By Ryan Bisesi
rbisesi@salisburypost.com
GREENSBORO ó Daishion Barger may be West Rowan’s version of the million-dollar man.
Wearing a cast on his right arm, compression tape on his hamstring and the title of defending state champion, Barger strolled his way to second place in the 110-meter hurdles Friday at the state 3A championship at Irwin Belk Track at N.C. A&T.
Although he wasnít at full speed, his performance showed he clearly wasnít falling apart at the seams either. Barger, who knows how to take a hit from playing wide receiver for the Falcons, turned some heads after being seeded sixth. Barger injured his arm and his wrist falling over a hurdle in an earlier meet at Mount Pleasant.
ěI knew if I was at 100 percent, I could win it,î Barger said. ěWith the injuries beating me down, I had to fight through the pain.î
Although neither Barger nor East Rowan defending shot put champion Sam Sherman could repeat their championships, Rowan County was well-represented in Fridayís meet.
Barger finished in 14.53 seconds, short of his personal best 13.89. He ran a 14.85 in the preliminaries.
ěGutsy effort,î West coach Ralph Ellis claimed. ěHe was seeded sixth and finished second on an injured leg. To finish second in the state meet at about 80 percent, he did a heck of a job.î
Boys state champion Fayetteville Byrd edged Burlington Williams 42-41 thanks to meet MVP Eric Winfrey, who was first in the 400 and second in the 200. West, with only a handful of competitors, finished 13th with 21 points after winning the Midwest regional last Saturday.
ěWe gave a great effort,î Ellis said. ěWe broke seed in several events.î
Winterville Central won the girls with 51 points.
Westís Jamarian Mabry and Trey Mashore went back-and-forth in the long jump before Mabry (22-5) bested his teammate by seven inches for the duo to finish 3-4 after being seeded 5-6.
ěItís always fun where youíre competing with a teammate,î Mashore said. ěI just wanted to compete and give it the best I had. I felt like I could have done better, but it was great to break seed.î
Quinton Phifer earned a point for the Falcons in the high jump, jumping 6-feet, 2-inches. The West 4×200 relay team (Mashore, Tevin Gregory, C.J. Ellis, Brandon Ijames) also finished eighth in 1:31.49.
Sherman, who came into the meet ranked second after throwing 53-9 in the regional, could only manage a 52-21/2. There was a light mist in the air for much of the competition that could have caused problems gripping the ball, but Sherman made no excuse.
ěI thought my technique was alright,î said a disappointed Sherman, who will throw at Western Carolina next year. ěItís just every time I threw, it just slipped off. I felt pretty confident coming out here. I should have come in second, at least.î
South Brunswickís Ryan Minor threw 56-21/2 to win the gold, while Eastís Jordan Hopper threw 48-31/2 to claim seventh.
Cole Honeycutt placed seventh in the 800, but his 1:56.53 run broke the school record of 1:57.0 set by Evan Kluttz in 1986. Honeycutt, Hopper and Sherman were all regional first-place winners for East.
Olivia Sabo also was a state final participant for East in the discus throw, throwing 78-10.