Two relay teams, five girls and four boys from Watauga’s track program are moving on to the state championships May 15 at Raleigh. Competitors who placed in the top four in each event at the 4-A Western Regional Championships at Watauga Saturday advanced to the state meet. Watauga’s boys’ and girls’ 3,200-meter relay teams qualified for the state championships, which are at Paul Deer Track at N.C. State. Sallie Gurganus, Julie Ward, Ginna Calloway, Anna Mae Flynn and Danielle Cullen will also represent the girls’ team. For the boys, Daniel Corriher, Daniel Fioramonti, Adrian Wilkinson and David Gibbs will make the trip from Watauga to Raleigh. |
Competitors who placed in the top four in each event at the 4-A Western Regional Championships at Watauga Saturday advanced to the state meet.
Watauga’s boys’ and girls’ 3,200-meter relay teams qualified for the state championships, which are at Paul Deer Track at N.C. State.
Sallie Gurganus, Julie Ward, Ginna Calloway, Anna Mae Flynn and Danielle Cullen will also represent the girls’ team. For the boys, Daniel Corriher, Daniel Fioramonti, Adrian Wilkinson and David Gibbs will make the trip from Watauga to Raleigh.
“We had some surprises,” Watauga coach Randy McDonough said. “We got David Gibbs to the state meet, Adrian Wilkinson jumped very well, Daniel (Corriher) and Daniel (Fioramonti) did their usual good job. Daniel Fioramonti may not have been happy with his, but he did what he had to do. I said from the beginning, this is a qualifying meet, and he qualified.”
Fioramonti’s fourth place discus throw of 139 feet, one inch wasn’t his best throw, but it was good enough to get to state. Getting there is all that matters in most events, McDonough said.
“The only time I worry about them if they don’t do well and qualify is in the 800, because that’s the only one at the state meet that runs a two-heat final,” he said. “If they get in the weak heat, that hurts them a lot. With everything else, you’re on even ground once you get to the state meet, so I think we’re in pretty good shape.”
Fioramonti’s teammate, Corriher, threw his personal best in the shot put and placed third with a mark of 48-feet, 10.5-inches.
“That’s my personal best by about one foot, four inches,” Corriher said. “I just hope to improve and break 49 feet at state, maybe 50. That way a lot of colleges will start to look at me, even more than they have been. I threw past 48 feet twice today and I think with a hard week of practice I’ll be able to throw 50 feet.”
Corriher said he thinks having a teammate to train with, especially one who he knows as well as Fioramonti, will help his training as the two will push each other.
Anna Mae Flynn and Danielle Cullen can push each other as well in this week of practice. They finished second and fourth in the 3,200-meter run, respectively.
“She’s a good runner and I think that helps a lot when you’ve got someone in your event going with you,” Cullen said.
Another help, Cullen said, was the schedule heavy with weekend meets. Meets like the Taco Bell and Pepsi/Outback meets showed Cullen and her teammates some of the region’s top competition, some of which is better competition than they will see at the state meet.
“It’s helped me stay mentally strong,” Cullen said. “Even when I have a bad race, I know I have to pick myself up and keep going because you’re going to have ups and downs but you have keep running. You can’t curl up in a ball and cry about it. Everybody has bad races; it’s those people that can keep going and pick themselves up that are the real strong ones.”
Sallie Gurganus and Julie Ward finished second and third in the pole vault, and Ginna Calloway took third in the 1600-meter run. Calloway is also the anchor leg on the girls’ 3,200-meter relay team, which took the only first place for the Pioneers Saturday.
The 3,200-meter, or 4x8 as it’s usually called, relay team finished second at the state meet last year, and that has remained at the forefront of the team’s minds.
“Since last season, when we came in second, we’ve had our eye on first the whole time,” Calloway said. “That’s not to say we won’t be proud of the work we’ve done if that isn’t the outcome, but that’s always what we’re going for.”
McDonough is optimistic for the girls, and though he hasn’t seen all of the competition, believes they can bring home a championship in the event.
“The 4x8 team is rounding into shape,” he said. “I think they have a team that can come in first. I think that’s a very viable goal they’re going for. I haven’t seen times from the east recently, but right now we have one of the top times in the state. They’ve had that goal since last year when they came in second and I think they’re running very well right now and could very well do it.”
For the boys, Wilkinson advanced in the triple jump with a fourth-place jump of 45-feet even. David Gibbs also advanced in the 300-meter hurdles, in his first year of running the event, with a third-place time of 41.18.
West Charlotte won the boys’ team competition with 101 points. Garinger was second with 71 points while McDowell was third with 70. Watauga took ninth with 33 points.
Harding won the girls’ meet with 142 points. Vance was second with 91, Providence third with 73.5 and Watauga fourth with 60.5.
N.C. 4-A Western Regoinals at Jack Groce Stadium
Top ten girls’ team results: 1, Harding, 142; 2, Vance, 91; 3, Providence, 73.5; 4, Watauga, 60.5; 5, West Charlotte, 59; 6, Butler, 43.5; 7, Freedom, 40; 8, Waddell, 34; 9, A.C. Reynolds, 26; 10, South Mecklenburg, 25.
Girls’ Individual winners and Watauga placers:
Pole Vault: 1, Prohoniak (VAN), 11-06; 2, Gurganus, 11-00; 3, Ward, 9-06; 8, Dewel, 8-06.
High Jump: 1, Webster (PRV), 5-04; 5, Gurganus, 4-10.
Long Jump: 1, Knotts (BUT), 17-09.
Triple Jump: 1, Barringer (HAR), 39-11.
Shot Put: 1, Hayes (HAR), 46-00.50.
Discus: 1, Hayes (HAR), 132-05.59.
100-meter hurdles: 1, Barringer (HAR), 14.36.
300-meter hurdles: 1, Wallace (HAR), 47.68.
100-meter dash: 1, Froneberger (HAR), 12.02; 5, Ellington, 12.62.
200-meter dash: 1, Froneberger (HAR), 24.78; 5, Ellington, 26.24.
400-meter dash: 1, Carothers (HAR), 57.33.
800-meter run: 1, Jackson (WAD), 2:21.06.
1600-meter run: 1, Jackson (WAD), 5:25.59; 3, Calloway, 5:33.26; 5, Norris, 5:34.40.
3200-meter run: 1, Wilke (PRV), 11:39.56; 2, Flynn, 12:08.20; 4, Cullen, 12:12.28.
400-meter relay: 1, Harding, 48.59.
800-meter relay: 1, Harding, 1:41.59.
1600-meter relay: 1, Harding, 4:03.59.
3200-meter relay: 1, Watauga, 10:03.74.
Top ten boys’ team results: 1, West Charlotte, 101; 2, Garinger, 71; 3, McDowell, 70; 4, Vance, 68.5; 5, Harding, 55; 6, Providence, 41; 7, A.C. Reynolds, 37; 8, Butler, 35; 9, Watauga, 33; 10, Freedom, 31.
Boys’ individual winners and Watauga placers:
Pole Vault: 1, Kincaid (MCD), 13-06.
High Jump: 1, Ledbetter (GAR), 6-04.
Long Jump: 1, Guy (WCH), 23-00.25.
Triple Jump: 1, Orr (HAR), 46-08; 4, Wilkinson, 45-00.
Shot Put: 1, Lewis (GAR), 53-05; 3, Corriher, 48-10.50.
Discus: 1, Frazier (VAN), 140-07; 4, Fioramonti, 139-01; 8, Salzano, 120-05.
110-meter hurdles: 1, Stokes (BUT), 13.84; 8, Gibbs, 0:15.22.
300-meter hurdles: 1, Liverman (ACR), 38.71; 3, Gibbs, 0:41.18.
100-meter dash: 1, Hancock (WCH), 10.67.
200-meter dash: 1, Guy (WCH), 21.61.
400-meter dash: 1, Johnson (GAR), 49.50.
800-meter run: 1, Jones (IND), 1:57.31.
1600-meter run: 1, Eckard (SC), 4:30.26; 7, M. Smith, 4:46.51.
3200-meter run: 1, Desta (MCD), 9:59.96; 7, Bathanti, 10:14.37.
400-meter relay: 1, West Charlotte, 42.38.
800-meter relay: 1, West Charlotte, 1:28.78.
1600-meter relay: 1, West Charlotte, 3:26.12.
3200-meter relay: 1, McDowell, 8:00.46; 4, Watauga, 8:23.04.