ECC Track and Field Championships took place Wednesday
North Lenoir’s De’Shaun Kee clears the bar at six feet to win the high jump competition at the Eastern Carolina Conference Championships Wednesday. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
By Junious Smith III
WASHINGTON — The Eastern Carolina Conference track and field championships took place Wednesday to plenty of strong performances across the board.
Among them was Kinston’s Lesley Sutton, who took victories in the 100 meter dash and 300 meter hurdles, winning the first race by .41 seconds before getting more breathing room in the latter.
“I knew it was going to be pretty close, so I had to fight through,” Sutton said. “I thought I had a great start (to the 100 meter race) and I was able to hold it throughout.”
North Lenoir’s De’Shaun Kee was able to clear 6 feet in his final high jump attempt to take home first place in the event.
“I had been working the entire year, hitting the weight room hard to build my legs up and continuing to battle,” Kee said. “Ever since the 10th grade, this was one of my goals to reach and I was able to stay committed to the program to get it.”
In long distance running, South Lenoir took over in multiple races, including the 4x800 Meter relay where the quartet ran it in 8:54 for a seven-second cushion over second place.
“We had been working all season and even had a good Spring Break practice, which helped us out a lot,” South Lenoir’s Gavin Sexton said. “Last year, we finished second in this race, so this year we wanted to win and make the gap as wide as we could.”
Ayden-Grifton’s Alexia Bryant put serious distance between herself and second place in the 100 Meter Hurdles, winning the race by 2.33 seconds.
“Throughout the season I had been running with some of the boys in practice, trying to keep up so I could prepare for Regionals,” Bryant said. Currently, I’m ranked fourth in Regionals and want to get into the top three so I can qualify for states.”
Overall, Kinston took the ECC 2A championship in boys’ track in field while Washington won in the girls’ competition. Regionals will take place May 11 at Wilson Fike High School.
RESULTS
BOYS
Kinston 152, Washington 134, South Lenoir 107, Ayden-Grifton 80, Greene Central 79, West Craven 61, North Lenoir 32
High Jump
De’Shaun Kee (NL) 6-0, Lamar Pridgen (GC) 5-10, Zakvil Smith (GC) 5-10, Trey Hawkins (NL) 5-10
Discus
Jakobe Waters (GC) 123-11, Sherfield Smith (W) 122-8, Alphonso Boyd (AG) 119-9.5
Long Jump
Niejel Wilkins (K) 22-0, Joseph Wright (WC) 21-4.5, Will London (K) 21-4
Triple Jump
Niejel Wilkins (K) 46-10.5, Shiqwaun Dixon (K) 39-6, Jaden Brown (WC) 39-4
Shot Put
Kaceion Williams (K) 46-0, Gregory Daniels (GC) 43-3, Alphonso Boyd (AG) 42-1
4x800 Relay
South Lenoir 8:54, Washington 9:01, Kinston 9:11
110 Meter Hurdles
Michael Reid (W) 14.84, Jeffrey Gunter (AG) 15.51, Niejel Wilkins (K) 16.31
100 Meter Dash
Donald Koonce (WC) 11.16, Rakeem Powe-Stanley 11.37, Sayquan Connor (GC) 11.40
4x200 Relay
Kinsotn 1:32.81, South Lenoir 1:33.88, Washington 1:36.10
1600 Meter Run
Dawson Cox (W) 4:54, Ian Ireland (SL) 5:02, Ethan Garris (SL) 5:12
4x100 Relay
West Craven 43.37, Greene Central 44.49, Kinston 44.72
400 Meter Dash
Emmanuel Fisher (K) 51.59, Michael Webb (AG) 52.93, Savion Miller (WC) 53.18
300 Meter Hurdles
Michael Reid (W) 40.60, Niejel Wilkins (K) 40.94, Jeffrey Gunter (AG) 41.68
800 Meter Run
Ethan Garris (SL) 2:12, Khadafiahn Turner (K) 2:14, Shykel Harvey-Grady 2:16
200 Meter Dash
Rakeem Powe-Stanley (K) 22.88, Isaya Brooks (SL) 22.95, Keshawn Best (AG) 22.97
3200 Meter Run
Dawson Cox (W) 11:14, Ian Ireland (SL) 11:28, Ricardo Hernandez (W) 12:48
4x400 Relay
Ayden-Grifton 3:35, Kinston 3:39, Washington 3:42
South Lenoir’s Marina Castillo led the way in the 1,600 and 3,200 Meter Run, winning both events at the Eastern Carolina Conference Championships Wednesday. Castillo’s teammate, Nathalie Ayala finished second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
GIRLS
Washington 173, Ayden-Grifton 167, Kinston 101.5, South Lenoir 79.5, Greene Central 56, North Lenoir 42, West Craven 19
High Jump
Zy’kierah Andrews (AG) 5-4, Aale’Yah Garris (AG) 5-2, Jada Powell (W) 4-6
Discus
Kanijah Taylor (NL) 99-3, Nyashia Sutton 93-11, Di’Ziya Thompson (GC) 81-10
Long Jump
Zy’kierah Andrews (AG) 17-2.5, Kimaja Spencer (W) 15-3.5, Taya Knight (W) 14-10
Triple Jump
Mekaylind Kilpatrick (K) 33-9, Kizoria Redmond (W) 32-4, Alexia Bryant (AG) 31-6.5
Shot Put
Kanijah Taylor (NL) 34-0, Kaliyah Sutton (GC) 33-4, Jakayah Summers (K) 32-6
4x800 Relay
South Lenoir 11:29, Washington 12:10, Kinston 12:43
100 Meter Hurdles
Alexia Bryant (AG) 17.24, Reagan Ruther (W) 19.57, Tonyea Lathan (K) 19.68
100 Meter Dash
Lesley Sutton (K) 12.89, Ashanti Booth (W) 13.30, Zykeria Exum (GC) 13.38
4x200 Relay
Washington 1:48.20, Ayden-Grifton 1:48.66, Kinston 1:54.44
1600 Meter Run
Marina Castillo (SL) 6:16, Hannah Evans (W) 6:34, Nathalie Ayala (SL) 6:37
4x100 Meter Relay
Washington 54.02, Kinston 55.92, Greene Central 57.45
400 Meter Dash
Kimaja Spencer (W) 59.59, Aale’Yah Garris (AG) 1:02.43, Lesley Sutton (K) 1:03.04
300 Meter Hurdles
Lesley Sutton (K) 51.18, Aale’Yah Garris (AG) 54.91, Anna Rouse (NL) 55.21
800 Meter Run
Alyssa Kopanski (SL) 2:46, Toni Foster (SL) 2:53, Marina Castillo (SL) 2:56
200 Meter Dash
Zy’kierah Andrews (AG) 26.03, Taizhe Darden (AG) 27.01, Lesley Sutton (K) 27.21
3200 Meter Run
Marina Castillo (SL) 14:14, Nathalie Ayala (SL) 15:24, Stephanie Lopez (AG) 15:27
4x400 Meter Relay
Washington 4:17, Ayden-Grifton 4:29, West Craven 4:37