Trio of Raiders compete at NCHSAA 4A state championship meet

GREENSBORO — Three Richmond Senior High School student-athletes competed in Friday’s NCHSAA 4A state championship track and field meet.

Facing the best of the best from across the state, the meet was held at the Marcus T. Johnson Track at North Carolina A&T State University.

Representing Richmond were senior Tyrene McKenzie, junior Aaron Coleman and sophomore Elijah Shaw.

McKenzie participated in the high and triple jumps, Coleman ran the 110-meter hurdles and Shaw ran the 200 and 400-meter unified sprints.

Mallard Creek High School won the boys 4A team state championship with 60 points and Rolesville High School took the girls 4A team title with 63 points.

Also competing Friday were the state’s 2A programs. The state championship teams were Cummings High School (girls) and Andrews High School (boys).

With no preliminary heats in the high jump or triple jump, McKenzie went straight to work in his two events.

Returning to the state championship for the second straight year, McKenzie’s best performance Friday came in the high jump. In the field of 15 jumpers, he finished tied for 11th place with a height of six feet.

Also finishing tied for 11th place, based on the number of attempts to clear the bar, were Aris Joyner (Asheville High School) and Justin Wiggins (New Bern High School).

In the triple jump, a field of 14 jumpers, McKenzie placed 13th overall. His longest attempt was 43 feet, 4.25 inches.

Coleman, who made his third straight appearance at states in hurdles, wasn’t able to qualify for the final heat.

Running in the 110-meter hurdles preliminary heat, needing to place in the top eight to advance to the finals, Coleman ran the race in 15.59 seconds.

Finishing 16th, Coleman missed the cut for the finals by just 1.07 seconds.

Shaw’s best finish in his state championship appearance came in the 400-meter unified dash. He placed seventh in the state with a time of 1:15.94 during his lap around the track.

The three Raiders’ performance at the 4A state championship officially closed the spring sports season at Richmond.

Sports editor’s note: There was no time listed for Shaw in the 200-meter unified run in the NCHSAA’s final results.