By David Rogers. HUDSON, N.C. — Watauga High School has a youth movement at play in track and field.
Perhaps it was Watauga freshman Elliott Taft who set the tone for the Pioneers’ men’s track team on March 25 at the Spartan Invitational. With a sizzling 3200 meter run (11:05.73), Taft led a quartet of Watauga distance specialists who took four of the top six spots in the nine-man field.
Then again, maybe it was freshman Matthew Leon taking nearly a full second off of his personal best in winning the Men’s 400 in 52.90, closely followed by sophomore teammate Alex Gremmell (53.38) at No. 2. Another sophomore, Jakob Crosswell came in at the No. 4 spot among the 18 athletes competing — and took a full five seconds off his seeding time.
Continuing the Pioneer youth movement, sophomore Jonah Norris captured the top spot in the Men’s 800 meters (2:13.04), lowering his seeding time by two and half seconds.
TEAM SCORES
- Watauga (235.5)
- Alexander Central (182)
- South Caldwell (124.50)
- Hickory Christian (44)
- Stuart W. Cramer (30)
- West Iredell (15)
- Hibriten (12)
SUMMARY WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
100 Meters (18 entries)
- 4th – Lade Oguntoyinbo
- 6th – Eli Bailey
- 7th – Trey Thompson
- 17th – Kyle Williams
200 Meters (20 entries)
- 2nd – Lade Oguntoyinbo
- 6th – Carlton Horine
- 8th – Eli Bailey
- 13th – Maxwell DePriest
400 Meters (18 entries)
- 1st – Matthew Leon
- 2nd – Alex Gremmell
- 4th – Jakob Crosswell
800 Meters (14 entries)
- 1st – Jonah Norris
- 7th – Davis Crymes
- 8th – Miles Page
- 14th – Mitch Jasper
1600 Meters (13 entries)
- 2nd – Collin Anderson
- 4th – Sam Rex
- 6th – Miles Page
3200 Meters (9 entries)
- 1st – Elliott Taft
- 2nd – Calvin Zwetsloot
- 5th – Zeke Walker
- 6th – Davis Crymes
110 Meter Hurdles (6 entries)
- 2nd – Landon Smith
300 Meter Hurdles (8 entries)
- 2nd – Landon Smith
- 3rd – Carlton Horine
- 8th – Kyle Williams
4×100 Meter Relay (3 entries)
- 2nd – team comprised of Eli Bailey, Matthew Leon, Klaus Best, Trey Thompson
4×200 Meter Relay (4 entries)
- 1st – team comprised of Micah Duvall, Trey Thompson, Alex Gremmell, Lade Oguntoyinbo
4×400 Meter Relay (4 entries)
- 1st – team comprised of Alex Gremmell, Matthew Leon, Micah Duvall, Josh Hamilton
4×800 Meter Relay (3 entries)
- 2nd – team comprised of Davis Crymes, Collin Anderson, Sam Rex, Will Bradbury
High Jump (7 entries)
- 2nd – Josiah Railey
- 4th – Brady Lindenmuth
- 6th – Lade Oguntoyinbo
Pole Vault (7 entries)
- 1st – Clayo Kulcyk
- 2nd – Luke Wilson
- 4th – Santino Wood
Long Jump (12 entries)
- 2nd – Josiah Railey
- 7th – Kyle Williams
Triple Jump (8 entries)
- 4th – Josiah Railey
- 7th – Kyle Williams
- 8th – Maxwell DePriest
Shot Put (17 entries)
- 3rd – Carson Gunnell-Beck
- 4th – Caleb Dewey
- 8th – Jonathan Lutabingwa
- 15th – Callan Riordan
Discus (17 entries)
- 2nd – Carson Gunnell-Beck
- 4th – Jonathan Lutabingwa
- 11th – Callan Riordan
