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New Bern freshman Tyrell Lindsey practices the triple jump during Wednesday’s track practice. The New Bern boys track team will look to capture its third-straight state title today at Greensboro.
Byron Holland/Sun Journal
Final Destination
New Bern boys track team aims for third-straight title
Members of the New Bern boys track team recently added some bling to their collection: another state championship ring, which they earned when they tied for the indoor title with East Forsyth in February.
Today, the Bears hope to fill a vacant spot on another finger as they pursue their third-straight outdoor state title at NC A&T's Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro.
New Bern coaches are confident that they'll see a three-peat.
"We're going to score 70-plus [points], that's if everybody does what they're supposed to do," New Bern coach Mark Robison said. "I don't see anybody close to us, honestly."
If other teams challenge New Bern for the title, it will likely be Southeast Raleigh, Wakefield or West Charlotte.
New Bern enters as the 2-second favorite in the 4x800-relay - an event in which they took a national indoor title in March - and also expects to win the 4x400 and 4x200 relays.
New Bern also hopes for reigning indoor state champion Mike Price to win the long jump and for Hendrix brothers Anthony and Andrew to finish first and second in the 400 dash.
Anthony - who will run in the first preliminary heat - comes in with the second-best time at 49.36. He'll be challenged by Gabb Love of Richmond in the next lane out, who comes in with a time of 49.75. Andrew - who ran a 50.12 -will run in the second heat alongside Dmitiri Bouttry of Myers Park who has the top time in the event of 48.17 and Bobby Grier of West Charlotte (49.99).
A few tweaked and added events to the outdoor season as compared to the indoor season works in New Bern's favor, but the addition of Fuquawn Greene to the outdoor roster adds even more wiggle-room for New Bern.
Greene did not participate in the indoor state championship in February because of a disciplinary infraction at school.
Instead, the sophomore stood in his New Bern warm-ups on the sideline, doing the only thing he could for his team: cheer. New Bern forfeited points that would have been a foregone conclusion had Greene competed.
But with Greene back in the mix, barring any false-starts or other mishaps, the Bears can expect points in the 100, 200, 4x200 and possibly the 4x100.
The 100 is the race to watch for Greene, who comes in as the second seed in the event by 0.01 second to Wakefield senior T.J. Graham - N.C. State football recruit and son of track coach Trevor Graham (most noted for his involvement with the BALCO investigation).
There are no other runners in the event with a time within 0.30 seconds of the pair that leads the pack.
New Bern junior Daishawn Styron enters with a 10.78 seed time in the event. He'll run the preliminaries two lanes down from Graham in the second heat.
Greene has never beaten Graham, but came oh-so-close at the regional meet a week ago.
"At first, I didn't think I was that fast, that I could beat him," Greene said. "But then in the 100 [at the regional], I was beating him for the first 80 and he caught me on the last two meters. So, it made me think, ‘I can do this, I can beat him.'"
To Greene, today is the day.
"I think I'm going to win," he said. "All I've got to do is stay focused, not tighten up during my race and then I can win."
The 10.46 seconds Greene ran at the regional meet was a new personal record, down from 10.60. He hopes to shave another 0.16 seconds off this weekend.
Greene is likely to meet up with Graham again later in the day, this time in the finals of the 200, where Graham -who will run in the second heat of the preliminaries - is the top-ranked competitor with a seed time of 21.02. Greene is the fastest ranked in the first heat, and second overall with a time of 21.32.
The Bears also expect points from Tyrell Lindsay in the triple jump and Rodney Stewart in the 800 and hope for a contribution from junior Banks Barnes, who joins Stewart in the 800, Miles Sparks in the 300 hurdles and their 4x100 relay team.
Natalie Sayewich can be reached at (252)635-5668 or at nsayewich@freedomenc.com.
