Greene Central, Kinston Post Strong Showings at 3A Indoor State Championships
Williams Sweeps, Kinston Boys Finish Fifth at 3A Indoor State Championships
The NCHSAA 3A Indoor Track and Field State Championships delivered medals, podium finishes and a pair of state titles for area programs, highlighted by Greene Central’s Deitrich Williams and a strong overall showing from Kinston’s boys team.
When the final team scores were tallied, Kinston finished fifth overall in the boys standings with 38 points, while Greene Central placed tied for 11th with 20 points. On the girls side, Kinston scored eight points to finish 21st, and Greene Central added a top-10 field event finish.
Greene Central: Williams Claims Two State Titles
Greene Central senior Deitrich Williams was one of the biggest stars of the entire 3A meet.
Williams captured the state championship in the high jump (6-6) before doubling back to win the triple jump (44-0.5), completing a dominant sweep of the jumping events.
His two victories accounted for all 20 of Greene Central’s boys points and lifted the Rams into a tie for 11th in the final standings.
Greene Central also received a distance effort from Colby Kaminski, who placed 11th in the 1000-meter run (3:00.63).
On the girls side, Gabrielle Evans earned a ninth-place finish in the long jump (14-8) to record a top-10 state performance for the Rams.
Kinston Boys: Balanced Attack Leads to Top-Five Finish
Kinston’s boys leaned on depth across sprints, hurdles and field events to secure a fifth-place team finish.
The Vikings were led by multiple podium performances:
Keith Neal – 2nd, Shot Put (45-6.5)
Darryl Parham – 3rd, 55 Meter Hurdles (7.95)
Ex’Zavion Croom – 6th, 55 Meter Dash (6.71)
Jalyn Kinsey – 5th, Shot Put (42-3.25)
Terry Sutton – 5th, Triple Jump (39-10.5)
Parham set the tone early, posting the fastest prelim time in the 55-meter hurdles at 7.82 before finishing third in the finals.
In the field events, Neal narrowly missed a state title in the shot put, finishing runner-up by less than an inch, while Kinsey added another scoring throw. Sutton contributed key points in the triple jump.
Kinston also picked up valuable placements from:
Reginald McNeil – 4th, High Jump (5-10)
Davion Jones – 6th, High Jump (5-10)
Derrick Koonce – 8th, Triple Jump (38-8)
Shamell Black – 11th, Triple Jump (37-0)
4x400 Relay – 7th (3:40.32)
The combination of sprint speed, hurdle strength and field-event scoring proved enough to land Kinston inside the top five in the state.
Kinston Girls: Relay Silver Headlines Meet
The highlight for Kinston’s girls came on the track.
The Vikings finished second in the 4x200-meter relay (1:51.33), earning a state runner-up medal in a competitive final.
Kinston also received field event contributions from:
Kyrah Lee – 12th, High Jump (4-4)
Rokeya Alston – 12th, Shot Put (22-5.25)
Those performances helped Kinston tally eight team points in the girls standings.
Team Champions
Union Academy claimed both team championships, winning the girls title with 116 points and the boys championship with 64 points.
Northwood (57) and North Stanly (56) rounded out the top three on the boys side, while Shelby (49.5) and Pine Lake Preparatory (43) finished second and third in the girls standings.
For Greene Central, the meet belonged to a two-event sweep from Williams. For Kinston, it was about balance — scoring in sprints, hurdles, relays and field events to walk away with one of the top overall finishes in 3A.
