GREENSBORO – Swain County swept the 1A Men’s and Women’s Championships as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Track and Field season concluded at the Marcus T. Johnson Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T on Monday.
In the Women’s Championships, Swain County won its fourth NCHSAA Track and Field Championship in a row and sixth championship overall. The Maroon Devils tallied 94 points and ended up more than 50 points ahead of Lejeune and Avery County, who tied for the runner-up spot.
Swain County dominated in the long-distance races as Arizona Blankenship won the 1600 and the 3200, and Angelina Lomelli took second in the 1600 and third in the 3200. Annie Lewis won the 800. Blankenship, Lomelli Lewis, and Emily Grey Stargell teamed up to win the 4×800 relay by nearly 23 seconds.
Elkin’s Aniya Edwards had a big day on the track as she won the 100, 200, and 400-meter dashes and was named Most Outstanding Performer.
In the Men’s Championships, Swain County won its first men’s Track and Field Championship after racking up 81 points, six points ahead of Mountain Island Charter.
Swain County junior Nse Uffort won the shot put with a throw of 61-09.5, more than 11 feet longer than second place, and he also took third in the discus. The Maroon Devils also won the 4×400 relay, took second in the 4×800 relay, and third in the 4×100 relay.
Runner up Mountain Island Charter was led by Reggie Daniel as he won the 300 meter hurdles, took second in the 110 hurdles, fourth in the triple jump and sixth in the 200 meter dash. He was named Most Outstanding Performer for his efforts.
The NCHSAA is committed to promoting and highlighting outstanding sportsmanship and has partnered with North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance to recognize one athlete from each team who has displayed the ideals of sportsmanship throughout the year. The 2024 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award winners for the 1A Track and Field Championships were Meloni Linton from Swain County, Amiya Winston from Lejeune, Maddy Barrett from Avery County, Josiah Glospie from Swain County, and Grayson Tillotson from Mountain Island Charter.
1 Swain County – 94
2 Lejeune – 41
2 Avery County – 41
4 Wilson Preparatory Academy – 40
5 Robbinsville – 39
1 Swain County – 81
2 Mountain Island Charter School – 75
3 Corvian Community School – 46
4 Carver – 37
5 South Stanly – 36
GREENSBORO – Traditional powers Cummings and T.W. Andrews added more hardware to their trophy cases on Friday at the Marcus T. Johnson Track at North Carolina A&T University. Both the Cummings women and the T.W. Andrews men defended their 2023 championships, and Andrews now has 10 men’s titles, and Cummings has 18 women’s titles.
In the Women’s Championship, Cummings racked up 103 points, more than 60 points ahead of the North Carolina School of Science and Math in second place. The Bulldogs were led by D’Anna Cotton. Cotton won the triple jump, high jump, the 100-meter hurdles, and the 300-meter hurdles to earn the Most Outstanding Performer Award. Cotton was also the Most Outstanding Performer at the 1A/2A Indoor Championships earlier this year.
Cummings’ Diamond Moore won the long jump and took second in the triple jump. Cummings also won the 4×200-meter relay.
Catherine Parker won the 3200, the 1600 and the 800 to lead NCSSM Durham. The Unicorns also won the 4×800 relay. Pine Lake Prep came in third place with 38 points, Whiteville finished fourth and Northeastern took fifth.
In the Men’s Championship, T.W. Andrews tallied 98 points, 46 points ahead of East Burke in second place with 52 points. The Red Raiders were led by Correy McManus and Ja’Neil Harris as McManus won the 100 meters and Harris took second and the flip-flopped places in the 200. Andrews also won both the 4×200 and 4×100 relays.
Jeremiah King also turned in a strong performance to the Red Raiders, taking second in the 300 meter hurdles and third in the 100 meter hurdles.
The runner-up Cavaliers were led by Kenneth Byrd as he won the long jump, the 110 meter hurdles and took second in the high jump. He was named Most Outstanding Performer for the fourth time in his career (twice at indoor and now twice at outdoor).
Seaforth finished in third, powered by Jack Anstrom’s wins in the 3200 and 1600-meter races. Will Cuichi added a win in the 800 meter.
The NCHSAA is committed to promoting and highlighting outstanding sportsmanship and has partnered with North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance to recognize one athlete from each team who has displayed the ideals of sportsmanship throughout the year. The 2024 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2A Track and Field Championships were Diamond Moore from Cummings, Erin Bienstock from NCCSM Durham, Jeremiah King from T.W. Andrews, and Avery Fraley from East Burke.
1 Cummings – 103
2 NCSSM Durham – 40
3 Pine Lake Prep – 38
4 Whiteville – 35
5 Northeastern – 34
1 T.W. Andrews – 98
2 East Burke – 52
3 Seafort – 38
4 Brevard – 37
5 Salisbury – 32
