Robbinsville track & field makes splash at regionals
* State meet preview
Columbus – Though no regional champions from Robbinsville were crowned at Friday's meet, the Black Knights stamped eight tickets to the state championship.
Six boys and two girls from Graham County will vie for a gold medal at North Carolina A&T University's Aggie Stadium on Friday, May 16. The meet begins at 9:30 a.m.; live results can be found on The Graham Star's Facebook page, as well as @KevinHensleyCNI on X.
Leading Robbinsville's success Friday at Polk County High School were the boys 4x800 and 4x400 relays. The tandem of Colton McCoy, Austin Bohn, Xamuel Wachacha and Nathan Frederick set a new school record in the 4x800, clinching regional runner-up with a time of 8:20.81. Cameron Allison swapped with Wachacha in the 4x400, which also placed second by completing the task in 3:30.82.
Frederick has already broken and reset the program standard in the 800-meter run this season and will make his second trip to Greensboro after finishing third Friday (2:00.88). McCoy will also pull double duty at state, following a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash (50.71).
Isiac Collins will compete in both the shot put and discus throw, thanks to respective second- (50 feet, 8 1/2 inches) and fourth-place (136' 2") finishes at regionals.
Lady Knights' Chloe Adams and Claire Barlow both clinched a spot in Greensboro with a pair of third-place leaps at regionals: Adams in the long jump (17' 2") and Barlow in the triple jump (34' 7 1/2"). Barlow's visit to N.C. A&T will be the fourth of her high school career; a freshman, Adams will be debuting on the big stage.
In the race for a team championship, the Black Knights took fifth (44 team points) and the Lady Knights 11th (20).
Corvian Community School captured the 1A boys regional title, besting second-place Mountain Island Charter 138-107. Swain County attained the girls crown, compiling 122 points to beat Mountain Island Charter (103).
Other competitors
The following athletes represented the Knights in other events at regionals:
* Adams: 5th in triple jump (34' 3"), 8th in 100-meter dash (12.81) and 9th in 200 dash (26.71);
* Barlow: 9th in long jump (15' 8 1/4");
* Avery Farley: 8th in pole vault (8'6");
* Kadence Howell: 11th in discus throw (86' 5").
* Wachacha: 7th in 3,200-meter run (10:25.63);
* Abby Wehr: 6th in 1,600-meter run (5:54.68).