Watch the NCHSAA State Championships Live On MileSplit!
These 3A NCHSAA State Championships promise excitement and some seriously fast times! Several state meet records appear to be in danger, as this 3A division has been producing impressive marks throughout this outdoor season. With that being said, let's look at six events across this entire division that have the potential to light up the stadium on Friday.
Girls' High Jump
These 3A girls really know how to jump high! This event promises to provide some entertaining matchups, as several of these girls have jumped very similar heights this season.
Top-seeded Asia Mckay comes in with a personal best mark of 5-07 feet from the 3A Mideast Regional, where three of the top five girls came out with new all-time career marks. However, Mckay does not have the most prestigious mark of the field; that belongs to MaCaela Claxton. Claxton holds a career-high jump of 5-10 from this year's Windsor Relays.
Sitting just below the top two jumpers in the division are Ellie Chapin, Lauryn Gholston, and Candrice Davis who have all jumped 5-04 this season and will look to improve upon their marks on Friday.
Boys' High Jump
This 3A boys high jump looks to have a similar setup to that of its girls event.
Zyking Patillo, Pierce Mahnke, and Tripp Augier have all jumped 6-06 this season, meaning that the title could come down to misses. Augier looks to be more consistent than the other two boys, with eight out of his ten performances reaching over six feet.
However, all three boys appear to be in their best shape, as each one of their personal bests comes from their respective regionals this past weekend. Additionally, Patillo and Mahnke faced off last weekend at the 3A East Regional, with Patillo coming out on top, which should give him some confidence going into Friday.
Girls 1600 Meter Run
These distance girls aren't playing around in 3A! Georgy Helmers leads the entries with a seed time of 4:57 for 1600 meters. Helmers also boasts a national-caliber time in the 3200 meters with a 10:19 performance this season.
However, Olivia Ferraro brings the fastest 1600-meter time to the line with an impressive 4:48 mark from the Carolina Distance Carnival. Ferraro is also the reigning indoor champ for this event and holds the outdoor state meet record in 4:54, showing that she knows how to navigate high-pressure situations.
If you can believe it, we've got more girls in this race under five minutes this season. Morgan Miller brings a solid 4:57 mile from the Mount Tabor Mile and Throwing Thunder. Don't miss out on this race as we could see a real battle here and a possible new state meet record.
Boys 4x100 Meter Relay
These sprint relays always promise to bring the heat, and this year's race is no exception.
Terry Sanford comes in with the fastest seed time in 41.28, which would put them under the current state meet record of 41.45 set by T.W. Andrews in 1986. However, Terry Sanford's projected lineup doesn't look as high-caliber as some of its competitors.
With the likes of Dudley and Statesville on the line, Terry Sanford will have to execute this one lap race to the best of their ability. Statesville is the reigning indoor state champions in the 4x200 Meter Relay over Dudley, which will certainly give them confidence on Friday.
Girls' 800 Meter Run
Forgive me for talking about two distance events, but these 3A distance girls are no joke!
This girl's 800-meter run is set to be a record-setting event, with three girls having run faster than the state meet record time of 2:12 set by Megan Marvin in 2018. Jillian Parks comes in seeded first with a solid 2:11 (800) meter personal best from the Carolina Distance Carnival.
However, Zoe Dorsey holds the fastest personal best in the field with her impressive 2:08 (800) mark from the same race. Dorsey has had a breakout outdoor season, improving her personal best by eight seconds, and will hope to take that energy into this race.
The third girl under the previous state meet record is none other than Olivia Ferraro. This proven distance star knows how to win and will look to add another title to her resume on Friday.
Boys 110 Meter Hurdles
This hurdle race is headlined by the Dudley matchup of seniors Le'Ezra Brown and Tayman Howell. Brown is not only a standout on the state level, but he also holds national-caliber speed with his 13.21 wind-aided performance at the Pepsi Florida Relays. Brown is also slated to compete in the boys' 100-meter dash as well as the 300-meter hurdles, where he is seeded first and third.
On the other hand, Howell is certainly no slouch himself. With a solid 13.69 best from the 3A Midwest Regionals, Howell sits at US #32, compared to Brown's US #2 mark.