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The New Bern track team celebrates its third-consecutive state championship on Saturday in Greensboro.
Jess Huffman/Sun Journal
Three’s company
New Bern track team wins third-straight state championship
GREENSBORO - The show was supposed to be over.
Heading into the final event of the Class 4-A state track meet Saturday, the New Bern boys track team had already sealed its victory.
The lone remaining race - the 4x400-meter relay - was a mere formality. But that didn't stop the Bears from providing an encore.
"We had to go out there and win it anyway," New Bern junior Anthony Hendrix said. "There's no point in not trying. We just went out there and got it done."
New Bern's victory in the 4x400 put the exclamation point on an impressive showing at the state meet Saturday. The Bears held off both Butler and Southeast Raleigh to win its third-straight state title.
"We're excited. I'm excited for the kids," New Bern track coach Mark Robison said. "It was a battle all day long, and the kids did what they had to do to win this thing today."
New Bern finished with 64 team points, while Butler placed second with 48 points and Southeast Raleigh earned third with 44.
The Bears won two events on the day - the 4x800 and 4x400 relays.
The team of Andrew Hendrix, Anthony Hendrix, Banks Barnes and Rodney Stewart placed first in the 4x800 with a time of 7 minutes, 46.12 seconds. Later in the meet, Andrew Hendrix, Anthony Hendrix, Miles Sparks and Stewart earned a victory in the 4x400, clocking in at 3:18.01.
"They could have strolled through the 4x4 and ran mediocre legs, and we would've still won the state meet," Robison said. "But that's not how we are. It just shows the determination of these kids and their desire to win."
The Bears also got major points in the 400, as twin brothers Andrew and Anthony Hendrix both placed in the top-five. Andrew Hendrix finished third with a time of 48.47, while Anthony Hendrix followed in fifth place with a time of 49.33.
Fuquawn Greene played a major role in the New Bern victory as well, placing third in both the 100 (10.74) and 200 (21.43). The sophomore sprinter later teamed with Jerrell Armstrong, Miles Sparks and Anthony Hendrix to finish second in the 4x200 with a time of 1:27.26.
Greene also combined efforts with Deshaun Styron, Price and Armstrong to place seventh in the 4x100 (42.7).
In the field events, Price placed fifth in the long jump (22-4 ¾), and freshman Tyrell Lindsay earned a seventh-place finish in the triple jump (44-8 ½). Sparks, a sophomore, finished sixth in 300 hurdles (41.43).
Meanwhile, Banks Barnes placed sixth in the 800 (1:59.29), and Stewart followed in ninth place (2:00.12).
Stewart wasn't exactly pleased with his performance in the 800, and was glad when he got a chance to redeem himself.
Running the third leg of the 4x400, Stewart was forced to make up some major ground. I "I was behind, and I hit that last curve and I started to believe in myself," Stewart said. "I was hearing my teammates saying, ‘Let's go Rodney pick it up, pick it up.'"
Stewart passed his opponent in the final 100 and handed the baton off to Andrew Hendrix. Some 400 meters later, the New Bern boys track team began to celebrate.
The New Bern girls track team was represented by Johnique Fonville in the triple jump. Fonville placed fifth in the event, recording a distance of 36-3.
Jess Huffman can be reached at (252) 635-5669 or at jhuffman@freedomenc.com.
