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Ledford competed well in nearly every event but the Lady Panthers dominated the pole vault, claiming the top three spots, led by Megan Williams’ first place finish. The senior’s vault of 10 feet bested her teammates, Krystin Pullara and Onna Elswick, by a foot and a half. Elswick also took home third place in the high jump with a leap of 4’6”.
“We’re proud of the kids, they worked really hard,” said Ledford track coach Shawn Loggins. “They came out and worked hard every day. We have a good group of young kids and they did what they could.”
In the discus, Briana Sanders’ toss of 78’8” earned the Lady Panther third place, scoring six big points. Vicki Burton narrowly missed out on second place in the 200 meter dash, finishing behind Salisbury’s Nikola Bradshaw and Lexington’s Lindsay Richards.
East Davidson’s Kayla Schilly, one of the most accomplished runners in the CCC, ended her conference career with a pair of impressive wins. Schilly dominated the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:49.15, besting runner-up Katherine Shields from SHS. Ledford’s Nayeli Talamantes came in third in a time of 5:52.00. Schilly also took first in the 800 meter run in a time of 2:37.98, but the senior faded a tad in her final race, the 3200 meter, finishing third with a time of 13:03.
“You just have to set your mind to it,” Schilly said. “You just have to pace yourself and have somebody like you r family and friends out there helping you. It’s really sad to think it’s almost over. I am really going to miss it. My mom and dad have helped me so much, and I couldn’t have done any of this without their support. They really pushed me a lot.”
Ashley Slate had one of the closest finishes of the day as the Lady Golden Eagle came in second in the 400 meter dash by a mere .15 of a second (1:03.46) behind North Rowan’s Tatiana Banks (1:03.31). East’s Jennifer Plyer came in third in the 100 meter hurdles (19.39) and Ledford’s Vicki Burton took home third in the 200 meter dash in 27.36.
On the boy’s side, the Panthers Brandon Cabell closed out a stellar career with a pair of signature wins. Cabell swept the 200 and 400 meter races in times of 22.59 and 51.88, respectively. Cabell, a standout football player, also anchored the 4x400 relay team and surged late to lead Ledford into the winner’s circle. Ben Polk was right behind his teammate in the 400, ending up in third (53.89).
“It feels real good being this is my last time running,” said Cabell. “I just wanted to perform well and give it all I had.”
East Davidson’s Eric Hooks nearly pulled off the sweep in the discus throw and shot put, coming in first and third, respectively. Hook’s toss of 145’1” in the discus easily claimed the top spot while his 44’3” heave in the shot put was just eight inches behind Salisbury’s A.J. Ford winning effort.
Ledford’s Weston Fisher earned the Panthers eight points with a second place finish in the high jump (6’0”).
Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 233, or at eliotduke@hotmail.com.