PEMBROKE — When St. Pauls track coach David Shaw extends his right hand, a hefty reminder of what’s possible with hard work and dedication gleams as the sunlight hits it.
“[My team] sees me walking around with a state ring, but I tell them, ‘They don’t hand them out, you earn them. That’s a work ethic thing. You got to put that on yourself to want to get to that level,’” Shaw said softly Thursday standing on Dick and Lenore Taylor Track at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
His inspired group heeded those words and before departing on the team bus back to school, St. Pauls captured first place in both the boy’s and girl’s meets of the Three Rivers Conference championships.
The boys won in convincing fashion, beating out Whiteville and West Bladen with a total score of 171.5, while the girls finished ahead of Whiteville and East Bladen with a 159.5 total.
Long distance standout Trinston Lupo has been the most decorated Bulldog on the track this season and proved as much against the rest of the conference, finishing with convincing wins in the 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter races with times of 2:09, 4:52, and 11:22, respectively.
The success at the biggest event of the year, to this point, allowed him Male Athlete of the Year honors.
“I feel like it shows what I’ve put in all year. But I’m proud of my teammates, mostly,” Lupo said humbly.
“A lot of people came out to support us, even though they didn’t run any races today, and that just shows the bond that we have.”
Shaw knew Lupo was “special” when the junior clocked a 5:01 in his first indoor mile run a couple of years ago after having no prior track experience. He also reiterated Lupo’s thoughts about teamwork and referred to the culture he’s trying to implement as a “family” structure.
The other Bulldog family members were active in every event and Shaw thinks the work they did in non-track events played a big part in the conference crown.
“I always tell the kids, ‘You work hard to come out of the jumping events ahead and that takes a little bit of strain off the running events,’” said Shaw. “I think the field events, by far, came through today and competed really well.”
First-year athlete Trellis Mack paced the field in the triple jump, surpassing former Bulldog great Dakota Oxendine with a score of 43 feet, 3 1/2 inches.
“Dakota never went 43, he only went 42. And this kid is doing it as a sophomore, so I see really good things from him in the future,” Shaw said of Mack. “The more he enjoys it, the more fun he’s going to get out of it.”
Fellow Bulldogs sophomore William Ford placed first in the high jump with a score of 6-2. And yet another second-year student athlete, Demaria Williams, took first in the 300-hurdles with a 42:39, and finished third in the 110-hurdles.
On the girls side, the Lady Bulldogs tied for first place in the high jump with efforts from Diamond Simms-Moore, T.J. Eichelberger and Shaquan Anderson.
Destiny Maynor took first in the 110-hurdles. Anderson and Maynor also spearheaded the first-place win the girl’s 4×100 relay.
Jasmine Lorenzo and McKenzie Ransom paced the field in the 800, with times of 2:56 and 3:01, respectively. Ransom also placed first in the 1600 with a 7:04. Both runners were also a part of the first-place 4×800 meter relay team who finished with a 12:02.
Fairmont’s Jamesha Howell continued her dominance in the sport as she took home Female Athlete of the Year with first-place finishes in the triple jump, long jump and 100-meter dash.
Howell has already made it to the state championship level for the indoor triple jump and continued her brilliance in the event setting an outdoor personal-best 34-7.5. She blew away the rest of the field in the 100 with a personal-best 12.80.
Ever expanding her repertoire, Howell met with Lady Tornadoes coach Joyce Pernell before the meet and asked what other events should she try to participate in to help the overall team score.
“She told me, ‘If you say the 200-meter, then I’m going to do the 200,’” said Pernell.
Howell was rewarded with a second-place finish in the race, which Pernell thinks the sophomore will improve with more seasoning.
“That gives her something to look forward to. She has two more years of this, so I’m excited,” Pernell said.
“For the whole group, that gives them something to aspire to. They see her reaching those goals and they can reach their own goals, too. All you have to do is get out here and do it.”
Fairmont teammates Sariyah Thompson and Kalya Page placed second and third, respectively, in the girl’s shot put as the Lady Tornadoes took home a fourth-place overall finish.
The Fairmont boys had the same fate, led by Jordan Waters who avenged a loss to West Bladen’s Tyre Boykin in the 100 with a personal-best 10.99. Waters also won first place in the long jump with a score of 21-6.25
Moore topped his best mark in the 200 with a time of 22.45 and was rewarded with a first-place medal. He also placed second in the 400.
Other standouts from the county included South Robeson’s Marquice Murphy who took first in the boys shot put and discus throw with scores of 43-7.5 and 128-4, respectively. The Lady Mustangs placed second in the girl’s 4×100 relay with a time of 54.11.
Red Springs finished first in the girl’s 4×200 relay with a time of 1:54.16 and followed with a third-place finish in the 4×100 relay.
The Red Devils took second in the boy’s 4×800 relay with a time of 9:28.
