Shuler caps track career with 11 titles; Barlow waits in the wings
Greensboro – Claire Barlow and Zoie Shuler checked in at North Carolina A&T University’s Aggie Stadium long enough to make an indelible impression.
The respective junior and senior have been on the run as of late, juggling their duties on Robbinsville’s track & field team with their roles as members of the powerhouse Lady Knights softball squad that qualified for the Western Regional Finals series Friday.
Though anticipated rainfall pushed back the 1A championship meet two days from its originally-scheduled date, Barlow and Shuler gladly traded their softball cleats for track spikes – for the final time, no less.
Shuler has already built a solid case for herself as the best athlete to don a Robbinsville uniform – male or female – and while the pursuit of an elusive softball championship ring will continue, her storybook track & field career with the Lady Knights has written its final chapter.
A leap of 37’ 1 ¾” inches in the triple jump and a clearance of 5’ 4” in the high jump wrapped up Shuler’s 10th and 11th individual state championships.
Good luck finding anyone in the annals of North Carolina sports history that can lay claim to that many solo titles – in any sport.
It is a legacy that becomes much more remarkable once you examine her records and realize that she did not win a single championship her freshman year: Shuler won 11 gold medals in three years.
“It feels really good ending my career with 11 state titles,” Shuler said. “Tracking has always been one of my favorite sports and has taught me a lot.”
The breakdown of Shuler’s reign seems fictional – but as competitors across the state can attest, it is all too real:
* Two, indoor track long jump state championships (2022, 2023);
* Two, indoor triple jump titles (2023, 2024);
* Two, outdoor long jump state crowns (2022, 2023);
* Two, outdoor high jump championships (2023, 2024);
* Three, outdoor triple jump gold medals (2022, 2023 and 2024).
“It’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that it’s over, but it was a great ride,” added Shuler.
Right on her heels throughout high school has been Barlow, who claimed second in the triple jump (35’ 4 ½”) and fifth in the long jump (16’ 4”) Monday.
Her time is now. Next year is Barlow’s chance to finally emerge from the pack and grab the gold for her trophy case.
She knows what it takes to conquer the field.
“My day started off slow, with long jump not going how I wanted it to,” Barlow said. “But it really just motivated me to do whatever I could get on the podium in (the) triple (jump).
“I am going to put a lot more focus on track for the upcoming season, with the newfound opportunities I have made for myself. I didn’t make enough time for track this year – but next year, I most definitely will.”
State debuts
Elsewhere at Monday’s meet, three Robbinsville track athletes made their first appearances in Greensboro – and their respective finishes ensured that not even one Black Knight finished outside the top 10.
Freshman Nathan Frederick has turned a lot of heads this year, including breaking a 23-year-old school record in the 800-meter dash at the regional meet May 11 (2:01.88).
Monday, Frederick was just milliseconds off that same mark, but still placed fifth with a time of 2:02.17.
The scary part is, he still has years to improve.
So does Isiac Collins, a sophomore who putted the shot 46’ 8 ¼” to also stamp a fifth-place finish. Across the facility, senior Aubrie Wachacha entered the state meet for the first time – and also concluded her time as a Lady Knight, by recording a distance of 86’ 3” in the discus throw.
Swain County swept both team championships, with the Maroon Devils winning the program’s first by edging Mountain Island Charter 81-75. Collins and Frederick’s placements secured eight team points on behalf of the Black Knights.
Shuler and Barlow’s efforts in the pit area alone set Robbinsville fifth in the race for the girls championship (39 points), but the Lady Devils retained the 1A crown by leaving second-place Lejeune in the dust, 94-41.