Two Gaston County athletes win state track titles
GREENSBORO — Maleena Reid had been close before. On Friday, she was the one nobody else could catch.
The North Gaston senior closed out her career in style, collecting victories in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the 3A state track meet at Irwin Belk Field on the campus of North Carolina A&T.
“It just feels good to be on top for once, not be behind somebody,” said Reid, who was second in the 200 as a junior and third as a freshman.
Claiming two titles — with an 11.92 in the 100 and a 24.91 in the 200 — on the final day of her high school career left Reid almost at a loss for how to describe the feeling.
“I’m so happy. Words cannot express how blessed I feel right now. I know for a fact it’s all God,” Reid said. “If it was not for Jesus Christ, I would not be here in this position right now. So I’m just really happy. I’m proud of myself.”
Reid wasn’t the only Gaston County athlete who won a title, as Forestview’s Dominique Breedlove held off a fierce challenge late from A.L. Brown’s Jerrod Lipscomb to take home the boys 300-meter hurdle state championship in 39.39.
Breedlove, who had run a 39.12 in the preliminaries, was shooting for a 38 in the finals — not that he could complain with the outcome, though.
“I just went out there and did the best I could, and he almost got me at the end,” Breedlove said. “But I still managed to pull it off.”
He saw it as the culmination of plenty of hard work, the perfect ending to his high school career.
“It’s great. I always wanted to end my senior track season with a bang,” Breedlove said. “And that’s what I did today.”
Breedlove was seventh in the 110 hurdles with a 16.04.
Other Gaston County athletes who were in the top eight in their individual events were Ashbrook’s Destinie Sykes (girls 300 hurdles, 4th, 46.68) and Janay Brickey (girls 100 hurdles, 7th, 15.93) and Forestview’s Catherine Crawford (girls 400 meters, 7th, 58.64) and Tatyana Brewton (girls 100 hurdles, 5th,15.36).
Forestview’s girls 400-meter relay was sixth in 50.60.
All three Kings Mountain relays were in the top eight. The 400-meter relay of Chris Dye, Torrey Belcher, Matt Young and Tim Hines had a 43.53 for seventh place, while Belcher, Hines, Terrance Young and Dye were fifth in the 800-meter relay in 1:29.94.
The Mountaineer 1,600-meter relay of Courtland Cansler, Shelton Watson, Trey Edgerton and Terrance Young had a 3.28.40 for an eighth-place finish.
Terrance Young was eight in the triple jump (44-4), while KM’s Cameron Harris was eighth in the discus throw (134-2).
