Trevae Woodyard is as good as gold
Owen athlete wins 2024 NCHSAA 2A State Championship
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 21, 2024
Owen senior Trevae Woodyard delivered a state championship to the Swannanoa Valley, May 17, finishing first in the 300 meter hurdles in the 2024 NCHSAA 2A State Championship meet. Photo by Fred McCormick
Trevae Woodyard, like many athletes before him, had a feeling, May 17, when he prepared to run the biggest race of his life. The problem for the Owen senior was the familiar sensation reminded him a lot of an upper leg strain.
With 300 yards and a row of hurdles between him and the finish line, Woodyard was still going to do what he went to Greensboro to do—set a personal record with a time of 37.83 and bring a state championship back to the Swannanoa Valley.
“It felt great crossing that finish line knowing I was a state champ,” he said.
Woodyard posted the fifth best 300 meter hurdle performance in the state and 75th in the country, beating second place finisher Jeremiah King, of T.W. Andrews, by more than a full second.
Woodyard became the first Owen hurdler since 2008 when he joined the program as a junior. While he had experience in the 100 and 200 meter dashes and relay events, the hurdles represented a unique challenge.
“It was something I enjoyed as soon as I tried it,” he said. “My first race was a little rough, but I knew it was something I could get comfortable with. I had never run beyond 200 meters, and this is a long hurdle event that involves a lot of rhythm, and I felt like that was something I could be good at.”
Nearly every race of his career, Woodyard could identify specific details he could address to improve his time. During his two-year career at Owen, he has broken multiple school records, including the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and the 300 meter hurdles.
“Even if I have a good race I can think of things I need to fix, and that keeps me engaged in the process,” he said. “I started out counting my steps between hurdles, but at this point that has turned into muscle memory, so the jumps are almost instinctual.”
Owen senior Trevae Woodyard finished his track and field career at the school, May 17, with a gold medal in the 300 meter hurdles and a bronze in the 4X400 meter relay at the 2024 NCHSAA 2A State Championship meet. Photo by Fred McCormick
He honed his craft throughout his junior season, overcoming an early stumble in last year’s state meet to take the silver medal. That experience helped prepare him for a championship run this year.
“I was confident going into last year, but I almost did a complete front flip on the first hurdle,” he said. “I ended up catching almost everybody, but I just couldn’t get the win, so, obviously, it felt amazing to get it done this time.”
Woodyard added to his extensive career hardware collection with a bronze medal on the 4X400 meter relay team that included Keron McLeod, Josh Hollowell and Davis Kendall. Senior Nevaeh Perkins claimed the sole medal for the Warlassies, with a bronze in the 800 meter run.
The Warhorses finished 12th among 51 teams, while the Warlassies were 13th in a field of 54.
“The track and field programs here are doing great things,” Woodyard said. “I’m really glad I joined this team last year, and wish I could go back and join sooner. This program has done a lot to help me, and now I feel like I’ve been able to help the program.”