SL track and field participates in Fayetteville event Saturday
South Lenoir’s Vian Villa passes the baton to Bryan Zeagler in the final leg of the 4x800 meter relay during Saturday’s Bill Carver Invitational in Fayetteville. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
By Junious Smith III
FAYETTEVILLE — South Lenoir was looking to find great competition as the Eastern Carolina Conference championships get closer, and it was found in Fayetteville.
The Blue Devils participated in Saturday’s Bill Carver Invitational at Reid Ross Classical, albeit without the full roster. Due to previous Easter obligations, everyone couldn’t attend, but it didn’t stop South Lenoir from getting high marks in some events.
The Blue Devils’ 4x800 meter relay boys’ team finished third, even with a lineup different than the norm.
“I ran the first leg when usually I run the last,” South Lenoir’s Ian Ireland said. “We had to replace Ethan (Garris) with Vian (Villa), who ran third, and Gavin (Sexton) ran second. It was definitely different than what I’m used to — I’m used to having more weight put on me at the end because when you’re running first it’s more about just going as fast as you can over trying to maintain a lead or chase the person ahead of you.”
From left, Bryan Zeagler, Gavin Sexton, Vian Villa and Ian Ireland finished third in the 4x800 meter relay during Saturday’s Bill Carver Invitational in Fayetteville. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
Bryan Zeagler took on the anchor position and said it was challenging, but was happy to help the team.
“Every leg matters in this race — you can’t have a bad one and think you’re going to win,” Zeagler said. “Even though this was different for me, we still did well and it meant a lot that my teammates relied on me to run the last leg.”
In the 3,200 meter run, Ireland finished third, Zeagler went 10th and Matthew Heath finished 15th. Ireland also went sixth in the 1,600 meter run with Zeagler going 12th and Villa 15th.
In the girls’ races, Marina Castillo finished sixth in the 1,600 meter run with a time of 6:16 and second in the 3,200 meter run at 13:25. Castillo, who was sick Saturday, said she wanted to push through.
“I was just thinking ‘I didn’t come all this way to not run my best,’” Castillo said. “I was going to keep going and when I finished the race, I could breathe again. I wanted to do this for my coach, teammates and everyone who came out to the event — I don’t think anyone came out just to watch us jog on the track.”
South Lenoir’s Nathalie Ayala, left and Marina Castillo were all smiles with Blue Devils coach Carlos Dodd after finishing in the top 11 of the 1,600 meter race in Saturday’s Bill Carver Invitational in Fayetteville. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
Nathalie Ayala also had a strong showing, running a 6:31 in the 1,600 meter run to finish 11th. Ayala said facing tough competition in the event — there were numerous NCHSAA 3A and 4A teams participating — will be beneficial when the ECC championships take place May 1 at Washington High School.
“When it comes to the conference, we don’t have as much competition when it comes to the distance races,” Ayala said. “Marina and I usually finish first and second, so I was excited to come out here against some of the bigger schools and I was able to shave 15 seconds off of my best time.”
South Lenoir’s Alyssa Kopanski finished fifth in the 800 meter race during Saturday’s Bill Carver Invitational in Fayetteville. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
Alyssa Kopanski finished fifth in the 800 meter race with a time of 2:42, which she also attributed to the level of competition.
“Playing against some of these 3A and 4A schools bring the best out of you and I tried to just run my race,” Kopanski said. “I was hoping to get under 2:40, but I did set a personal-best, so I’ll take it.
South Lenoir coach Carlos Dodd said it was important to have out-of-conference meets, especially against bigger schools.
“Most people don’t understand how beneficial something like this is, seeing different runners and facing 3A and 4A powerhouses,” Dodd said. “We’re one of the few schools in the conference who will schedule meets like this, and it helps us get faster and more prepared for play when we get back.”
