The Anson High School track team has had a strong season, surpassing even their coach’s expectations.
Coach James Wall said that the team has worked hard all season. “I think it was a team that people didn’t think had as much talent but overachieved in the end,” he said, noting that many of the team members had not run before and were new to the sport. “The kids bought into what we were teaching and started to improve, peaking at the right time.”
The teams competed in the conference championship on April 28 at Marvin Ridge High School and in the regional championship on May 2 at Weddington.
Justice Leak, a junior, took fourth place in discus at the conference championship regional qualifier. He made eighth place in the regional finals.
Keenan Marshall, a junior, took fifth in the long jump competition in the conference championship regional qualifier. He placed eighth in the regional finals.
Gerald Snuggs, a junior, made sixth place in the regional finals.
Destiny Gayton, a freshman, was a Conference Champ and made All-Conference in high jump. She took fourth place in the long and triple jump regional qualifier, and placed eight in the triple jump in the regional finals.
Alexus Cole, a junior, made All-Conference and took second place in the long jump and third place in the triple jump regional qualifier. She made seventh place in the long and triple jump in the regional finals.
Zadadria Clark, a junior, was All-Conference and took second place in the 300-meter low hurdles. She came in fourth place in the 100-meter hurdles regional qualifier, and was in eighth place in the 300-meter low hurdles in the regional finals.
Patience Marshall, a freshman, was named a Conference Champ and All-Conference in discus. She took second place in shot put in the regional qualifier, third place in shot put and discus in the regional finals, and was a state qualifier in shot put and discus.
Marshall participated in the North Carolina High School Association state 3A track and field championships at the Irwin Belk Track at North Carolina State A&T University on May 8. There, she placed third in shot put and sixth place in discus.
This season, Keenan Marshall, Zadadria Clark and Raven Spencer were team captains.
Wall said that his team had to learn the proper way to run this year. “The biggest challenge was that most of them had to go through was that some of them ran track for the first time this year, so they had to learn the technique,” he said. “Once they had the technique down, they started to improve.” Two freshmen on the team had started running at the youth club.
Next year, he hopes to draw more members to the team, which is small compared to others in its conference.
Several of his students play multiple sports. Alexus Cole and Destiny Gayton both play basketball. Keenan Marshall plays basketball and runs cross-country. Justice Leak is on the wrestling team, and Gerald Snuggs plays football. “I think playing multiple sports helps the kids to be more athletic,” he said.
Marshall, who represented the school at the state championships, is one of them, running cross-country and playing basketball in addition to running for the track team. “She’s naturally strong, but had the wrong technique,” Wall said of the freshman when she began the sport.
She focused on improving her technique, working all the way to the state championship, making her family happy, she said. Still, she was disappointed with her own success, feeling that she could’ve done better than third in shot put and sixth in discus. “I have a good chance of getting first next year, but I should’ve gotten it this year,” she said of shot put. “I didn’t go all the way to the toe board, and could’ve gotten extra inches and feet if I had. I was mad afterwards because I knew I could’ve won. I got beat for second place by one inch.”
The same goes for discus. “I think I have a good chance of winning if I get the spin technique down,” she said.
Overall, she thinks she has done well. “I progressed at every track meet and got my personal records at state,” she said.
Next year, she plans to win.