CHOCOWINITY — Southside’s trip to Franklinton last weekend was a fruitful one. The Seahawks garnered four individual 1-A eastern-regional championships and a bevy of other high finishes that earned 21 athletes a trip to Saturday’s 1-A state championships in Greensboro.

The Seahawks immediately shifted their focus to the state meet after finishing so strong at the regional championship. This past week leading up to the trip to North Carolina A&T featured heavier practices loaded on the front end of the week so as to ensure the boys and girls are fresh come Saturday.

“It was a little bit of a struggle because, for the first time, we really went through some heat outside,” coach Andrea Quinerly said. “It’s normal track weather. They just haven’t been used to having these hot days.”

Quinerly believes some of the athletes competing in individual events will carry momentum from the regional meet into Saturday. The likes of Eminey Redmond in the long jump and triple jump, Ronald Dennis in the 110-meter hurdles and triple jump, Kyle Hill in the 300-meter hurdles and Jonquil Haywood in the 800-meter run all had exceptional showings a week ago.

Many of the relay teams performed well, too. The Lady Seahawks took first in the 4-by-400 and their male counterparts garnered a first-place and two third-place finishes. Even so, Quinerly said he wants them to be sharper in Greensboro.

“We had to regain a lot of focus in the relays,” he said. “We had two teams get disqualified — a boys and a girls team. One of them was in first and the other was second place. That kind of dropped their heads a little bit, so we had to refocus. Then, because of some injuries, we had to rearrange some relay teams.”

Experience will be key to bringing some hardware back to Chocowinity. Redmond placed fourth in the long jump a year ago. Others like Andrea Waters, Joe Myers, Zikajah Crawford and Nytasia Wishop are familiar with the spectacle that is the state-championship meet.

“I’m actually looking for Kyle Hill to place in the 300 hurdles,” Quinerly said. He knows Hill can rise to the occasion, despite this being his first trip to the state championship. “… He came awfully close (to qualifying) two years in a row. I think he’ll be able to handle it. He’s been in a lot of big games in football and basketball.”

Overall, Quinerly wants to see two Seahawk representatives make the podium. More importantly, though, he wants to be able to get on the homebound bus knowing that they all did their best.

 

More reading: Northside’s Holden Newman, Patrick Pepple aiming for high finishes

BEAUFORT COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES

SCHOOL        NAME                      SEED    EVENT

Southside       Andrea Waters          14       Girls shot put

Northside       Patrick Pepple           4          Boys discus throw

Southside       Eminey Redmond     3          Girls long jump

Southside       Eminey Redmond     10       Girls triple jump

Southside       Ronald Dennis           7          Boys triple jump

Southside       Ronald Dennis           13       Boys 110-meter hurdles

Southside       Nytazia Wishop         16       Girls 300-meter hurdles

Southside       Kyle Hill                      6          Boys 300-meter hurdles

Southside       Jonquil Haywood       12       Boys 800-meter run

Northside       Holden Newman       9          Boys 1,600-meter run

Northside       Holden Newman       11       Boys 3,200-meter run

Southside                                           9          Boys 4-by-800 relay

Southside                                           12       Girls 4-by-200 relay

Southside                                           13       Boys 4-by-100 relay

Southside                                           8          Girls 4-by-400 relay

Southside                                           13       Boys 4-by-400 relay