NCHSAA State Championship Lives Up To Hype
Boys 3A
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Championships kicked off Saturday in Kernersville at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex. The three big storylines to follow were individuals Cameron Ponder from Mount Tabor High in the boys 3A race and John Tatter from R.J. Reynolds High School, and the Green Hope Boys in the Class 4A team race.
The 3A boys race came down to the last mile between three runners: Flo50 No. 22 ranked Ponder, Laderique McNeill from Harnett Central, and David Melville from Northern Guilford. With just that last mile left to run, McNeill was leading the charge.
In the end, however, it would be Ponder who would come away with the win, running 15:20. He ever so slightly pulled away from Melville, who would finish second in 15:26 and McNeill took third with 15:28.
Ponders' Mount Tabor teammates would also come away with a team win, scoring 72 points. Weddington finished second with 110 points, while Chapel Hill was third with 114 points.
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameron Ponder | 12 | Mount Tabor | 15:19.77 | 1 | ||
| 2 | David Melville | 12 | Northern Guilford | 15:26.85 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Laderique McNeill | 12 | Harnett Central | 15:29.34 | 3 | ||
Boys 4A
The boys Class 4A race didn't disappoint, either. Tatter ran an outstanding race to take home the individual title in 15:20.11, only a second off of Ponder's time.
Flo50 No. 14 Green Hope took a big win, too, scoring 43 points. The squad finished second, sixth, seventh, 10th and 18th (+26th and 32nd), running a 16:02 average and putting together a 33-second split between its scorers. Green Hope was led by senior Finn McBride, who placed second in 15:46.39.
By: Bryan Deibel
Related Links:
- Articles
- Results
- NCHSAA State Championship Boys Virtual Meets
- The Top Girls Athletes Contending For State Titles This Weekend
- Texas Shows Off Depth At State Meet
Weekend Rundown: