WINSTON-SALEM — Aniya Edwards returned to a familiar spot on Feb. 10 during the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A/2A Indoor Track and Field championships — atop the No. 1 spot on the podium.
The Elkin junior continued to add to an illustrious high school career as she collected a pair of state titles to her collection with top finishes in both the 55-meter and 500-meter dashes.
She completed the 55 in 7.16 seconds and finished the 500 in 1:17.
Edwards, who won the preliminaries of last year’s 55 meters (ultimately finishing second in the finals), added her third and fourth indoor state championships individually.
In addition to last year’s 4x400 relay state title, Edwards now has five indoor state titles (and six total between indoor and outdoor for her career).
Edwards added a third medal for the meet as she teamed with Lady Elks teammates Maggie Tomlin, Sophie Welborn and Ragan Speer to claim a runner-up finish in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 4:17 (state champion Salisbury finished in 4:15).
While the Elkin girls claimed the only podium finishes for the day, there were several other top-10 finishes in the field.
Fellow Northwest 1A Conference member Starmount and Forbush each sent one athlete to the state championships and they each found forms of success.
Jackson Wood represented the Rams and just missed out on a podium finish as he finished sixth in the shot put with a throw of 45-feet, 3.5-inches.
Skylar Southern competed for the Lady Falcons and the senior took part in three different events.
The Catawba College-signee took 10th in the 500 meters as she ran it in 1:26. She also added 13th place finish in the 300 meters and a 15th place finish in the long jump.
Elkin teammates Lucas Keller (seventh) and Mason Day (eighth) added top 10 finishes in the 500 meters and 1,000 meters, respectively. Day also added an 11th place finish in the 1,600.
Jericho Edwards took 13th in the both the 300 meters and the 500.
The trio, along with Holt Canter, also finished 11th in the 4x400 relay.
The Lady Elks’ performance was good enough for a fifth-place finish in the team standings with 28 points — the best performance among any team from the NW 1A and the Foothills 2A Conference. Swain County (73 points) and T.W. Andrews (85 points) won state championships in the girls and boys meets, respectively.
Note: For complete results from the NCHSAA 1a/2A championships, visit NCHSAA 1A/2A Indoor State Championship Meet 2024 — Complete Results (Raw) (milesplit.com)
Local (NW 1A/FH 2A) Girls Results
55 meters
1. Aniya Edwards (ELK) 7.16
55 meters Wheelchair
1. Jordan Oliver (Murphy) 22.06
300 meters
1. Christyonna Lewis (SAL) 41.00; 13. Skylar Southern (FB) 45.51
500 meters
1. Aniya Edwards (ELK) 1:17; 10. Skylar Southern (FB) 1:26
1,000 meters
1. Annie Lewis (Swain) 3:05
1,600 meters
1. Arizona Blankenship (Swain) 5:06
3,200 meters
1. Catherine Parker (NCSSM) 11:03
55 Meter Hurdles
1. D’Anna Cotton (Cummings) 8:27
4x200 Relay
1. Salisbury 1:47.62
4x400 Relay
1. Salisbury 4:15; 2. Elkin 4:17; 22. Wilkes Central 4:48
4x800 Relay
1. Swain County 9:52; 13. Wilkes Central 11:33
High Jump
1. D’Anna Cotton (Cummings) 5-06; 6. Lenae Sumner (N. Surry) 4-10; 12. Bailey Osborne (Wilkes Central) 4-08
Long Jump
1. D’Anna Cotton (Cummings) 17-10.25; 13. Ariana Liberatore (N.Surry) 14-10.25; 15. Skylar Southern (FB) 14-5.25
Triple Jump
1. Zoie Shuler (Robbinsville) 39-01.50; 10. Arian Liberatore (N.Surry) 32-06; 13. Bailey Osborne (Wilkes Central) 31-11
Shot Put
1. Ella Riggs (N. Surry) 36-08.50
Shot Put- Wheelchair
1. Jordan Oliver (Murphy) 5-05.25
Pole Vault
1. Laney Babo (Northwood) 10-06; 8. Addison McManus (Wilkes Central) 8-00
Team Standings
1. Swain County 73; 5.Elkin 28; 16. North Surry 11.50; 44. Wilkes Central 0.50
Local (NW 1A/FH 2A) Boys Results
55 meters
1. Correy McManus (T.W. Andrews) 6.38
300 meters
1. Ja’Neil Harris (T.W. Andrews) 34.90;. 13. Jericho Edwards (ELK) 37.44
500 meters
1. Evan Pardue (Union Academy) 1:05; 7. Lucas Keller (ELK) 1:09; 13. Jericho Edwards (ELK) 1:10.41
1,000 meters
1. William Cuicchi (Seaforth) 2:36.20; 8. Mason Day (ELK) 2:46
1,600 meters
1. Cole Fiorillo (Corvian Community) 4:24; 11. Mason Day (ELK) 4:45
3,200 meters
1. Jack Anstrom (Seaforth) 9:30
55 Meter Hurdles
1. Jeremiath King (T.W. Andrews) 7.50
4x200 Relay
1. T.W. Andrews 1:31
4x400 Relay
1. Salisbury 3:32; 11. Elkin 3:43
4x800 Relay
1. Swain County 8:37.51
High Jump
1. Kenneth Byrd (E. Burke) 6-06
Long Jump
1. Derrick Reid Jr. (Carver) 21-10; 8. Blake Hawks (Mount Airy) 20-04.50
Triple Jump
1. Avery Fraley (E. Burke) 45-07; 4. Blake Hawks (Mount Airy) 43-11; 11. Josh Furr (W. Wilkes 39-03
Shot Put
1. Junior Payton-Kimble (Northeastern) 60-02.75; 6. Jackson Wood (ST) 45-3.5; 10. Isaac Vaden (E.Surry) 43-04.25 18. Sam King (N. Stokes) 40-04.50; 24. Jordan Kahn (N. Stokes) 37-10.75
Pole Vault
1. Kage Hefner (Bandys) 16-00; 7. Andrew Tynio (N. Stokes) 11-06; 8. Isaiah Lewczyk (W. Wilkes) 11-00
Team Standings
1. T.W. Andrews 85; 19. North Stokes 8; 27. Mount Airy; 41. Elkin 3; 41. Starmount 3; 50. West Wilkes 0.50
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