Washington’s track team may only be sending two competitors to Saturday’s 2-A state championship meet in Greensboro, but they’re two championship contenders. Brandon Jackson and Nikki Foreman both have a shot at gold in their respective events.

Jackson is fresh off a third-place finish in the shot put. Foreman, who won the regional championship in the 400-meter dash, is ranked among the best in the event. The two have performed at a high level throughout the season, but coach Jon Blank is looking for them to step it up another notch on Saturday.

“This year, we’re only taking two, but both of them have a chance to win a state championship,” Blank said. “Nikki is probably going to be ranked third in the 400. We’ve really been working this week to get her to cut that time down where she needs to be. She’s got one more race in high school and we want to see if she can knock it out.”

The goal is to shave a few seconds off her time and bring it under one minute. Foreman ran the 400-meter dash in 1:00.31 at the regional meet. They worked harder at practice earlier in the week and tapered off as the trip to Greensboro approached.

Blank believes that, should he perform to his potential, Jackson has a great chance to bring home gold.

“If Brandon does his best on Saturday, he will be a state champion,” he said.

This isn’t Jackson first trip to a state championship. The senior contended for a title last year, too. Having that experience from his junior year under his belt will help him this time around.

“I think, last year, he was kind of wide-eyed and got a little shell shocked,” Blank said. “He saw some really big kids and really big throws. Last year, it turned into one of those days where we went for the experience instead of the competition. This year, he’s going to win it.”

Washington earned a handful of fifth-place finishes at the regional meet last weekend in Wilson. That proved disappointing seeing as the top four finishers earn the chance to compete for a state championship.

While that was somewhat disheartening at the time, the experience should prove beneficial. The meet was a combination of the 2-A and 3-A regional championships, which made for a grueling day.

The state championship will be the same way. The 2-A schools will compete at the same time as the 4-A teams.

“It was a test of wills that day,” Blank said. “It was a very, very long day. … We ended up battling some injuries and fatigue late in the day. I do think that affected us. … The good thing is that we have the experience of a meet like that. We’re the only region in the state that did that.”