By Bret Strelow
Salisbury Post
The standouts who carried Salisbury’s girls to county, conference and regional track titles are set to compete again today at the 2A state meet in Greensboro.
Freshman Alisha Bradshaw is seeded third in the shot put and eighth in the discus.
The Hornets have entries in three other field events, notably the long jump. Shi-Heria Shipp (seeded eighth), Dasia McGill and Bubbles Phifer all qualified.
Shipp qualified in the high jump, and the field for the triple jump includes McGill and Kia Rice.
Salisbury’s 4×200 team of Shipp, Nickola Bradshaw, Chantelle Isaac and Lauren Caldwell is seeded fourth.
North Rowan’s girls are led by Tatiana Banks, a regional champion in the 400 meters. She is seeded fifth in that event.
On the boys side, North Rowan has won nine of the last 14 state titles, including four of the last five. Shelby is the favorite this year.
John Bostick, Rodney Smith and Daishion Barger lead the way for the Cavs. Anthony Imes, competing for the final time, is seeded ninth in the discus following an effort of 146 feet, 5 inches at the regional.
Imes, who has set a personal record in each of the last three weeks, said he’s capable of making of a 152-foot throw.
“I’ve got high goals, and I’m trying to meet them,” Imes said.
The Cavs’ eighth-seeded 4×400 team includes Bostick, Smith and fellow veteran Corey Angle. Barger or Cameron Mallett will fill out the foursome.
“Three of the five people we’ve got, we’ve been together since we were sophomores,” Angle said. “We’ve all learned to trust each other, especially in the 4×400. I think we have a chance to score.”
Bostick, Smith and Barger are also members of North’s 4×200 team, which is seeded 10th. Lathan Charleston is the other runner in that relay.
North didn’t capture a county or conference title, but the Cavaliers took a step forward by edging East Lincoln and Monroe for first place at last weekend’s regional meet.
“We have to come in and do our job,” Charleston said. “Since regionals, everybody’s confidence has built up.”
Salisbury’s boys have two entries in Romar Morris (100 meters) and A.J. Ford (shot put).
Bad fortune kept senior standout Ibn Ali from qualifying in the long jump or triple jump.
He took the SAT on the same day as the regional and wasn’t able to arrive at the meet in time to participate in the first jumping event. He wasn’t officially scratched from the field, so he was disqualified from the meet.
n Four county schools will be represented Saturday at the 3A West Regional track meet in Asheville.
West Rowan’s Justin Averyis the top seed in the 400 meters with a time of 49.76 seconds, and he’s the third seed for the 200. Avery, Clay Browning, Trey Mashore and Jordan Lilly are on the second-seeded 4×200 team.South Rowan’s B.J. Grant is seeded first in the high jump thanks to a previous effort of 6 feet, 6 inches. Maverick Miles is the third seed in the pole vault.
The highest seeds for East Rowan’s boys compete in the field events. The Mustangs have three of the top six seeds in the shot put (No. 2 Nolan Stehr, No. 4 Josh Patch and No. 6 Nathan Robbins). In the discus, Robbins is the fourth seed, one spot behind teammate David Fox. Wayne Parker, who injured his ankle at the county meet, is the second seed in the pole vault.
Carson’s Daniel Yates is the No. 2 seed in the long jump.
On the girls side, South Rowan’s Olivia Jacobs is the headliner. She is the fifth seed in both the 1,600 and 3,200. She’s seeded seventh in the 800.