By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
D’Anna Cotton of Cummings won four events and the Cavaliers captured another state team championship in girls’ track and field by winning the Class 4-A state meet May 13 at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.
Cotton was named the Most Outstanding Performer for girls. Teammate Kaili Payne received one of the two sportsmanship awards for girls.
Cummings claimed its fourth consecutive outdoor team championship with 104 points to runner-up First Flight’s 61½. The Cavaliers have won 20 outdoor team titles under longtime coach Donnie Davis.
Cotton’s time of 14.28 seconds led the Cavaliers’ top-three sweep in the 100-meter hurdles, with Payne (14.34) and Honesti Trollinger (14.87) in the next two spots.
Led by Cotton’s mark of 42 feet, 10¼ inches, the Cavaliers swept the top three positions in the triple jump. Moore was second (38-10¼) and Payne was third (36-6½).
Cotton won in the 300 hurdles in 43.51, with Payne in third at 45.77, and Trollinger in fifth at 45.97.
Cotton’s long jump of 20-6 was the first-place mark, with Moore in second at 18-9¼, and Payne in fourth at 18-3¼.
Cummings had Nazaiah Hatfield, Samira Lennon, Trollinger, and Diamond Moore in the third-place 400 relay (49.14).
The Cummings unit of Hatfield, Lennon, Kennedy Fuller and Moore placed fourth in the 800 relay (1:47.59).
Whitney Griffis of Cummings was seventh in the shot put at 31-11½.
Graham’s Aiyana Neilly ended up ninth in the 200 (27.28).
Class 5-A
Southeast Alamance’s Jatay McMillian, Joseph Gibbs, Isaiah Tumey, and Marquis Burnette won the boys’ 400 relay in 42.60 seconds Friday.
That put the Stallions ahead of runner-up Monroe (42.90).
Burnette was the third-place finisher in the boys’ 100 in 10.79. Gibbs was seventh in 10.96.
Southeast’s Antonio Williamson’s 21-2½ effort in the long jump was good for third place, while Eastern Alamance’s Douglas Kittrells, Jr. was fifth in the event at 20-11.
Sammy Raphael of Eastern was fourth in the triple jump at 43-10.
Orange’s Myles Jermyn, son of former Elon coach Kevin Jermyn (and now at Duke), won the boys’ 3,200 (9:18.92) and was third in the 1,600 (4:18.51).
For girls, Western Alamance’s 400 relay of Sydnie Graves, Jada Webb, Malaia Neal, and Taliyha Brown placed third in 48.92.
Webb sprinted to sixth place in the 200 in 26.00.
Southeast’s Annaya McAdoo was eighth in the shot put at 33-7½. Teammate Aysha Howell also collected an eighth-place finish, leaping 16-9 in the long jump.
Class 6-A
Kristian Brown of Southern Alamance nabbed fourth place in the boys’ high jump Saturday. He cleared 6-2.
Southern’s 400 relay of Stephon Rogers, C.J. McAdoo, Sincere Thompson, and Brian Scott Patterson ran to sixth place at 42.87.
Max Thomas of Williams was sixth in the 1,600 in 4:30.22.
For the girls, Desirae Cheek of Williams tied for fifth place in the high jump at 5-2.
Southern’s Laila Darden placed seventh in the 200 in 12.43.
