These Warhorses are chasing history
Owen records fall as track and field team runs toward another state championship
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 17, 2023
Owen sophomore Trevae Woodyard practices the hurdles in Warhorse Stadium, as his team prepares to compete in the NCHSAA 2A Track and Field State Championship, May 19. Photo by Fred McCormick
It feels like we’ve been here before. A high school sports season draws to a close, and Owen athletes head east to prove they’re the best in the state.
It may seem like a strange collective sense of déjà vu in the Swannanoa Valley, but it is in fact the latest development in a historic year in maroon and white.
The Warhorses will travel to the Marcus T. Johnson Track at the N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro, Saturday, May 20, as the newly minted 2023 NCHSAA 2A West Regional Champions try to run down a state title. Not only did they collect the program’s first regional championship along the way, they rewrote the Owen track and field record book.
Six school records fell in 2023, as the speedy sophomore Davis Kendall established the Warhorse standard in the 400 meter dash, with a 49.94 in April at the Blackhawk Invitational. Jaheem O’Hara posted the best 800 meter performance in school history in March, with a 1:57.10 in front of the home fans in Warhorse Stadium. His fellow senior, and reigning Western Highlands Conference Cross Country Runner of the Year, Elijah Jones, put his name on the list with a 9:16.77 in the 3,200 meter distance race.
There were plenty more.
Three relay teams established school records with victories in the regional meet. The 4x100 meter team of Kameron Moore, Keron Clayton, Trevae Woodyard and Taj Burgin ran away from the pack with a time of 42.93, while the combination of Kendall, Moore, Clayton and Woodyard posted a 1:28.20 in the 4x200 meter relay. Tad Sloan-Westmoreland, O’Hara, Owen Lollis and Kendall set the bar for the 4x400 meter relay, with a time of 3:30.18.
The 2023 Warhorse roster now owns space in more than a third of the track and field record book, and some of the standout athletes on the team have already competed on the big stage this year.
Jones, O’Hara and Westmoreland were all key figures on the Warhorse cross country team that galloped out of Kernersville with a state championship in November. Kendall and Lollis brought home championship hardware later that month, as the soccer team captured its first title in Owen history. Those concurrent championship runs marked the first time a Buncombe County school won titles in the same athletic season.
By the time the cold winter months set in, Kendall was back on the winner’s podium with a victory in the 500 meter dash, at the NCHSAA 1A/2A Indoor Track & Field State Championship in Winston-Salem. Jones took second place in the 1,600 meter run.
Owen sophomore Davis Kendall has won two state championships in the 2022-23 school year. He and his fellow Warhorses will compete for another, May 19, in the NCHSAA 2A Track and Field State Championship meet. Photo by Fred McCormick
Collecting more hardware this week won’t be easy, according to fifth-year head coach Bob Sadlemire, who led the cross country team to its state title, but the team is more than capable.
“We will need to win three of the four relay races we’re running, and we need to beat T.W. Andrews in the 300 meter hurdles,” he said. “We also have to win, or come close to winning, in the 4x200 or 4x400.”
A victory in the 300 meter hurdles is an achievable goal for Woodyard, following the sophomore’s 39.35 regional performance. That time is the best in the state this season.
Woodyard’s development as a runner has been “mind-blowing” this season, according to Wendy Lewkowicz, who coaches Owen’s sprinters and jumpers.
“He’s a freak athlete in sprints and hurdles, and he has a natural flow,” she said. “His run in regionals looked like he was floating on air.”
The competitive edge Woodyard and Kendall bring to their events could be a significant factor against other top teams.
“They tend to compete so strongly, and my sense is if it’s coming down to the finish line and there’s a guy one or two seconds ahead of them, they reel him in,” Sadlemire said.
The performance of Clayton, another sophomore on the roster, has filled a key role on the Warhorse 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams, Lewkowicz added.
Owen sophomore Keron Clayton, who helped the Warhorse 200 and 400 meter relay teams set school records in 2023, is one of many athletes attempting to bring another state championships back to the Swannanoa Valley. Photo by Fred McCormick
“Keron is a stellar relay runner who closes the gap to help our anchors every time in those races,” she said.
While Lollis, who was injured most of the season, “came out of nowhere” to take third place in the 400 meter regional race.
“We also have incredible leadership with Kameron (Moore), who sets an amazing example for his younger teammates,” Lewkowicz said. “He’s really pushed through a lot to help get us where we are now.”
Owen now finds itself in an unprecedented position to compete for a state championship in its third consecutive athletic season, while multiple athletes could return to the mountains with individual titles.
“We’re going into this thing as a solid second,” Sadlemire said. “We have high hopes of winning it.”
Want to follow the Owen Warhorses as they compete for the 2023 NCHSAA 2A Track and Field State Championship? The meet will stream live on nc.milesplit.com, which will also share live results from each event.