Four high schools from the Palmetto State competed at the Eastern Challenge on Jan. 24 at Eddie Smith Field House in Chapel Hill, N.C. Dorman, Ridgeview, Spring Valley, and Westside made a presence at the meet. Westside brought both a male and female squad.
Most notable for South Carolina at the meet was Spring Valley's boy's 3200-meter relay squad of Brian Raymond, Reid Wilson, Darian Hodges, and Robert Thompson. The four-person relay captured the win over North Carolina's Southeast Raleigh High School with a final time of 8:26.43 to Raleigh's 8:26.58. Ridgeview High School's team of Thurman Trapp, Richard Williams, Aubrey Darnell, and Matt Strick placed eight with a time of 9:08.47. Spring Valley captured the 4A 3200-relay title at the State Track and Field Championships on May 10 with a time of 8:03.22. Ridgeview was the runner-up at the state championships.
On the girl's side Westside's Nyoka Norman place fourth in the 55-meter hurdle finals after crossing the line in 8.78. Norman placed sixth in the preliminaries with an 8.85. Teammate Polly Hardy finished with a 9.12 sprint in the finals. Norman was a member of Westside's 1600-meter relay team that finished 13th with a time of 4:25.63. Also competing on Westside's relay squad was Hardy, Carissa Walls, and Marissa Walls. Norman ran a 1:24.52 and teammate Hardy ran a 1:24.92 to finish 19th and 20th, respectively in the 500 for Westside.
Westside distance runner Jesse Lanier ran a time of 6:22.12 in the 1600-meter girls run. Lanier placed 33rd in the event.
Marissa Walls, a junior at Westside finished 18th in the 55 meter dash after crossing the line with a time of 7.66. Walls placed 42nd in the 300-dash with a finishing time of 45.79.
Westside girls finished 29th as a team with two points out of 36 teams.
Westside's men's 1600-meter relay team of Martez Brown, Brandon Ellis, Mauricus Brown, and Dennis Martin rounded out the top three in the event with a final time of 3:33.16.
Ellis moved on to the finals of the 55-meter dash after finishing fourth in the preliminaries with a 6.70 run. Ellis finished fifth in the finals with a time of 6.67. Ellis' teammate Martin failed to qualify for the finals with a 10th place showing in the preliminaries. Ridgeview's James Lipscomb finished 11th in the preliminaries.
Coming in first for South Carolina in the 300 meter dash was Michael Rhue, of Ridgeview. Rhue placed 25th and teammate Michael Lance placed 63rd out of 71 runners. In the boy's 500-meter dash Spring Valley's Robert Thompson ran a 1:10.36 to finish sixth overall. Ridgeview's Thurman Trapp finished 18th (1:12.36) and Westside's Martin finished 23rd (1:12.95). Martin finished second in the 55 hurdles after placing first in the preliminaries of the 55 hurdles. Out of the two times Martin ran the 55 he had the second fastest time of the day (7.74).
Hodges, of Spring Valley was the first finisher for South Carolina in the 1000-meter run. Hodges placed 18th with a time of 2:51.36. Ridgeview's Jonathan Baktues placed 23rd (2:52.99), Spring Valley's William Hunter plaed 25th (2:53.41), Westside's Mauricus Brown placed 30th (2:55.88) and Ridgeview's Deeds Kienker rounded out South Carolina's finishers with a 34th place finish in 2:57.93.
Wilson finished fifth overall and first for South Carolina in the 1600-meter event with a time of 4:32.33. Raymond's eighth place finish time of 4:36.58 in the 1600 gave him the second fastest time of the day for South Carolina. Kienker finished 20th (4:55.20) and Bakutes placed 27th (5:01.41). South Carolina athletes continued to make a presence in the distance events with Ridgeview's Aubrey Darnell rounding out the top three in the 3200-meter event with a time of 10:04.77. Strick placed fifth in the event with a final time of 10:09.19. Spring Valley's Mike Doucette finished 11th with a 10:33.51 finishing time in the 3200. Rounding out South Carolina's finishers in the 3200 is Daniel Knight (18th, 10:59.59) of Spring Valley.
The South Carolina boy's continued to compete at the Eastern Challenge in the field events. Leading the way for the Palmetto State was John Saffold of Ridgeview in the high jump. Saffold finished fifth (6-04) and teammate George Fields finished two spots behind (6-00). Dorman's Kenny Knox was the lone South Carolinian in the pole vault. Knox, the only Cavalier in the meet placed fifth with a best height of 13-01.00. Knox has a 2003 outdoor personal best of 13-00 (Taco Bell/State Championships).
Fields led Ridgeview in the long jump with a best jump of 21-02.50, placing him seventh overall. Dominick Bailey placed 12th for Ridgeview and Westside's Brown finished 15th in the long jump. In the triple jump John Saffold placed in the top six with a best leap of 44-03.00. Spring Valley's Phillip Tyler placed 15th after traveling 38-08.50. In the shot put event Spring Valley's Kenny Stevens and Richard Crumpler competed. Stevens placed ninth overall with a best heave of 46-02.25 and Crumpler finished in the 20th spot after throwing a distance of 42-00.00.
Placing highest on the boy's side of the meet for South Carolina was Westside with a 16 point scoring to finish eighth. Spring Valley was close behind with 13 points, placing 11th. Ridgeview placed 12th with 11 points and Dorman scored 1.5 points to finish 40th. 42 high school teams competed on the boy's side.
The Eastern Challenge consisted of schools from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Most notable for South Carolina at the meet was Spring Valley's boy's 3200-meter relay squad of Brian Raymond, Reid Wilson, Darian Hodges, and Robert Thompson. The four-person relay captured the win over North Carolina's Southeast Raleigh High School with a final time of 8:26.43 to Raleigh's 8:26.58. Ridgeview High School's team of Thurman Trapp, Richard Williams, Aubrey Darnell, and Matt Strick placed eight with a time of 9:08.47. Spring Valley captured the 4A 3200-relay title at the State Track and Field Championships on May 10 with a time of 8:03.22. Ridgeview was the runner-up at the state championships.
On the girl's side Westside's Nyoka Norman place fourth in the 55-meter hurdle finals after crossing the line in 8.78. Norman placed sixth in the preliminaries with an 8.85. Teammate Polly Hardy finished with a 9.12 sprint in the finals. Norman was a member of Westside's 1600-meter relay team that finished 13th with a time of 4:25.63. Also competing on Westside's relay squad was Hardy, Carissa Walls, and Marissa Walls. Norman ran a 1:24.52 and teammate Hardy ran a 1:24.92 to finish 19th and 20th, respectively in the 500 for Westside.
Westside distance runner Jesse Lanier ran a time of 6:22.12 in the 1600-meter girls run. Lanier placed 33rd in the event.
Marissa Walls, a junior at Westside finished 18th in the 55 meter dash after crossing the line with a time of 7.66. Walls placed 42nd in the 300-dash with a finishing time of 45.79.
Westside girls finished 29th as a team with two points out of 36 teams.
Westside's men's 1600-meter relay team of Martez Brown, Brandon Ellis, Mauricus Brown, and Dennis Martin rounded out the top three in the event with a final time of 3:33.16.
Ellis moved on to the finals of the 55-meter dash after finishing fourth in the preliminaries with a 6.70 run. Ellis finished fifth in the finals with a time of 6.67. Ellis' teammate Martin failed to qualify for the finals with a 10th place showing in the preliminaries. Ridgeview's James Lipscomb finished 11th in the preliminaries.
Coming in first for South Carolina in the 300 meter dash was Michael Rhue, of Ridgeview. Rhue placed 25th and teammate Michael Lance placed 63rd out of 71 runners. In the boy's 500-meter dash Spring Valley's Robert Thompson ran a 1:10.36 to finish sixth overall. Ridgeview's Thurman Trapp finished 18th (1:12.36) and Westside's Martin finished 23rd (1:12.95). Martin finished second in the 55 hurdles after placing first in the preliminaries of the 55 hurdles. Out of the two times Martin ran the 55 he had the second fastest time of the day (7.74).
Hodges, of Spring Valley was the first finisher for South Carolina in the 1000-meter run. Hodges placed 18th with a time of 2:51.36. Ridgeview's Jonathan Baktues placed 23rd (2:52.99), Spring Valley's William Hunter plaed 25th (2:53.41), Westside's Mauricus Brown placed 30th (2:55.88) and Ridgeview's Deeds Kienker rounded out South Carolina's finishers with a 34th place finish in 2:57.93.
Wilson finished fifth overall and first for South Carolina in the 1600-meter event with a time of 4:32.33. Raymond's eighth place finish time of 4:36.58 in the 1600 gave him the second fastest time of the day for South Carolina. Kienker finished 20th (4:55.20) and Bakutes placed 27th (5:01.41). South Carolina athletes continued to make a presence in the distance events with Ridgeview's Aubrey Darnell rounding out the top three in the 3200-meter event with a time of 10:04.77. Strick placed fifth in the event with a final time of 10:09.19. Spring Valley's Mike Doucette finished 11th with a 10:33.51 finishing time in the 3200. Rounding out South Carolina's finishers in the 3200 is Daniel Knight (18th, 10:59.59) of Spring Valley.
The South Carolina boy's continued to compete at the Eastern Challenge in the field events. Leading the way for the Palmetto State was John Saffold of Ridgeview in the high jump. Saffold finished fifth (6-04) and teammate George Fields finished two spots behind (6-00). Dorman's Kenny Knox was the lone South Carolinian in the pole vault. Knox, the only Cavalier in the meet placed fifth with a best height of 13-01.00. Knox has a 2003 outdoor personal best of 13-00 (Taco Bell/State Championships).
Fields led Ridgeview in the long jump with a best jump of 21-02.50, placing him seventh overall. Dominick Bailey placed 12th for Ridgeview and Westside's Brown finished 15th in the long jump. In the triple jump John Saffold placed in the top six with a best leap of 44-03.00. Spring Valley's Phillip Tyler placed 15th after traveling 38-08.50. In the shot put event Spring Valley's Kenny Stevens and Richard Crumpler competed. Stevens placed ninth overall with a best heave of 46-02.25 and Crumpler finished in the 20th spot after throwing a distance of 42-00.00.
Placing highest on the boy's side of the meet for South Carolina was Westside with a 16 point scoring to finish eighth. Spring Valley was close behind with 13 points, placing 11th. Ridgeview placed 12th with 11 points and Dorman scored 1.5 points to finish 40th. 42 high school teams competed on the boy's side.
The Eastern Challenge consisted of schools from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.