WINSTON-SALEM— For the second year in a row, Waxhaw Marvin Ridge swept both team championships in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A indoor track and field championships at JDL Fast Track on Saturday.
Marvin Ridge easily outdistanced the field in the men’s meet and slipped past Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons by five points in the women’s championship.
Marvin Ridge scored 96 points to win the men’s title with Asheville a distant second at 60. Weddington was third in the men’s team standings with 36 points, followed by Fayetteville Terry Sanford (34) as 41 different schools scored.
East Henderson’s Tanis Baldwin earned Most Valuable Performer honors for the championships. He ran a 4:17.71 to win the 1600 meters, setting a new 3-A mark, and also won the 3200.
Christopher Garrick of Marvin Ridge soared 6 feet, 11 inches in the high jump, breaking the old mark by an inch set in 2009 by Logan Elliston of Western Alamance, one of six new state records established on the men’s side.
Ledford’s Tristian Shaver cleared 15 feet, six inches in the pole vault for a new record, and Sun Valley’s Kadarius Lotharp set a new 55 dash 3-A record at 6.45 seconds.
Marvin Ridge tallied 67 points to 62 for runner-up Gibbons in the women’s meet, with Ngozi Frances Obuseh (shot put) and Alexa King (1600 meters) winning their events to lead Marvin Ridge. Southern Guilford (44), Asheville (32.5) and West Carteret (32) followed in order. There were 44 teams scoring in the women’s meet.
Southern Guilford’s Kylie McMillan was selected as the MVP of the women’s meet. She won the 55 hurdles, was second in the 55 dash and placed fifth in the 300.
Senior Courtney Warren of Pikeville Charles B. Aycock won the 300 in 40.67 seconds, a new 3-A women’s mark.
It was the second year for a separate 1-A/2-A championship. For the seven years prior, there was a separate 4-A meet and the 1-A, 2-A and 3-A schools competed together in a single championship.
