History Made at Tri-TAC Conference Meet
In the long record of the track and field program at O’Neal, numerous conference championships have been won, yet one feat has eluded the Falcons, until last evening. Both varsity boys and girls track and field teams made O’Neal history by sweeping the Tri-TAC Conference Championship on Thursday evening, marking the first time that both the boys and girls teams were crowned Conference Champions in the same season!
The Tri-TAC conference meet featured fellow conference schools Trinity Academy of Raleigh, Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill, Burlington Christian Academy, and Carolina Friends School. The Falcons started the meet strong dominating the field events seeing multiple first place finishes for the Falcons including a sweep of the girls high jump where Ashanti Fox finished first with teammates Tamiya Judd, Michaela Stone, and Mary Grace Huntley finishing 2-4th. In another Falcon sweep, O’Neal dominated the boys shot put with Eland Miller finishing first, and teammates Luke Harper and Nathan Brianas rounding out 2nd and 3rd place. Joining with two first place field event finishes was Josh Manning who came in first in both boys high jump and boys long jump.
On the track, the Falcons saw numerous individual conference championships and PRs. In the relays, the Falcons brought home first place finishes in the girls 4x800 relay (Ava Taylor Walker, Janna Caviness, Lauren Hobbs, Grace Simpson), girls 4x200 relay (Mary Grace Huntley, Tamiya Judd, Brooklyn Adams, Caelan McHarney), and boys 4x200 relay (Boyd Kenny, Kanye McKeithen, Phillip Hancock, Josh Manning).
Individually, senior Jalen Lindsey highlighted the day bringing home three individual championships in the boys 100M, 200M, and 400M. Joining Lindsey as individual winners on the track were senior Nathan Brianas who won the 300m hurdles and eighth grader Corbin Weeks who brought home first place in the boys 3200M race.
In addition, the Falcons placed 17 student-athletes on the Tri-TAC All Conference team: Jalen Lindsey, Ava Taylor Walker, Janna Caviness, Lauren Hobbs, Grace Simpson, Mary Grace Huntley, Tamiya Judd, Brooklyn Adams, Caelan McHarney, Boyd Kenny, Kanye McKeithen, Phillip Hancock, Josh Manning, Nathan Brianas, Corbin Weeks, Ashanti Fox, and Eland Miller.
“This team has been focused on the importance of every person doing their job to the best of their ability,” Head Coach Marcus Millard shared. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot and this team has focused on the small, controllable details and worked tirelessly to perfect their respective skills. This ultimately has led them to where they are now.”
The Falcons will use the next week for final tune-ups in preparation for the NCISAA State Meet. The O’Neal School will host the NCISAA Division III State Meet will be held at Mount Olive University on May 20-21, 2022. O’Neal Boys Track and Field will be defending their state title. The last time the girls team won the state championship was in 2007. The track and field program is working towards a repeat on a dual victory.
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