Record setting day for Panthers

Three Hibriten relay teams set school records Friday at the N.C. High School Athletic Association's 2-A track and field state championships in Greensboro and the Lady Panther team earned a top-four finish.

“I've been getting excited phone calls and voicemails all day,” Hibriten coach Ray Suddreth said via phone from Georgia where he was attending his son's college graduation.

The Hibriten girls totaled 40.25 points and finished fourth. Burlington Cummings won the girls meet with 109 points.

Two Panther girls' relays repeated as state champions. The 4x100-meter team of Amara Isbell, Brooklyn Chandler, Ashleigh Patterson and Quiasiah Stinson won with a time of 49.81 seconds. The 4x200 team of Chandler, Isbell, Stinson and Hannah Dula also repeated, winning in a school record time of 1:44.04. The 4x400 relay team was third, but set a school record with a time of 4:15.45.

“They really came through,” Suddreth said. “They had a good day.”

The other record-setter of the day went to the Panther boys' 4x800 team of Steven Bottoms, Sven Picton, Matt Stanfield and Zack Stanfield. They trimmed 14 seconds off their previous best, finishing fifth (8:25.74).

Hibriten's Darius Lipford had the best day among local boys, finishing second in the high jump (six feet, four inches) and fourth in the long jump (21-01).

For the Panther girls, Isbell was fourth in the 200 (25.91) and Chandler fourth in the triple jump (34-02.25). Dula was fifth in the 400 meter dash (1:00.34) and freshman Ashton Kirby placed eighth in the pole vault (7-06). Savannah Tester was tenth in the 800 (2:37.56).

Bottoms finished 11th in the boys' 800 with a time of 2:08.36. Hibriten was 20th in the boys' tally with a score of 15.

West Caldwell's boys were 24th with a score of 13.

Chris Corpening was fourth in the 400 (50.17) to lead the way. Fifth-place finishes went to Tyler Bentley in the 300 hurdles (40.13) and Justin Gragg in the 1,600 (4:37.65). Gragg was also 10th in the 3,200 (10:34.81).

Shelby won the boys' meet with a score of 61.50.