The Davie High track and field team has seen so much individual success throughout the past seasons, from placing tenth in the 4A State Championship two seasons ago to having multiple athletes participate in the 4A Midwest regional competition this season. As the track team continues to grow, the dominance of the athletes is constantly displayed.
After a successful indoor track season, Davie began training in mid-February. Although their first meet was on March 21st, they wanted to ensure their athletes were prepared for the competition. After winning the 4A indoor state championship in men’s shotput, junior Cooper Williams was feeling “optimistic” about the upcoming season. He continues by adding, “I felt confident after hitting that PR during states because it showed me that I was capable of hitting higher marks.”
The first meet against Glenn, East Forsyth, and Parkland was hosted at Davie. Being it was the first meet, most of the athletes were nervous for their first competition of the season, but the War Eagles showed that they were no strangers to competition. The distance team displayed how their year-long training placed them above other competitors. Along with the distance team, the War Eagle throwing team demonstrated why they have consistently been at the top of the conference, with Williams and senior Sophia Brady winning first place in shot put and discus, respectively. This first meet proved to be successful, indicating that Davie was in for a highly promising season.
The next meet was another conference match-up held at Mount Tabor against Reagan and Reynolds. Davie was met with many challenging opponents and unfortunately fell short of the competition in many events. But while the rest of the team struggled to find their footing, the Davie jumps team prevailed in the face of competition. Sophomore Austin Sweet dominated in pole vault throughout the season, and this meet was no exception. Sweet put up a mark of 14 feet and 1 inch, securing the first-place spot and beginning the season in an ideal position.
In the next few meets, many athletes showed great success in their individual events. During the invitational meet at West Cabarrus High School, Williams again displayed his talents in the shot put. After arriving at the meet with no time to spare, the Davie team was rushed to their events, getting little to no time to warm up. Although this would inhibit many athletes’ performance, Williams saw this as an opportunity to beat a record once held by his older brother and Davie alum Spencer Williams. On his first throw, Williams broke the junior state record by throwing a mark of 63 feet and 2 inches.
During a conference meet against Reagan, Reynolds, and Tabor, senior Mason Kuhnemann showed a dominant performance in the 100-meter dash, placing third overall, running a time of 11.19 seconds. In the same meet, senior Jaylan Clement-Greene placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.11 seconds. Junior Maegan Purvis also clinched first place in the long jump with a mark of 15 feet, her best performance of the season.
Going into the CPC Championship Meet, the coaches worked hard to choose the top three athletes in each event. The Davie team trained vigorously for the next few weeks to prepare for this meet. The slate was filled with tough competition, and only three Davie athletes received all-conference honors at this meet. Junior Thomas Essic, placed second in the 3200-meter run with a time of 9:57.10. Essic has shown great improvement throughout the season, running multiple personal records in all of his events and even competing in Adidas Indoor Track Nationals in March. Again, the Davie throwing team performed at the highest level by winning the CPC conference championship in both the women’s discus and the men’s shot put. Brady came into this meet seeded second in the conference in discus, but through a powerful performance, she ended the meet with a 7-foot PR clinching the first-place spot and being named CPC champion and CPC all-conference. Williams met all expectations by easily taking first place and beating all other competition by an 8-foot margin, also winning CPC champion and CPC all-conference.
Being in the hardest athletic region, it was very challenging for athletes to qualify for the 4A Midwest Regional Meet. This year, the team took five athletes and one relay team to the competition to represent Davie’s top performers. Once again, Williams and Sweet demonstrated their talents by finishing second and fourth in shot put and pole vault. These standings gave each athlete a ticket to the 4A State Championship held at Greensboro A&T on Friday, May 17th.
Going into the state meet, Sweet was set to face the toughest competition he had gone up against to this point. Although he was seeded lower than many competitors, he marked a PR of 14 feet and 6 inches, finishing fifth in the meet. Shortly after Sweet, Williams competed in the men’s shot put, finishing this meet second. Although he did not have his best performance of the season, Williams ended as a top contender in both men’s shot put and discus.
As the Davie track team continues to grow, so will their success. Through dedicated training, these athletes have proven that they can compete with top competition. The Davie track team has never backed away from a challenge, and because of this ambitious spirit instilled in all athletes, we are sure that this team has a bright future ahead.
