With regional and state championships around the corner, Chatham County high school track and field athletes hope to peak at the right time over the next several weeks.
At the 3A level, Northwood will compete in the 3A mideast regionals on May 12 at Franklinton High. The Chargers came into this week’s conference-meet ahainst Williams and Cedar Ridge having put together some impressive recent showings.
At a quad meet last Thursday, Northwood swept the team competitions. The Charger boys did most of their damage in the field events, as senior Jack Nicholson won the triple jump and discus events. Fellow senior Cameron Stevenson took first place in the shot put, while junior Felix Cibulski won the pole vault with a height of nine feet. The only Northwood boy to win an individual event was senior Ethan Wilson, who took first in the 110-meter hurdles.
On the girls side, junior Rokie Sissoko won the 200- and 400-meter dashes, while freshman Sydney Gray dominated the 800-meter race. Freshman Laney Babo won the 300-meter hurdles. In the field events, Northwood saw freshman Shaylah Glover, junior Skylar Adams and senior Sophia Cremeans win the high jump, triple jump and pole vault, respectively.
Junior Noah Nielson didn’t compete with Northwood on Thursday, instead saving his energy for the Carolina Distance Carnival on Saturday in Matthews. Competing in the 800-meter race, Nielson finished in fourth with a time of 1:55.38, which would have ranked second at last year’s 3A outdoor state championships.
Northwood’s last big meet of the regular season is the 3A Central Conference championships, which will take place May 4. At last year’s conference meet, the Chargers won the girls championship but finished second in the boys competition to Orange.
Seaforth is another local team looking to make some noise over the next several weeks. The Hawks swept their last meet against conference opponents, besting both Cummings and Chatham Central last Wednesday.
Sophomore Walter Entrekin won the 400-meter dash, while Will Cuicchi took first in the 800-meter race by almost 15 seconds. In the 1,600-meter run Chatham Central junior Kolton Phillips led the way with a time of 4:55.9. In the field events, Seaforth sophomore Sebastian Calderon won the high and long jumps. Hawks’ freshman Ryan Yoder won the pole vault, while Bears’ senior Austin Reed took first in the discus throw.
On the girls side, Seaforth sophomore Malana McLean won the 100-meter dash, sophomore Maja Boer won the 400-meter dash, sophomore Claire Morgan won the 800-meter run and sophomore Juana Jimenez won the 1,600-meter run. Morgan also won the pole vault, while sophomore Anavi Smith was victorious in the long jump. Central saw two athletes — senior Livvy Brooks and junior Mattie Caviness — win the discus and shot put, respectively.
Seaforth, along with Chatham Central and Jordan-Matthews, will compete at the NCHSAA 2A Mideast Regionals on May 13. The Jets are coming off a meet last week against Chatham Charter, Woods Charter and a few non-county teams that saw them sweep both the boys and girls competitions.
The Jets were led by senior Jasmine Basilio, who took first in the girls 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. Basilio was one of two J-M athletes, along with senior Ahmod McCrimmon (boys long jump, triple jump), to win multiple events at the meet.
Chatham Charter, meanwhile, saw its usual suspects perform well at the meet. Senior Tamaya Walden won the girls 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes, while junior Lucas Smith won the boys 100- and 400- and finished second in the 200-meter dash. In the field events, junior Meah Brooks won both the discus and shot put.
Chatham Charter and Woods Charter will compete at the 1A mideast regionals May 13 at Pender High in Burgaw.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.