ER senior brings home third state title, but first during indoor track season

WINSTON-SALEM — Been there, done that. 

High school student-athletes experience that feeling all the time, but when they experience certain accomplishments for a second time, or in Eastern Randolph High School’s Mirianna Corea’s case a third time, it’s like a whole new experience and one they certainly should be just as proud of.

Corea captured her first indoor track state championship in the 3-A NCHSAA Indoor Track & Field last week at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem to add to her two other state championships she captured in NCHSAA outdoor state meets. 

Her toss of 38 feet and one-and-a-half inch in the shot put easily bested the field, earning her her third overall state championship heading into the spring outdoor season, where she’ll be set to defend her state title in the shot put. She also captured an outdoor state championship title in discus in 2024.

Mariclaire Smith of Madison was second with a heave of 30-09.50. “Honestly, it was great,” said Corea, who previously had finished second in the state outdoor discuss competition in 2024 and third in the indoor shot event in 2025. “I came in there as a No. 1 seed, still really nervous because anything can happen. This was a great moment to experience with my family and coaches. The third one is a great feeling.”

There were 13 qualifiers in the shot put at the 3-A state meet, with Corea being the top seed and the final thrower in a three-toss first-round elimination that sent four qualifiers home. The remaining nine tossed the shot put three more times with Corea recording her winning distance on her first throw.

Although the indoor shot puts weigh the same as the outdoor shot put at eight pounds, the outdoor shot puts are metal while the indoor shot puts are hard rubber balls filled with sand.

Corea was ranked fifth coming into last year’s state indoor meet; she had the added burden of having the top seed this year.

“It sure felt different,” she said. “I felt like I had eyes on me the whole time. I was confident, but nervous.”

Because of the two weeks of school missed due to snow and ice storms throughout the state, qualifying was determined by distances and times recorded during the regular season.

“It felt great, another accomplishment, a medal,” said Corea, who will be attending N.C. State in the fall. “It was a great way to end my indoor career.”

Other area results

While Corea earned a title, Trinity’s Kayla Franklin also reached the awards podium with a second place finish in the triple jump. A total of 13 individual athletes and five relay teams from Wheatmore, Trinity and Eastern Randolph qualified for the state 3-A championship meet.