National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

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Team Champions: Western Alamance girls, Terry Sanford boys

• GIRLS: Behind the mighty efforts of MVP Lydia Laws and Alexis Dickerson, Western Alamance racked up 56 points.  Laws (see below) won the TJ and 300H, and finished 2nd in the LJ and 100H, while Dickerson (also see below) took the SP and DT.  A.C. Reynolds, fueled by Anna Vess’s 1,600/3,200 and the 4x8 triumph she anchored, scored 50 for 2nd.  Westover prevailed in a tight battle for 3rd with 36.
• BOYS: Terry Sanford tallied 58 points to win their first title since 1976.  They were fueled by the 24 points of Philip Hall – who won the 1,600, was 2nd in the 800 and 3rd in the 3,200 – and the 20-point 100/200 double by Jahmaal Daniel.  Asheville and Northeast Guilford tied for 2nd at 40 points, while Marvin Ridge was 4th at 34.

Most Valuable Performers: Lydia Laws and Philip Hall

• 37-2.5(+1.3w) triple jump, 3A state record 43.62 300m hurdles girls’ double for Lydia Laws (Western Alamance senior).  She was also 2nd in the 100H (14.65, -1.3w) and 2nd in the long jump (17-7.75, +0.0w), in total scoring 36 of her team’s championship-winning 56 points and earning the 3A MVP title.  The TJ was a very close battle, with Chelsey Hargrave (Walter Williams) at 37-1.5(-0.5w) and Khaila Hall (West Rowan) at 37-1(+1.4w) taking 2nd and 3rd.  Laws won decisively in the 300H, her 3rd straight triumph in the event, with Kaylah Ruff (Hickory) 2nd with 45.12.
• 4:16.11 boys’ 1600m run for Philip Hall (Terry Sanford), who was also 2nd in the 800m (1:52.35), 3rd in the 3,200m (9:37.01) and ran anchor on Terry Sanford’s 6th-place 4x800.  He individually scored 24 of his team’s points and was named boys’ 3A MVP.  Hall closed the 1,600 in 58.2 to beat Tanis Baldwin (East Henderson) at 4:19.95.

More state records

• 5:00.39 1,600m run, 3A state record 10:52.18 3,200m girls’ distance double by Anna Vess (A.C. Reynolds soph).  She also anchored her team’s 4x800 win (below).  Vess closed the 16 in 1:06.31 off a slow pace to just outkick Blake Dodge (West Carteret senior) by .01 at 5:00.40 – just over an hour after the two had battled on the 4x8 anchor.  Vess also used a ferocious kick in the 32 to nip Arden Vessie (Cornith Holders) at 10:52.31.
• 14.11(-1.3w) 3A state record girls’ 100m hurdles by Kylie McMillan (Southern Guilford), who also had a 14.01w(+2.2) in the prelims.  In 2nd was the aforementioned Lydia Laws (Western Alamance senior) at 14.65.
• 9:20.23 3A state record girls’ 4x800m relay by the A.C. Reynolds team of Larissa Woods, Lana Reeves, Kenzie Himelein-Wachowiak and 1,600/3,200 champ Anna Vess, holding off and then pulling away from the late rally of West Carteret at 9:23.98 and previous leader Marvin Ridge at 9:27.39.  West Cateret’s Blake Dodge started her 2:10 anchor with a 59 to get her team in the race, but Vess was able to hold her off and kick away at the end.

More outstanding doubles

• 10.62(+0.0w) 100m dash, 22.02(-1.0w) 200m boys’ sprint double for Jahmaal Daniel (Terry Sanford), adding 20 more points to Terry Sanford’s championship effort and duplicating the double he achieved when his school was 4A last year.  In the 100, he edged Tyshawn Siders (Jacksonville) at 10.67.  Daniel won the 200 decisively over Brenden Caldwell at 22.35.
• 11.93(+1.9w) 100m dash, 24.87(+0.0w) 200m girls’ sprint double for Courtney Warner (Charles Aycock), in both cases winning over defending champ Qizeah Jackson (Westover) at 12.10 and 24.89. 
• 14.28(+1.1w) 110m hurdles, 39.63 300mH boys’ double by Damian Silver (Nash Central).  He was well clear of runner-up Keshon McFadden (Forestview) at 14.73 in the former, while he had to barely hold off Andrew Spear (West Carteret) at 39.70 in the latter due to some late step issues.
• 113-2 discus throw, 38-6.5 shot put girls’ throws double by Alexis Dickerson (Western Alamance senior), defending her shot title and moving up from 2nd in 2013 in the discus.  Her 20 points, plus Lydia Laws’ 36, comprised the team-championship total for Western Alamance.  Tiara Bland (Southern Lee) was 2nd by a mere inch in the discus at 113-1, while Joyce Isham (White Oak) had the runner-up spot in the shot at 38-0.

More great performances

• 47.45 boys’ 400m dash by Ty Jaye Robbins (Piedmont junior), winning by a huge 1.51 seconds over Saadiq Sweezer (Eastern Alamance) at 48.96.
• 1:52.30 boys’ 800m run by Jon Knight (Northern Guilford), just nipping Philip Hall (Terry Sanford) at 1:52.35.  Knight had earlier anchored the winning 4x8, while Hall had won the 1,600.
• 2:13.86 girls’ 800m run by 2-time defending champ Blake Dodge (West Carteret senior), winning by more than two seconds over Anna Passannante (Chapel Hill).  It was Dodge’s 3rd race of the day, as she anchored her runner-up 4x800 team in 2:10 and was 2nd by .01 in the 1,600 at 5:00.40.  In both the 800 and 1,600, Dodge was just short of her own state records.
• 15-6 boys’ pole vault for Ian West (Fike senior) and Corey Ginley (East Henderson), with West defending his title on fewer misses and becoming a 4-time champ (3 outdoors).  West had three attempts at a state record 16-0, while Ginley took two before passing due to injury.
• 5-8 girls’ high jump for Qizeah Jackson (Westover), who tried and missed a state record 5-9.  Brittany Small (East Rowan) was 2nd at 5-6.  Jackson was also 2nd in the 100 and 200 and ran a leg on the 4x4 champs.
• 6-8 boys’ high jump for Christopher Garrick (Marvin Ridge), who tried a state record 6-11.25 but missed three times.  Three others cleared 6-4, with Solomon Hawkins (Kings Mountain) 2nd on misses.
• 47-0.5 boys’ triple jump for Mekhi McGuyver (Asheville), winning by more than two feet over two others at 44-9.
• 1:27.42 boys’ 4x200m relay for the Northeast Guilford team of LeAndre McGill, LeDante Berry, Marquise Womack and DeAndre McGill, followed by Eastern Alamance at 1:28.34.
• 58-6 boys’ shot put for Colin Minor (South Brunswick senior), winning by three feet over eventual discus champ Mateius Brown (Western Harnett senior).  Brown came back and took the discus at 169-6, where he was defending champ, with Myquon Stoug (Jesse Carson) 2nd at 167-1.

More champions

Girls

• LJ: Kacia Vines (Cedar Ridge) bounded 17-10w(+2.6), followed by the aforementioned Lydia Laws (Western Alamance senior) at 17-7.75(+0.0w).
• PV: Liz Wood (Cuthbertson) cleared 11-6 for the win, ahead of three others at 11-0.
• 4x200: Eastern Guilford came from behind with anchor Taylor Henderson and won in 1:42.47 – ahead of Walter Williams at 1:42.53.  Henderson was preceded by Amilleon Smith, Asia Cobb and Cemere Petty.
• 4x100: Weddington held off another come-from-behind attempt by Eastern Guilford, 49.00 to 49.03, with the team of Maria Sanchez, Courtney Blanden, Tracey Weekes and Cyan Mercer.
• 400: Nikolete Hurrinus (Cuthbertson) won with a 56.98, ahead of long jump champ Kacia Vines (Cedar Ridge) at 57.53.
• 4x400: Westover’s team of Porchia High, Qizeah Jackson, Janice Coffen and Kayla Jackson won by almost four seconds in 3:57.59.  Weddington followed with 4:01.50.

Boys

• LJ: Jonathan Marino (Marvin Ridge) took it at 22-8(-1.1w), followed by Malik Williams (Hunt HS) at 22-4(-1.4.w).
• 4x800: Northern Guilford’s team of Michael Klopp, Michael Elwood, Paul McCloud and eventual 800 champ Jon Knight ran 7:59.96 to hold off Richlands at 8:02.46 and Marvin Ridge at 8:03.47.
• 4x100: Freedom’s team of BJ Emmons, Khris Gardin, T.C. Boston and Brenden Caldwell pulled away to a 41.99 win, almost a half-second up on Jacksonville at 42.44.
• 3,200: Defending champ Tanis Baldwin (East Henderson), after a runner-up finish in the 1,600, outkicked Ryan Shannon (North Lincoln), 9:26.31 to 9:26.58.
• 4x400: Piedmont’s team of Ray Haigler, Justin Hartis, William Baynard and 400 champ Ty Jaye Robbins won a close 3-way battle in 3:24.13, ahead of Asheville 3:24.23 and Northern Guilford 3:24.42.