Sports Editor
The Apex Track
and Field team traveled to Chapel Hill this past Saturday to compete in the
Eastern High School Challenge which took place at the Eddie Smith Field House. The
meet had many high profiled athletes not only from North Carolina, but also
many from out of state.
The day started
out bright and early at 9:30a.m. with the men’s and women’s 4x800 meter relay.
The Apex girls 4x800 have already qualified for the State meet but were looking
to improve their time. The relay consisted of seniors Hannah Barefoot and Sarah
Wotus, junior Cara Gaudioso, and sophomore Kylie Hofmeister. They ran a
season-best 10:16 which puts them at NC #9 and only six seconds behind the
school record. The girls finished second behind Leesville Road who blew away
the field running 9:39. The men’s side
was a little different as the boys, seniors Wyatt Miller, Jacob Townsend, and
Anthony Gavazzi, and junior Lawson Benfield, were looking to break the qualifying
time for the State meet of 8:35. It was a quick relay and Apex came up short
running 8:37 and finishing 7th. They will have one more chance next week to get
into the State Meet at the David Oliver Invitational.
Murphy breaks
school record
Following the
4x800 meter relay was the 55 meter dash. Apex has been lucky to have two senior
sprinters who have been top of their class throughout their high school career:
Tyler Cook and Sydnei Murphy. In the 55 meter dash prelims, both Cook and Murphy
easily won their heats. Cook ran a 6.62 which was a season best and Murphy ran
a 7.03 coming oh so close to breaking the seven second barrier. After 26
combined heats of both the guys and girls 55 meter dash prelims, Murphy
advanced to the finals while Cook was left on the outside looking in. He was ninth
but only the top eight from prelims make it to the finals. In the finals Murphy
broke the seven second barrier and took first in the 55 meter dash with a time
of 6.97. That time gave her the #1 time in North Carolina this season and the
Apex school record over none other than Alexis Murphy, her sister. “It was
amazing,” said Murphy on breaking the school record, “I’ve been striving to
break seven seconds and the school record for a couple of years now and the
family rivalry was just icing on the cake.” She also competed in and won the
triple jump Saturday jumping 39-5.
Murphy currently is #1 in the entire country for triple jump. She is
also #4 in the U.S. for both the 55 meter dash and the long jump. When asked
how it feels to be a national elite athlete, “It still hasn’t hit me. I still
have improvements to make and goals to reach so I still feel like the same
little freshman I was three years ago.”
The Apex men’s
4x200 meter relay had a first this weekend as they had senior pole vaulter Drew
Pederson run the relay. He joined his fellow seniors Tyler Cook, Chase Oliver,
and Ryan Johnson as they won their heat and finished fourth overall running
1:34, breaking a school record they previously set this season. In the 4x400
meter relay freshman Wesley Provost replaced Pederson, and they won their heat
breaking the school record running 3:36.
In the distance
events Apex had sophomore Josie McGee run the 1000 and she finished third in
her heat running 3:21. Winning the 1000 with a time of 2:49 was Nevada Mareno
from Leesville Road, she has the third best 1000 time in the nation and is only
a sophomore. In the 1600 juniors Allison Rosen and Savannah Dupree ran times of
5:34 and 5:48 respectively while junior Cassidy Devenouges ran 12:44 in the 3200.
Rosen was just four seconds away from qualifying for the State Meet. For the Apex
guys, Provost ran the 1000 in 2:49 and finished third in his heat after having
a fantastic kick on the final lap passing four runners. In the 3200 sophomore
Ben Savino finished ahead of junior Derek Duin running 9:56 while Duin ran
10:04. Both have already qualified for the State Meet.
Apex Track and
Field has been known for their field events the last couple of years, specifically
their pole vaulters. On the girls’ side they added a piece to that puzzle this
year as junior Zoe Early transferred from Green Hope to join defending State
Champion senior Anna Eaton and fellow senior Sydney Isgett. Early won the event
on Saturday vaulting 12-00 with Eaton finishing right behind her at 11-6.
Isgett rounded out the trio vaulting 9-00. Seniors Michael Utecht and Drew
Pederson both vaulted 14-02 Saturday.
It was a very
positive meet for Apex as they start to wind down the indoor season and get
ready for the State Meet. The 2015 NCHSAA Indoor Track and Field State
Championships take place on Saturday February 14 at JDL Fast-Track in
Winston-Salem.
