Wayne County Track Championships

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 20, 2010 1:46 PM

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Mikayla Huf shined in her debut, while Eastern Wayne's girls and Charles B. Aycock's boys willingly settled for "repeat offender" tags during the 2010 Wayne County Track and Field Championships on Monday afternoon.

Huf, a sophomore, claimed two gold medals during her first-ever county meet. She captured the 3,200-meter run in 15 minutes, 50 seconds and returned later in the day to secure the 1,600 crown in 6:56.

The Warrior girls won just four individual events and two relays, but their depth proved pivotal in a 160-point outing -- 75 points better than runner-up Aycock. Eastern Wayne claimed its fourth consecutive championship and at least its fifth overall since 2004.

Southern Wayne ended up third with 89 points, followed by Rosewood (60), Goldsboro (55), Spring Creek (48) and Wayne Christian (22).

The Golden Falcon boys emerged victorious in just four individual events and one relay, and edged meet host Rosewood 157-154. Aycock picked up its second straight crown and at least its third since 2004.

Goldsboro, which won the 3,200 relay, grabbed third place with 94 points. Eastern Wayne (82), Southern Wayne (36) and Wayne Christian (27) rounded out the six-team field. Spring Creek did not participate.

"I thought this was a great competitive track meet for all the Wayne County schools," said Aycock head coach James Westbrook. "There were some outstanding performances and excellent sportsmanship displayed by a lot of athletes from all the schools."

Huf was just one of six competitors to win double gold in pleasant sunny conditions. Southern Wayne's Chanel Jackson picked up gold in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, while Eastern Wayne senior Tiarra McIntyre was a double champion in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.

Throughout the 1,600 race, Huf stayed on the heels of Rosewood's Jennifer Page. On the final lap, Page seemed to lag a little and that caught Huf off guard.

"I thought maybe she was trying to fake me out," said Huf. "So, with about 300 meters left, I just sprinted it out."

On the boys' side, Wayne Christian's Connor Jones earned top times in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. Rosewood's Ahkeem Simms seized the high jump and 300 hurdles titles, and also ran the anchor leg on the gold-medal winning 1,600-meter relay. Antonio Henriques won the triple jump and 400 dash, and also participated on the 1,600 relay.

The 2009 News-Argus boys' cross country runner-of-the-year, Jones took the lead once the starting gun sounded for the 1,600. Eastern Wayne's Adrian Thompson and Goldsboro's Bryan Johnson stayed within striking distance before Jones pulled away.

"I like setting the pace," said the soft-spoken runner. "I just got out in front and ran as fast as I could. Adrian was right behind me the whole time and I think he might have clipped my heels once."

On the day, every county school had at least one individual champion.

Aycock received individual wins from Caleb Scott (shot put), Antonio Applewhite (long jump), Deven Sanders (200) and Cade Ivy (800). The Golden Falcons won the 800 relay.

"I thought the field event guys really stepped up their performance and was a big key to our success today because of the deficit we were facing with having no pole vaulters," said Westbrook. "Applewhite in the jumps and Caleb Scott, Drew Daniels and Greg Johnson came up big in their events. I thought both the distance and sprinters had an excellent day with many guys posting some of their best times of the year.

"We were able to score points up and down our lineup."

Kahleel Sarah (discus) and senior Will White (110 hurdles) were individual winners for Eastern Wayne. White participated on the gold-medal winning 400 relay which ran a season-best 44.8 seconds.

Rosewood's Patrick Donahue won the pole vault and Southern Wayne's Minek Ford took the 100-meter championship in 11.04 seconds.

"I came out of the blocks standing up, but it was all right ... still got some work to do," said Ford. "I ran the same time last Thursday at South Johnston. I wanted to be faster, but it takes time."

Gold medalists during the girls' portion of the meet were Wayne Christian's Summer Brathwaite (shot put), Aycock's Emily Martin (discus), Eastern Wayne's Ayanna DeCruise (triple jump), Spring Creek's Melanique DeVeaux (high jump), Rosewood's Meghan Millard (pole vault), Eastern Wayne's Tia Jones (400) and Aycock's Katie Johnson (800).

The Saints won the 400 relay, while the Golden Falcons took the 3,200 relay. The Warriors won the 800 and 1,600 relays.