Asheboro dominates County Meet

ASHEBORO — Expectations are one thing, but teams with high expectations still have to go out and perform if they are to live up to those expectations.

That’s exactly what the Asheboro High School girls and boys track teams did last week as the Blue Comets earned a sweep of the Randolph County Track Meet held April 18 at the South Asheboro Middle School track.

In the girls' meet, AHS finished with 145.5 points to defeat Wheatmore (118.5), Providence Grove (111), Randleman (96), Southwestern Randolph (94.5), Eastern Randolph (47) and Trinity (36.5).

The AHS boys cruised to the championship with 186 points, while Trinity was next with 130. The Bulldogs were followed by Randleman (113.5), Providence Grove (87), Wheatmore (73), SW Randolph (51) and ER (33.5).

It was the first county track meet held since 2019 because of COVID.

“There are a lot of good athletes in the county and I told our guys we couldn’t have errors or mistakes,” AHS boys coach DeNeal McNair said. “We had to put on our game face and eliminate the errors. There are other teams who are strong in areas we are not. This is a good competitive meet and we had no room for error.”

The Blue Comets had very few. The relay teams were strong as expected as the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams placed first, the 4x200 placed second and the 4x800 placed third.

“All of our relay teams did well,” McNair said. “We always have a strong relay corps and score points.”

AHS’ Nicholas Chavis and Lance Everhart were strong in the individual events. Chavis set a personal best time of 41.67 in winning the 300-meter hurdles — a top five time in the state — and he also won the 110-meter hurdles in 16.07. He also placed second in the pole vault. Everhart placed first in the pole vault (11-0) and the long jump (20-1) and second in the high jump. He earned the field events most valuable player award.

Valentino Mark was third in the triple jump, second in the 100-meter dash and third in the 200-meter dash for the Blue Comets. AHS’ James Jones was third in the pole vault, Aaron Tyson second in the triple jump and Kai Matthews won the 400-meter run (54.72). Cayne Duranceau was third in the 400-meter run.

“A lot of those student-athletes have been there two or three years and they haven’t experienced a championship,” McNair said. “It was good to see them smile. I think you are going to see a lot of success in sports at Asheboro. The culture and attitude is changing for the good.”

The THS boys finished the highest they ever had at the county meet and that has coach Dwayne Allen excited.

“I felt like we have had a lot of success this year, so I was hoping we would be somewhere in the top three,” Allen said. “I try not to jinx myself because I am superstitious, but I was excited and confident. This was the highest we ever placed in the boys and I am proud of them. I was thrilled.”

The THS 4x200 relay team of Dominick Payne, Zach Cox, Robert Ratliff and Jacob Hodges smashed the school record with a time of 1:34.42. The other relay teams did very well for the Bulldogs as they placed second in the 4x100 and third in the 4x400.

“It’s not just one person leading the way, it’s four runners coming together,” Allen said.

Jose Castillo won the 800-meter run for the Bulldogs (2:12.80).

With the Piedmont Athletic Conference Track Meet nearing, Allen hopes his team gained some valuable confidence.

“(The meet) kind of showed what the kids have to offer and what the team has to offer as a whole,” said Allen, who is in his 12th year as the THS coach. “I’m not setting aside what Randleman has to offer, they have some great athletes. But I do feel confident we might be able to pull off a conference championship again.”

Randleman had a number of top individuals as Landon McGee won the discus (118-9), Amarion Moton won the shot put (40-6.25), Chase Farlow won the high jump (6-2) and Amari Ferdna won the triple jump (40-3). Tristan Chriscoe was second in the long jump and third in the 110-meter hurdles.

SWR’s Adam Cole was a double winner as he claimed the titles in the 100-meter dash (11.16) and the 200-meter dash (22.76) and Wheatmore’s Zach Hazelwood claimed the 1600-meter run (4:51.52) and the 3200-meter run (10:55.65). Hazelwood was also second in the 800-meter run. He was named the meet’s track most valuable player. 

Providence Grove’s Robert Burton was second in both events.

In the girls meet, the Blue Comets claimed the win in comfortable fashion.

“I would say our girls have had a strong season and they knew they were going to have a strong season from the start,” AHS first-year coach Vincent Cable said. “We had some stellar freshmen come up and we have multiple talented athletes who score points.”

AHS’ Rebecca Wilson was second in the triple jump, second in the high jump, second in the 100-meter hurdles and third in the 300-meter hurdles. Jalaya Showers claimed two titles, winning the 200-meter dash in 26.11 and the 100-meter dash in 12.69, while Sion Murrain was second in the 200 and first in the long jump (15-10.5).

AHS’ Lia George was first in the pole vault (6-0), Audrey Patterson third in the triple jump and the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams placed first. The 4x100 team of Showers, Ey’mya Cheek, Murrain and Patterson’s time of 51.17 represented a top eight time in the state.

“It certainly gives us a ton of confidence for what is coming up with our conference tournament,” Cable said. “Our conference has some better athletes, but our county is better in some areas.”

Wheatmore coach Ken Wilson was pleased with the Warriors’ second-place finish.

“I was interested to see how we were going to perform, because we have five seniors who were freshmen in my first year at Wheatmore and we had only one meet that year,” Wilson said. “Three of the five had gone to states and I was anxious to see how they would do here in this meet. I thought they would do well, but the entire team just blew me away.”

That includes sophomore Ariel Martin, who won the 300-meter hurdles (52.97) and the 100-meter hurdles (19.01).

Wilson is looking forward to his team’s next meet, the PAC Meet.

“The Randolph County championship was basically our conference with Asheboro,” Wilson said. “We finished ahead of the other girls teams, but Providence Grove was just 7 ½ points behind us. When it comes to big meets like the conference meet, that’s not a lot of cushion. This puts us in a really good position, but you have to come out and perform.”

Eastern Randolph’s Brecken Snotherly certainly performed well. The senior was named the track most valuable player after winning the 400-meter run (1:04.42), the 800-meter run (2:38.82), the 1,600-meter run (6:06.0) and the 3200-meter run (13:25.19).

Trinity’s Kensley Fox won the discus (86-8) and the shot put (29-45), RHS’ Gracie Beane had a solid meet with firsts in the triple jump (34-1.25) and the high jump (5-4), second in the long jump and third in the 200-meter dash. She was named the field events most valuable player. 

PG’s 4x800 meter relay team won as did Wheatmore’s 4x400-meter relay team.

Here are the results from the 2023 Randolph County Track Meet. All point scorers in the meet are listed, which were the top 8 positions for each event. 

Girls

1. Asheboro 145.5

2. Wheatmore 118.5

3. Providence Grove 111

4. Randleman 96

5. SW Randolph 94.5

6. Eastern Randolph 47

7. Trinity 36.5

100 Meter Dash

1. Jalaya Showers (AHS), 12.69; 2. Peyton Wilson (WHS) 13.20;  3. Elizabeth Pearce (SWR) 13.25; 4. Makayla Leonard (PG) 13.47; 5. Ey’Mya Cheek (AHS) 13.51; 6. Sadie Mabe (SWR) 13.84; 7. Mollie Hall (RHS) 14.28. 8. Kennedy Strickland (WHS) 14.33.

200 Meter Dash

1. Jalaya Showers (AHS) 26.11; 2. Sion Murrain (AHS) 27.09; 3. Gracie Beane (RHS), 27.24; 4. Elizabeth Pearce (SWR) 27.72; 5. Peyton Wilson (WHS) 28.20; 6. Sadie Mabe (SWR) 29.00; 7. Ey’Mya Cheek (AHS) 29.06; 8. Makayla Leonard (PG) 30.03.

400 Meter Run

1. Brecken Snotherly (ER) 1:04.42; 2. Peyton Wilson (WHS) 1:04.99; 3. Sadie Mabe (SWR) 1:12.95; 4. Ryleigh Hineline (SWR) 1:15.06; 5. Allysa Kinley (PG) 1:16.20; 6. Emma Davidson (WHS) 1:17.62; 7. Reese Davis (PG) 1:17.99; 8. Na’Riya Collins (AHS) 1:18.47.

800 Meter Run

1. Brecken Snotherly (ER) 2:38.82; 2. Coley Shiflet (SWR) 2:41.18; 3. Jensen Auman (PG) 2:49.21; 4. Macy Walker (SWR) 2:54.84; 5. Liberty Adams (AHS) 2:58.63. 6. Aubri Hill (RHS) 3:01.44; 7. Allison Hill (WHS) 3:01.87; 8. Ellen Long (AHS) 3:08.49.

1600 Meter Run

1. Brecken Snotherly (ER) 6:06; 2. Jensen Auman (PG) 6:29.53; 3. Aubri Hill (RHS) 6:36; 4. Caroline DuVall (PG) 6:40.46; 5. Olivia Hildreth (WHS)  6:46; 6. Liberty Adams (AHS) 6:48.24; 7. Allison Hill (WHS) 6:49.13; 8. Kaylan Currin (PG) 6:55.34.

3200 Meter Run

1. Brecken Snotherly (ER) 13:25; 2. Jensen Auman (PG) 14:56; 3. Olivia Hildreth (WHS) 15:02; 4. Emma Herring (RHS) 15:10.65; 5. Kaylan Currin (PG) 15:20.66; 6. Allison Hill (WHS) 15:52.61; 7. Macy Walker (SWR) 16:39.39; 8; Liberty Adams (AHS) 16:49.38.

100 Meter Hurdles

1 Ariel Martin (WHS) 19.01; 2. Rebecca Wilson (AHS) 19.05; 3. Josie Perdue (SWR) 19.30; 4. Maya Barber (PG) 19.37; 5. Nyla Price (AHS) 19.41; 6. Kahmarii McNeill (WHS) 19.78; 7. Haylee Sodlink (PG) 20.08; 8. Kamora Fuller Taylor (AHS) 20.77.

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Ariel Martin (WHS) 52.97; 2. Maya Barber (PG) 53.56; 3. Rebecca Wilson (AHS) 54.63. 4. Kahmarii McNeill (WHS) 57.98;  5. Kamora Fuler Taylor (AHS) 59.10; 6. Summer Jackson (THS) 1:01.69; 7. Haylee Sodlink (PG) 1:01.97; 8. Rhian Baudoin (THS) 1:03.37.

4x100 Meter Relay

1. Asheboro (Patterson, Murrain, Cheek, Showers) 51.17; 2. Providence Grove 54.53; 3. Randleman 57.55. 4. Wheatmore 57.87; 5. SW Randolph 57.99.

4x200 Meter Relay

1. Asheboro (Cheek, Price, Showers, Murrain) 1:49.51; 2. Wheatmore 2:00.04; 3. SW Randolph 2:00.40; 4. Randleman 2:04.68; 5. Providence Grove 2:10.81.

4x400 Meter Relay

1. Wheatmore 4:59.71; 2. SW Randolph 5:11.09; 3. Randleman 5:18.81; 4. Providence Grove 5:22.97; 5. Asheboro 5:28.69

4x800 Meter Relay

1. Providence Grove 11:51.66; 2. Wheatmore 11:53.41; 3. Randleman 12:25.14; 4. SW Randolph 12:35.25; 5. Trinity 14:17.29.

Girls High Jump

1. Gracie Beane (RHS) 5-4; 2. Rebecca Wilson (AHS) 4-10; 3. Ava Jones (RHS) 4-8; 4. Sarabeth Johnson (THS) 4-6; 5. Allie Frazier (PG) 4-4; 6. Haylee Sodlink (PG) 4-4; 7. Josie Perdue (SWR) 4-4; 7. Alexis Delgado (THS) 4-4.

Pole Vault

1. Lia George (AHS) 6-0.

Long Jump

1.Sion Murrain (AHS) 15-10.50; 2. Gracie Beane (RHS)15-3; 3. Brooklyn Harris (RHS) 13-7; 4. Audrey Patterson (AHS) 13-4.75; 5. Gracelyn Hodgin (SWR) 13-4; 6. Makayla Leonard (PG) 12-9.50; 7. Sarabeth Johnson (THS) 12-7.50; 8. Nyla Price (AHS) 12-3.25.

Triple Jump

1.Gracie Beane (RHS) 34-1.25; 2. Rebecca Wilson (AHS) 30-0; 3. Audrey Patterson (AHS) 29-8; 4. Janayah Martin (AHS) 28-11; 5. Chloe Gentry (WHS) 27-4.50; 6. Gracelyn Hodgin (SWR) 27-4; 7. Callie Craven (ER) 25-10; 8. Ava Jones (RHS) 25-8.

Shot Put

1 Kensley Fox (THS) 29-4.50; 2. Rylee Reidling (WHS) 27-1.50; 3. Alexis Vaughn (RHS) 26-2; 4. Ava Fink (ER) 25-10.25; 5. Alisha Brown (PG) 24-11.25; 6. Serenity Richardson (SWR) 24-7; 7. Maya Parson (AHS) 24-4.50; 8. Makyela Mantooth (PG) 23-10.50.

Discus Throw

1. Kensley Fox (THS) 86-8; 2. Serenity Richardson (SWR) 86-5; 3. Makyela Mantooth (PG) 80-2; 4. Rylee Reidling (WHS) 77-4; 5. Alexis Vaughn (RHS) 73-1; 6. Callie Amick (SWR) 66-0; 7. Alisha Brown (PG)  64-11; 8. Emily Juarez (WHS) 60-10.

BOYS

1 Asheboro 186

2. Trinity 130

3. Randleman 113.50

4. Providence Grove 87

5. Wheatmore 73

6. SW Randolph 51

7. Eastern Randolph 35.5

100 Meter Dash

1. Adam Cole (SWR) 11.16; 2. Valentino Mark (AHS) 11.41; 3. Dominic Payne (THS) 11.46; 4. Elijah Woodle (AHS) 11.47; 5. Zane Cheek (PG)  11.51; 6. Peyton McDevitt (WHS) 11.56; 7. Sa’Cory Maryland (WHS) 11.71; 8. Nicai Taylor (ER) 11.79.

200 Meter Dash

1. Adam Cole (SWR) 22.76; 2. Dylan Hodges (THS) 23.14; 3. Valentino Mark (AHS) 23.39; 4. Peyton McDevitt (WHS) 23.52; 5. SaCory Maryland (WHS) 23.56; 6. Elijah Woodle (AHS) 23.80; 7. Zacheus Jones (AHS)  24.27; 8. AJ Poe (THS) 24.42.

400 Meter Run

1. Kai Matthews (AHS) 54.72; 2. Peyton McDevitt (WHS) 54.85; 3. Cayne 3 Duranceau (AHS) 55.94; 4. Giovanni Jaimes (THS) 55.97. 5. Devonte Dukes (SWR) 57.00; 6. Kase Wilson (WHS) 57.17; 7. Jo’nathan Floyd (WHS) 57.36; 8. Jose Castillo (THS) 57.72.

800 Meter Run

1. Jose Castillo (THS) 2:12.80; 2. Zach Hazelwood (WHS) 2:15.10; 3. Giovanni Jaimes (THS) 2:17.89; 4. Robert Burton (PG) 2:18.07; 5. Camden Alonso (AHS) 2:18.73; 6. Riley Foster (THS) 2:22.02; 7. Jose Fuentes (ER) 2:24.94; 8. Kaden Shoptaw (PG) 2:25.26.

1600 Meter Run

1. Zach Hazelwood (WHS) 4:51.52; 2. Robert Burton (PG) 5:06.21; 3. Kaden Shoptaw (PG) 5:12.52; 4. Jose Fuentes (ER) 5:13.22; 5. Riley Foster (THS) 5:13.71; 6. Kelton Shoptaw (PG) 5:29.33; 7. Camden Alonso (AHS) 5:34.88. 8. Freddie Mercado (RHS) 5:35.25.

3200 Meter Run

1. Zach Hazelwood (WHS) 10:55.65; 2. Robert Burton (PG) 11:32.83; 3. Kelton Shoptaw (PG) 12:10; 4. Freddie Mercado (RHS) 12:14.80; 5. Kaden Shoptaw (PG) 12:27.94; 6. Kevin Allred (RHS) 12:49.52; 7. Mitchell Marin-Pulido (THS) 12:52.17; 8. Javier Solis (SWR) 13:05.29.

110 Meter Hurdles

1. Nicholas Chavez (AHS) 16.07; 2. Lance Everhart (AHS) 16.57; 3. Tristan Chriscoe (RHS) 16.69; 4. Jacob Hodges (THS) 16.97; 5. Jackson Rhyne (PG) 17.41; 6. Jay Richards (RHS) 18.23;  7.  Jude Leonard (WHS) 18.79; 8. Jonathan Sampson (RHS) 19.03.

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Nicolas Chavez (AHS) 41.67; 2. Andrew Cox (THS) 45.14; 3. Malachi Combo (PG) 45.65; 4. Ethan Chriscoe (PG) 45.83; 5. Jay Richards (RHS) 45.85; 6. Zach Cox (THS) 46.35; 7. Jonathan Sampson (RHS) 47.15; 8. Jude Leonard (WHS) 48.16.

4x100 Meter Relay

1. Asheboro (Jones, Woodle, Matthews, V. Mark) 44.54; 2. Trinity 45.08; 3. SW Randolph 45.83; 4. Randleman 46.57; 5. Providence Grove 46.80; 6. Wheatmore 47.40; 7. Eastern Randolph 47.50.

4x200 Meter Relay

1. Trinity High (Hodges, Hodges, Cox, Payne) 1:34.42; 2. Asheboro 1:35.37; 3. Eastern Randolph 1:37.61; 4. Randleman 1:38.81; 5. Wheatmore 1:39.66; 6. SW Randolph 1:45.97; 7. Providence Grove 1:47.66.

4x400 Meter Relay

1 Asheboro (Matthews, Jones, Duranceau, Chavis) 3:44.46; 2. Wheatmore 3:50.02; 3. Trinity 3:56.73; 4. Providence Grove 4:01.64; 5. Randleman 4:10.33; 6. SW Randolph 4:26.59.

4x800 Meter Relay

1. Trinity (Castillo, Marin-Pulido, Foster, Jaimes) 9:19.78; 2. Providence Grove 9:38.96; 3. Asheboro 9:45.82; 4. Randleman 10:15.70; 5. SW Randolph 10:54.92.

High Jump

1. Chase Farlow (RHS) 6-2; 2. Lance Everhart (AHS) 6-0; 3. Dylan Hodges (THS) 5-10; 4. Caleb Shelton (SWR) 5-8. 5. Aaron Tyson (AHS) 5-6; 6. Jackson Rhyne (PG) 5-6; 7. Isreal Allred (AHS) 5-6; 8. Davonte Brooks (ER) 5-4.

Pole Vault

1. Lance Everhart (AHS) 11-0; 2. Nicolas Chavez (AHS) 9-0; 3. James Jones (AHS) 8-6.

Long Jump

1. Lance Everhart (AHS) 20-1; 2. Tristan Chriscoe (RHS) 19-5; 3. Chance Grogan (THS) 18-10; 4. Kai Matthews (AHS) 18-8; 5. Nicai Taylor (ER) 18-7; 6. Chase Farlow (RHS) 18-6; 7. Michael Mark (AHS) 18-3; 8. Damoni Freshwater (SWR) 17-10. 

Triple Jump

1. Amari Ferdna (RHS) 40-3; 2. Aaron Tyson (AHS) 39-11; 3. Valentino Mark (AHS) 38-5; 4. Chance Grogan (THS) 38-0; 5. Caleb Shelton (SWR) 37-10; 6. Tristan Chriscoe (RHS) 37-9; 7. Dominic Payne (THS)  37-5; 8. Chase Farlow (RHS) 37-3.

Shot Put

1. Amarion Moton (RHS) 40-6.25; 2. Jani Norwood (ER) 37-8.75; 3. Nathan Mathai (THS) 37-4; 4. George Wilson (AHS) 37-1; 5. Landon McGee (RHS),36-9.50; 6. Caden Lundsford (RHS) 36-5.50; 7. Tyler Adcock (THS) 35-4.75; 8. LaDaryan Spinks (ER) 35-1.50.

Discus Throw

1. Landon McGee (RHS) 118-9; 2. Ty Moton (RHS) 109-11: 3. Tyler Adcock (THS) 104-11; 4. Bradin Laughlin (PG) 103-5; 5. Juan Pablo Munoz (AHS) 103-0; 6. Allen Loflin (ER) 101-6; 7. Ian Moore (ER) 99-8; 8. Zorn Williams (THS) 98-9.