2015 Wayne County Track & Field Championships: Rosewood boys end EW's 3-year reign

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 1, 2015 1:46 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Zack Barnes took the handoff from teammate Airic Murray and entered the first turn in a full stride.

Eastern Wayne had an 80-meter lead thanks to second- and third-leg runners Josh Bartz and Nation Best, respectively. But Barnes pushed on the backstretch with a strong wind in his face and slowly gained ground the 1,600 relay.

When the two reached the final 50 meters, Barnes kicked into another gear and crossed the finish line first. The comeback victory, the second staged by Barnes on the day, enabled Rosewood to halt Eastern Wayne's three-year reign as the Wayne County Track and Field team champion by the slimmest of margins -- 179-178.5.

Rosewood won its first WCTF title since 2011.

"Coach, I've never ran like that," a bent-over Barnes said as he walked off the track -- still clinching golden baton in his right hand.

Charles B. Aycock placed third with 110 points. Goldsboro (75.5 points), Southern Wayne (49) and Spring Creek (3) rounded out the team scoring. Wayne Christian also participated.

Barnes' heroics came three hours after a sterling performance by the Eagles in the 3,200 relay. Eastern Wayne seemed poise to defend its title, but faltered in the final 100-plus meters.

RHS head coach Robert Britt fussed with Barnes about his split time on the decisive lap.

"(I) was playing smart, coach," Barnes said. "I didn't know when he was going to kick it at the end."

The Eagles also received individual victories from pole vaulter Alex Godwin, sprinter Marquail Al-montaser (110 hurdles) and James Madison University football signee Tyree Chavious (shot put).

Eastern Wayne's Romello Hamilton captured three county titles -- the 100 and 400 dashes, and long jump. Teammates Malik Richards and KK Best claimed the high jump and triple jump, respectively.

Josh Bartz secured the 800 run and amended for the Warriors' late hiccup in the 3,200 relay. Bartz edged Rosewood's Dalton Farmer by two seconds.

Farmer walked over to Bartz and gave him a fist bump.

"Good race," Farmer said.

"You done?" Bartz asked.

"Yeah," Farmer said.

"You're lucky," Bartz said.

"Hah, I don't have anything left," Farmer said.

Battling the strong wind on the backside of the track, Bartz used a teammate to draft off of during the opening lap. His teammate drifted back on the second half and told Bartz 'it's all yours.'

"I just took off," said Bartz, who ran a 2:14.

The Warriors won the 800 relay.

Golden Falcons distance specialist Joseph Mooneyham emerged victorious in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. Mooneyham posted a time of 5-minutes, 2-seconds in the 1,600. As the brisk wind picked up later in the afternoon, Mooneyham took the 3,200 in 11:06.

"11:06?" said a disgusted Mooneyham, who walked into the infield before getting stopped by a teammate. "That's a bad time for me. I'm supposed to be in the 10:30s or 10:40s."

Teammate Alston Best repeated as the discus champion with a throw of 120 feet, 4 inches.

Goldsboro's Joe Baker won the 200 and 300 hurdles. The Cougars prevailed in the 400 relay in 45.8 seconds.