Hawks wins Triple Jump State Championship

GREENSBORO — Mount Airy’s Blake Hawks won the ultimate prize in his fourth and final trip to Marcus T. Johnson Track and Field.

The senior UNC-Asheville-commit qualified for the 1A State Championship Meet all four years of outdoor track, as well as all three seasons of indoor track; his freshman indoor season was cancelled due to COVID.

Hawks entered this year’s meet with six state medals in jumping events. He holds five medals in indoor track, most recently winning bronze in triple jump this past February, and won his only outdoor medal by taking bronze in long jump in 2023.

On May 20, Hawks capped of his high school career by winning the Boys 1A Triple Jump State Championship. The senior won his gold medal with a mark of 44-06.25 feet, which was an increase of nearly five feet from his 11th-place finish last spring.

This year’s triple jump runner-up posted a mark of 44-02.25.

Hawks also competed in long jump this season and finished 13th with a mark of 18-08.25.

Mount Airy’s Taeshon Martin joined Hawks in triple jump. The sophomore finished eighth at 41-00.25.

Brooke Haynes joined Hawks as Granite Bears on the podium. The sophomore, who competed in her second outdoor state meet, finished third in the girls 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:28.94. This was an improvement of 25 seconds from her 2023 11th-place finish in the event.

Haynes fell one spot short of the podium in the 3,200 meters. She finished fifth with a time of 12:35.72, which was 25 seconds behind the fourth-place finisher.

Mount Airy’s Declan Conner and Caden Ratcliff also competed at the state meet.

Ratcliff, a senior four-time outdoor state qualifier, finished 14th in the boys 800 meters with a time of 2:17.58. Conner, a junior two-time outdoor qualifier, finished eighth in the boys 1,600 meters with a time of 4:40.70.