ICARD — Seven Burke County high school athletes earned berths for next weekend’s track and field state championship meet — five doing so with wins — through Friday’s NCHSAA 2A West Regional championship meet hosted by East Burke on its newly-renovated track.
“I felt it was a thrill and a privilege to come to help out with this meet,” said former EB track coach Odell Williams, who is retiring from his long-time teaching role at the school and served as meet director.
Recent EB graduate Noah Rooks made history in winning the boys discus throw event with a mark of 159 feet, 3 inches, eclipsing the previous Cavalier all-time record held by former NCHSAA athlete of year Tyler Shatley (155’1”) in 2009. Rooks also qualified for state in the shot put, placing second with a mark of 44 feet, 10¼ inches.
Another Cavalier athlete who shined Friday was freshman KJ Byrd, winning both the boys pole vault (12’) and high jump (6’4”) as the county’s only double individual event winner on the day.
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Byrd currently holds the state freshman record in the pole vault (14’7¼”) as he and Rooks will go off to state seeded second in the pole vault as well as discus and shot put events, respectively.
In the final boys team standings, the Cavs placed a county-best sixth.
“The guys we had out here did a good job and fulfilled everything we asked them to,” said EB coach AJ Schwankert. “(Breaking the discus school record) was Noah’s goal all season, and now he’s going to states with no pressure on him.”
Patton’s boys weren’t far behind as the county’s only other top-10 team finisher, taking eighth place. The Panthers qualified three for state, led by triumphs from Vance Jones (400 meters, 51.07) and the 4x800 relay squad (8:29.77).
The 4x8 relay, comprised of freshmen Charlie Bennett and Austin McGuire and juniors Jones and Caden Clontz, was neck and neck with Franklin until making the pass on the last lap. Jones’ winning 400 time, meanwhile, edged out Franklin’s Luis Torres by a quarter of a second.
Connor Rudisill was the Panthers’ other qualifier after placing fourth in the high jump (6’). PHS’ Jackston Brown (300 hurdles, seventh) and the 4x400 relay (eighth) fell just short of state qualifying spots.
Burke’s final two spots at state belong to Patton’s Madison Clay (girls 3200 meters, 11:49.11) and Draughn’s Ambria Blalock (girls 400 meters, 1:02.87), who each qualified with fourth-place finishes. Clay’s time was a new personal record, and she also placed fifth in the 1600 meters, falling one spot short of a state qualifying slot in that event.
Other county athletes who fell just short of state berths included Draughn’s Bella Williams (girls high jump, fifth) and Reed Farrar (boys 3200, sixth) and EB’s Taylor Bostain (girls discus, fifth) and Meah Walsh (girls 3200, seventh).
Williams finished in a four-way tie for the last berth (4’8”) but lost in a jump-off, while Walsh’s time of 12:36.29 established a new personal record.
North Lincoln won both the boys and girls regional team crowns.
The NCHSAA 2A state championships will take place Saturday at North Carolina A&T University.
TENNIS
Draughn duo one win shy of state
Six county girls tennis players earned berths into the NCHSAA 2A West Regional individual championships at Gardner-Webb University, though none made it out of day one Friday to fall short of trips to state this week.
Draughn’s Haley Lowman and Kaitlyn Kincaid, who was playing instead of Katie Cozort, won their first-round doubles match, 6-2, 6-2, over their Shelby opponents. But they needed one more win to advance and instead fell 2-6, 1-6 in the quarterfinals.
Patton’s Nikita McClure and Christina Skelly played their way into regionals in singles but did not participate, and no results were available from EB’s qualifying doubles squad of Daisy Jantes/Taylor Bostain.
Top-four finishers advanced to state, hosted by Cary Tennis Park this weekend.