Mallard Creek’s boys track & field team edged past reigning state champion Weddington in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A state championship at N.C. A&T University on Friday.

The Mavericks finished the day with 60 points, five points ahead of Weddington, which placed second in the team standings with 55 points.

Relay performances were a big help for Mallard Creek. In the 4×200 relay, Nassor Ashenafi, Travis McFadden, Justin Watts, and Tyson Williams teamed up for a time of 1:24.81, which narrowly beat Parkland’s time of 1:25.23.

Mallard Creek also had second place finishes in the 4×100 relay and the 4×400 relay.

In the 200 meter dash, Williams earned a first-place finish for the Mavericks with a time of 20.92 seconds. Reagan’s Brandon Harris was second with a time of 21.17 seconds. Williams also finished second in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.451 seconds — 0.03 seconds behind Northern Guilford’s Johnathan Walrath and 0.008 seconds ahead of New Hanover’s Cashmere James.

Nyan Brown also had a third place finish for Mallard Creek in the 300 hurdles.

Weddington had two field athletes and one relay team with first-place finishes. The 4×800 relay team took home first place with a time of 7:42.68. The team included Hunter Bates, Ian Mas, Logan Bentley, and Anderson Taylor. Bates also finished third in the 800 meter run.

Eli Clark won gold in the pole vault for the Warriors, while Christopher Stewart set a new meet record of 61-7.50 in the shot put. The previous record of 61-4.50 was set by Northern Durham’s Mike Salzano in 1975. Kolton Weaver also placed third in the shot put for Weddington with a distance of 54-8.25.

Shot put was not the only meet record that fell on Friday though. Parkland’s 4×100 relay team of Kobe Mack, Antwan Hughes Jr., Jaylin Bacote, and Micah Walker set a new mark with a time of 40.66 seconds. The previous meet record of 40.87 seconds was set by Mallard Creek last season.

Rounding out the top five in the team standings was Cuthbertson (35), Parkland (31), and Reagan (27).

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4A Boys Track & Field Results: Running Events

4×800 Meter Relay

1. Weddington (Hunter Bates, Ian Mas, Logan Bentley, Anderson Taylor) – 7:42.68

2. T.C. Roberson (Will Fiore, Nicholas Gibson, Paul Curran, Kevin Cordero) – 7:43.84

3. Marvin Ridge (Matthew Davis, Ishan More, Michael Rivlin, David Rivlin) – 7:44.94

110 Meter Hurdles

1. James Coleman (Chapel Hill) – 14.03

2. Charles Spellings (Cuthbertson) – 14.22

3. Eric Heal (Mooresville) – 14.25

100 Meter Dash

1. Johnathan Walrath (Northern Guilford) – 10.42

2. Tyson Williams (Mallard Creek) – 10.451

3. Cashmere James (New Hanover) – 10.459

4×200 Meter Relay

1. Mallard Creek (Nassor Ashenafi, Travis McFadden, Justin Watts, Tyson Williams) – 1:24.81

2. Parkland (Antwan Hughes Jr., Kobe Mack, Micah Walker, Jaylin Bacote) – 1:25.23

3. Cleveland (Joshua McMillan, Jordan Gulley, Shawn Williams, Ronalon Renwick) – 1:25.73

1600 Meter Run

1. Noah Valyo (Athens Drive) – 4:14.67

2. Will Venable (Broughton) – 4:16.18

3. Philip Blum (Riverside) – 4:16.52

4×100 Meter Relay

1. Parkland (Kobe Mack, Antwan Hughes Jr., Jaylin Bacote, Micah Walker) – 40.66 (new meet record)

2. Mallard Creek (Names not listed) – 40.72 (new Meet record)

3. Reagan (Jerry Summers, Sephone Scales, Carter Powell, Brandon Harris) – 41.09

Previous meet record of 40.87 set by Mallard Creek (C. Clark, B. Black, J. Lee, C. Dixon) in 2023

400 Meter Dash

1. Noah Horn (Middle Creek) – 50.09

2. Trevor Hyman (Clayton) – 49.40

3. Noah Harris (Hillside) – 49.22

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Rance Springs (Mount Tabor) – 36.71

2. James Coleman (Chapel Hill) – 36.85

3. Nyan Brown (Mallard Creek) – 37.69

800 Meter Run

1. Logan Hill (Charlotte Catholic) – 1:54.29

2. Joshua Cooper (Willow Spring) – 1:54.39

3. Hunter Bates (Weddington) – 1:56.12

Boys 200 Meter Dash

1. Tyson Williams (Mallard Creek) – 20.92

2. Brandon Harris (Reagan) – 21.17

3. Cashmere James (New Hanover) – 21.22

Boys 3200 meter Run

1. Noah Valyo (Athens Drive) – 9:01.94

2. Michael Haskin (Asheville) – 9:03.96

3. Will Venable (Broughton) – 9:07.08

Boys 4×400 Meter Relay

1. Hough (Morris Johnson, Wyatt Stoner, Brackton Parrish, Tim Brown) – 3:15.63

2. Mallard Creek (Mason Kelly, Nyan Brown, Travis McFadden, Justin Watts) – 3:16.56

3. Willow Spring (Josiah Gray, Laden Beckwith, Joshua Cooper, Jeremiah Gray) – 3:16.76

4A Boys Track & Field Results: Field Events

Long Jump

1. Andrew Davis (Ardrey Kell) – 22-10.25

2. Armon Wright (Chambers) – 22-9.75

3. Kristoffer Jones (North Mecklenburg) – 22-6

High Jump

1. Gianni Vines (West Cabarrus) – 6-10

2. Jordan Stevens (West Forsyth) – 6-4

T3. Theodore Skinner (South Garner) – 6-4

T3. Chase Hunter (East Chapel Hill) – 6-4

Discus Throw

1. Carter Barnes (T.C. Roberson) – 137-5

2. Hunter Hinkle (Northern Durham) – 144-6

3. Edward Brown (Jordan) – 144-9

Triple Jump

1. Armon Wright (Chambers) – 48-9.50

2. William Leak (Hoke County) – 48-2.50

3. Alexander Chapman-Evans (Enloe) – 47-0.50

Pole Vault

1. Eli Clark (Weddington) – 15-0

2. Joseph Beck (Apex) – 15-0

3. Dillon Kaulback (Leesville Road) – 14-6

Shot Put

1. Christopher Stewart (Weddington) – 61-7.50 (New Meet Record)

2. Cooper Williams (Davie County) – 55-2.25

3. Kolton Weaver (Weddington) – 54-8.25

Previous meet reocrd of 61-4.50 was set by Mike Salzano (Northern Durham) in 1975.

4A Boys Track & Field Team Standings

1. Mallard Creek – 60
2. Weddington – 55
3. Cuthbertson – 35
4. Parkland – 31
5. Reagan – 27
6. Mount Tabor – 26
7. Athens Drive – 24
8. New Hanover – 22
9. Cleveland – 21
10. Northern Guilford – 19
T11. Chambers – 18
T11. Chapel Hill – 18
T11 – Ardrey Kell – 18
14. Willow Spring – 17
15. Hoke County – 16

Source: highschoolot.com