Gastonia – Both Andrews and Murphy middle school track and field teams had great days at this year’s NCRunners Middle School Elite Invitational 2022, which took place May 7 at Gaston Christian School Track.
While not sponsored by the N.C. High School Athletic Association, the meet was open to middle school teams across the state. Murphy boys came in second out of 35 schools, while Andrews’ boys finished fourth.
Murphy’s 4x200-meter relay team of Camden Breazeale, Cale Harger, Cameron Clem and Ryan Payne took first at the competition with a time of 1:39.12. The quartet also teamed up to take second in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 47.08.
Brady Orton had the highest finish for the Bulldogs in an individual event, taking third in the shot put (42 feet, 9 inches). Payne and Harger finished fourth in
the 400-meter dash (54.72) and long jump (17’7.5”), respectively.
Aaron Harger finished fifth in the shot put (39’3”) and discus (124’10”), while Breazeale finished seventh in the high jump (5’0”). Eighth-grader Joseph Gibby and seventh-grader Halie Hill also competed in the event.
For Andrews, eighth-grader Logan Shuler led the way with a first-place finish and new school record in the high jump (5’9”). O’Malley Salinas had top-three finishes in the 1,600-meter (4:51.21) and 3,200-meter run (10:24.56), plus placed fourth in the 800-meter run (2:11.31).
Salinas’ time in the 3,200-meter run is 20 seconds faster than the current top time among high school boys runners in the Smoky Mountain Conference. Other top-eight finishers were Myca Mustin, who placed eighth in the boys’ triple jump (33’9.5”), and Kaiya Ellis, who placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (18.47 in finals, 18.09 prelims).
Martins Creek eighth-grader Fern Crayton also competed at the event. Though she didn’t place, her times in the 800-meter run (2:37.16) and 1,600-meter run (5:41.65) were both school records.