By Staff
Staff Reports
GREENSBORO — Washington’s Sharita Grice came home with a medal from the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A state track and field meet.
Grice took third place in the discus event at the state meet, held Saturday at N.C. A&T. The senior’s best heave went 110 feet, 6 inches.
Sequoia Watkins of T.C. Roberson won the event with a throw of 125 feet.
The Pam Pack’s Melvin Spruill placed eighth in the 400-meter dash. He finished in 51.34 seconds.
Carver’s Brandon Hairston won the event in 48.51 seconds.
Area athletes competed in the 1-A state meet on Friday. A handful came home with awards, including Northside’s Ashley Clayton, Kenneth Jenkins and Rebekkah Bonney.
Williamston’s Lynn Davis was the lone area athlete to earn a state championship. She won the discus event with a throw of 101 feet.
Jenkins earned a runner-up finish in the high jump. He finished with a best jump of 6 feet, 2 inches.
“It’s been great and I can’t believe it,” Jenkins said of his runner-up state finish.
Clayton finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles. The senior was clocked in 48.14 seconds, which was her best effort of the season.
“I worked really hard over the last four years and I am excited about my medal,” Clayton said.
Bonney also had a top-eight finish for the Panthers. She came in seventh in the discus with a heave of 87-04. Bonney added a ninth-place showing in the shot put with a throw of 29 feet, 6 inches.
Also for Northside, Bryant Fletcher finished 12th in the 3,200 meter run (11:21.94, season PR). Kayla Cerny took 13th in the 300-meter hurdle preliminaries, finishing in a season-best time of 55.17 seconds.
Bernadette Martin was 15th in the 100-meter hurdle preliminaries (18.76). Orianna Phillips finished 15th in the high jump after clearing 4 feet, 6 inches.
Rashem Cooper’s best jump was 5-10 in the high jump.
The boys 3,200-meter relay of Codie Carawan, Doug Wagg, Alex Cutler and Bryant Fletcher was 14th (9:22.60), while the girls 3,200-meter relay team of Katie Bowen, Callie Leigh, Ashley Ratcliffe and Phillips took 15th (12:36.82).
“When you are able to bring home medal winners from a state championship, there is no denying the season was successful,” Northside coach Charlie Woolard said. “If one athlete finds victory, the entire team becomes winners. Northside track and field athletes can close out the 2009 season knowing they gave their best. These kids broke NHS schools records, established PRs at the state meet and placed a conference championship trophy on the shelve. Our coaching staff is proud of each athlete and for their contribution towards an outstanding track and field season.”
Southside’s Tony Grice took seventh in the 400-meter dash. He was clocked in 52.79 seconds.
The Seahawks added a sixth-place showing in the 1,600-meter relay. The foursome of Terrence Windley, Hubero Husband, Grice and Brandon Jordan was clocked in 3:34.03.