zoe Dorsey, Providence Day's Morgan Boonshaft and Nia Poole, Carolina Day's Caroline Barton and Metrolina Christian's Annie Miller, Cannon School's Teri Pridgeon, Charlotte Christian's Nina Dominique, Greensboro Day's Dana Wilson and Endia Smith, Charlotte Country Day's 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter relays and Metrolina Christian's 4x800-meter relay.
* Dorsey, the top-ranked 500-meter girls' runner in North Carolina this season, No. 7 nationally and No. 12 all-time in North Carolina history, easily won the event, running 1:14.37 and shattering the meet record of 1:17.56. Dorsey was the overall 500-meter winner no matter division, and she took home the Division II/III 300-meter title, running 40.27, No. 14 in North Carolina this season. The title was her fifth overall, after winning four during the outdoor season, including one in the 200 (2021), two in the 400 (2021, 2022) and one in the 800 (2022).
* Boonshaft, who won the NCISAA 4A cross country title this past fall and has been cheered by opposing coaches as she continues a successful comeback after dealing with injuries for several years, won the 3,200-meters in a meet record after blazing through 16 laps on the 200-meter, flat track, in 10:26.50 - it was the No. 5 time in the country this season, No. 5 all-time in North Carolina history and No. 2 in North Carolina this season. It was Boonshaft's third indoor title, after sweeping the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2021, and fifth track title overall, after sweeping the 1,600 and 3,200 outdoors in 2021.
* Barton, the two-time NCISAA 2A cross country champion and third-best 3,200-meter runner this season, won her second straight 1,600-meter title, running 5:04.83, and then followed that by winning the Division II/III 3,200-meter title, as Boonshaft and Barton pushed other to two of the best times in North Carolina history and two of the best in the nation this season. Barton's time of 10:29.40 was No. 3 in North Carolina this season, No. 10 in North Carolina history, and No. 7 nationally this season. It was Barton's third overall indoor track title and 10th overall after winning seven Division II outdoor track titles.
* Miller, the No. 1 indoor 800-meter runner in North Carolina this season and No. 5 in history, as well as the No. 3 1,000-meter runner in North Carolina this season, No. 8 all-time and No. 18 nationally this season, won two titles. She won her second straight 1,000-meter title, this time in a meet record, 3:01.11, and she also anchored Metrolina Christian to a win in the 4x800-meter relay, blistering her anchor in 2:14.72 to bring the team of Aubrey Matasic, Ridley Rutherford, Hadley Martin and Miller from behind to win the school's first 4x800-meter relay title in 9:47.48, No. 7 overall in North Carolina this season and No. 30 in state history. The wins gave Miller three indoor titles and four overall, after winning the outdoor 800-meter title last spring. She also won two more medals (top 3) Tuesday, as a last-minute sub to anchor the 4x200-meter relay to third and running a leg on the third-place 4x400-meter relay.
* Dominique, ranked No. 11 all-time in North Carolina in the 55 meters, ran two top-10 times in North Carolina this season, running the No. 7 55-meter time (7.01) and No. 9 300-meter time (40.14) to win both events. The 300-meter win was a meet record, an all-time top-50 North Carolina mark, and her second straight title in that event, giving Dominique six overall track titles after winning the 100 meters, 200 meters and helping Charlotte Christian to the 4x100-meter relay title last spring.
* Pridgen, ranked all-time top-50 in North Carolina history in the 60 meters, 55-meter hurdles and 60-meter hurdles, had a blistering time in the 55-meter hurdles, running 8.01, which was No. 5 in North Carolina this season, No. 13 in the nation, and No. 20 in North Carolina history. She also finished runner-up to Nina Dominique in the 55 meters and 300 meters, equaling Dominique's 7.01 in the 55 meters (tied for No. 7 in North Carolina this season, and also No. 21 all-time in North Carolina history and No. 22 in the nation this season), but the race was decided by the thousandth of a second, with Dominique edging Pridgen, 7.002 to 7.009. Pridgeon also ran 40.28 in the 300 meters, also runner-up to Dominique but good enough for No. 15 in North Carolina this season. The 55-meter hurdle win gave Pridgen her third indoor title after winning the 55 and 300 meters in 2022, and fifth overall track title after winning the 200 (2021) and 400 (2022) outdoors.
*Wilson, the No. 3 55-meter and 60-meter runner in North Carolina history at 6.88, won her second straight 55-meter title, this time running 6.94, third-fastest in North Carolina this season and No. 13 in the nation this season, as well. The title was the fifth track championship for Wilson, after winning spring outdoor titles in the 100 (2022) and 200 (2022 and 2023).
* Smith, a two-time NCISAA outdoor triple jump champion and ranked No. 2 in North Carolina this season, No. 12 in the nation this season and No. 8 all-time indoors in North Carolina history, won the Division II/Division III title on Tuesday in 38-10.5. The title was her fifth overall, after winning four outdoor titles (100 meters, long jump, triple jump, in 2023 and triple jump in 2022).
* Poole, last year's NCISAA Division I outdoor long jump and triple jump champion and No. 3 in North Carolina this season in the triple jump, as well as No. 14 in the nation this season and No. 11 all-time in North Carolina history, won the triple jump in meet record, 39-feet, 8.5 inches.
* Charlotte Country Day 4x200 and 4x400 relays, both having run top-50 all-time indoor performances in North Carolina history this season, continued their dominance in these relays. Jada Erwin, Olivia Graves, Ava Goggin and Lindsey Kerrins won the 4x200-meter relay in a meet record, 1:46.77, the fourth time the Buccaneers have won this event. In the 4x400-meter relay, which was ranked No. 4 in North Carolina this season, Abby Kerrins joined her sister, Lindsey and Erwin and Goggin to win in 4:05.85, the third straight win in the event.
--Highlighting the boys' meet were all-time ranked performers, Walker Norris (North Raleigh Christian), Dawson Reeves (Christ School), James Callahan (Cary Christian), Kavi Gibson (Cary Academy) and Tyler Surface (North Raleigh Christian).
* Walker Norris had the No. 2 long jump performance in the nation this season and No. 6 all-time in North Carolina history, with his 24-6.25 jump. It was his third straight indoor title in the event, breaking his own meet record of 23-10 he set last year. The win gave him his sixth indoor title overall after winning the triple jump in 2022 and 2023 and the high jump in 2023, and ninth overall track title, after winning the long jump in 2022 and the triple jump in 2022 and 2023.
* Reeves (No. 1 in the 1,000 meters in North Carolina this season, No. 10 all-time and No. 11 nationally along with being ranked all-time top-50 in North Carolina history in five events), won his second straight 1,000-meter title (2:30.46, meet record), and third overall indoor title after winning the 1,600 meters in 2022. It was his fifth overall track title after running on two record-setting 4x800-meter relays at the NCISAA Division I Championships in 2022 and 2023.
* Callahan and Gibson pushed each other to the No. 6 and No. 7 times in North Carolina this season, with Callahan (4:17.17) winning the Division II/Division III title and Gibson (4:17.24) winning the Division I title. Both performances ranked in the top 35 in North Carolina history and top 40 nationally this season. It was Gibson's first track title, and fourth overall for Callahan, who won the 1,600-meter outdoor title in 2023, and 3,200-meter outdoor titles in 2022 and 2023.
* Surface, the 2023 NCISAA 4A cross country champion, ran the No. 6 3,200-meter time in North Carolina this season (9:20.08) as well as all-time top-50 in North Carolina history and top-50 nationally this season.
---REPEAT WINNERS---
GIRLS
* Dana Wilson, Greensboro Day, 55 meters (second straight)
* Nina Dominique, Charlotte Christian, 300 meters (second straight)
* Annie Miller, Metrolina Christian, 1,000 meters (second straight)
* Caroline Barton, Carolina Day, 1,600 meters (second straight)
* Kate Stajos, Charlotte Country Day, shot put (third straight)
* Hannah Grace, Coastal Christian, pole vault (third straight)
* Hannah Grace, Coastal Christian, long jump (second straight)
* Nia Poole, Providence Day, triple jump (second straight)
BOYS
* Walker Norris, North Raleigh Christian, long jump (third straight)
* Donovan Calhoun, Wesleyan Christian, 55 meters (second straight)
* Dawson Reeves, Christ School, 1000 meters (second straight)
---MULTI-EVENT WINNERS---
GIRLS
* Nina Dominique, Charlotte Christian, 55 meters (7.01) and 300 meters (40.14)
* Zoe Dorsey, Fayetteville Academy, 300 meters (40.27) and 500 meters (1:14.37)
* Caroline Barton, Carolina Day, 1,600 meters (5:04.83) and 3,200 meters (10:29.40)
* Annie Miller, Metrolina Christian, 1,000 meters (3:01.11) and ran anchor on 4x800-meter relay (9:47.42).
* Hannah Grace, Coastal Christian, pole vault (13-9) and long jump (18-1), setting meet records in both
* Abby Kerrins, Charlotte Country Day, 1,600 meters (5:05.93), 4x400-meter relay (4:05.85)
* Lindsey Kerrins, Ava Goggin and Jada Erwin, Charlotte Country Day, 4x200-meter relay (1:46.77) and 4x400-meter relay (4:05.85)
BOYS
* Aiden Ray, Providence Day, set a meet record, winning the 55-meter hurdles in 7.75, and tying the meet record in the triple jump (45-5).
* Donovan Calhoun, Wesleyan Christian, won the 55 meters (6.44) and 300 meters (35.58).
* Charlotte Christian won the 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays, both in meet records, as Jacob Simmons, Robert Amasa, Ace Clements, Evan Boykin teamed to win the 4x200-meter relay (1:31.53), and Boykin and Clements teamed with Jack Krause and Andrew Caswell to win the 4x400-meter relay (3:31.92).
---MEET RECORDS---
GIRLS
* Nina Dominique, Charlotte Christian, 300 meters, 40.14
* Zoe Dorsey, Fayetteville Academy, 500 meters, 1:14.37
* Annie Miller, Metrolina Christian, 1,000 meters, 3:01.11
* Morgan Boonshaft, Providence Day, 3,200 meters, 10:26.50
* Kate Stajos, Charlotte Country Day, 35-8.75
* Callie McCarron, Cary Academy, high jump, 5-0
* Hannah Grace, Coastal Christian, pole vault, 13-9
* Hannah Grace, Coastal Christian and Nia Poole, Providence Day, long jump, 18-1
* Nia Poole, Providence Day, triple jump, 39-8.5
* Jada Erwin, Olivia Graves, Ava Goggin, Lindsey Kerrins, Charlotte Country Day, 4x200-meter relay (1:46.77)
BOYS
* Dawson Reeves, Christ School, 1,000 meters, 2:30.46
* James Callahan, Cary Christian, 1,600 meters, 4:17.17
* Tyler Surface, North Raleigh Christian, 3,200 meters, 9:20.08
* Aiden Ray, Providence Day, 55-meter hurdles, 7.75
* Jacob Simmons, Robert Amasa, Ace Clements, Evan Boykin, Charlotte Christian, 4x200-meter relay, 1:31.53
* Jack Krause, Ace Clements, Andrew Caswell, Evan Boykin, Charlotte Christian, 4x400-meter relay, 3:31.92
* Austin Skeete, Chase Roemer, Ethan Tucker, Zach Makemson, 4x800-meter relay, 8:06.79
* Walker Norris, North Raleigh Christian, long jump, 24-6.25
* Aiden Ray, Providence Day, triple jump, 45-5 (equaled meet record)