Owen on the right track in home opener

Warhorses race to top spot as Warlassies take second

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 11, 2023

Dozens of Owen athletes put on a show in front of home fans, March 9, as the track and field teams hosted six schools for their 2023 home opener in Warhorse Stadium.

The teams combined for 29 medals in 33 events, as the Warhorses outlasted Enka to win the meet, while the Warlassies picked up a second place finish.

Owen was led by a pair of familiar faces on the track, where seniors and cross country state champions Elijah Jones and Jaheem O’Hara combined for three top finishes in distance events, as a pair of Warhorse relay teams added to the gold medal tally in the 4X800 meter and 4X200 meter relays. Senior Kameron Moore collected a gold medal in the 100 meter dash, while sophomore Owen Lollis rounded out the count with his own in the 400 meter dash.

More than a dozen Warhorses, including sophomore Jack Wesley Burk, juniors Trevae Woodyard and Leo Parmenter and senior Tad Sloan-Westmoreland, posted top-three finishes.

The Warhorses combined for a total of 19 medals on their way to 166 points, topping the Jets, who tallied 142. Fellow Western Highlands Conference opponent Mountain Heritage posted 111 to round out the top teams.

The Warlassies, whose 136 points put them behind Rosman and in front of Enka in the final standings, also collected plenty of hardware at home.

A pair of juniors led the way on the track for the girls team, as Peyton Draper posted top finishes in the 800 and 1600 meter runs, while Nevaeh Perkins sprinted to first in the 400 meter dash and took gold in the triple jump.

The Warlassies also captured the top spot in the 4x200 meter relay, rounding out their five first-place finishes, but senior Maesyn Gardner, sophomore Piper Berry and sophomore Sierra Honeycutt added to the team’s medal count in the shot put, 800 meter run and high jump, respectively. Sophomore Ashley Curry raced a pair of second place finishes in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.

The meet was the first of three that will be hosted this season by Owen. The Warhorses and Warlassies will return home at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 16, to compete in Owen Meet 2.

Photos of the Warhorses and Warlassies competing in Owen Meet 1 can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.