Graham picks UNCW

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 23, 2018 8:30 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- Shelve a quality sprinter?

No one wanted to do it.

Not Scottie Rodgers.

Not Butch Bennett.

When the two Charles B. Aycock track and field coaches met, they discussed the gut-wrenching situation. They decided they had no choice.

Kamarion Graham needed to rest -- for two months. A left hamstring injury forced the senior sprinter to sit out several early-season meets.

"It was rough at the start," said Graham, who recently signed a national letter-of-intent to run next season at UNC Wilmington.

"I really wasn't sure if I was going to make it back in time for regionals and states. I took the time, tried to heal up as fast as I could."

Ice and relaxation were the norm.

Once Graham could jog comfortably, he began to do strength exercises and sprints with coach Bennett. The 5-foot-8, 150-pounder was eager to rediscover his groove.

He found it mid-April during the annual Wayne County Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet contested at Eastern Wayne.

Graham claimed the county crown in the 100-meter dash with a regional-qualifying time of 10.9 seconds. Two days later, he crossed the line in 11.24 seconds during a four-team meet at J.H. Rose.

"He came back pretty healthy, but when you have an injury like that it kind of messes with your mindset," Rodgers said. "Injuries like a hamstring can linger, so you have to be real careful."

In early May, Graham secured the gold medal in the 100 during the season-ending ECC 3-A/4-A meet in New Bern. He followed that up with a runner-up performance in the east regional.

On that same afternoon Graham and his 4x1 relay mates broke the school record en route to the regional championship. The quartet set a new mark in the state finals.

"He's doing great," Rodgers beamed.

Graham also drew attention from North Carolina Central.

When he sat down with the coaches to talk about his future, Rodgers told him to decide on his own.

Regardless, he'd be close to home at either school.

A member of the Raleigh-based Track Xplosion Club, Graham is expected to run the outdoor short sprints (100, 200) and indoor short sprints (60, 200) along with a relay while at UNCW. The Seahawk men ended up fourth in the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association Track and Field Championships.

UNCW assistant coach Donald Thomas said "he's looking forward to him [Graham] coming down and being part of the team. I want him and I need him.'"

Graham is the second CBA track performer to sign a D-1 scholarship during Rodgers' and Bennett's tenure as coaches. Courtney Warner, a five-time individual state champion, took her talents to East Carolina University in 2015.