Warhorses race to NCHSAA 2A West Regional title

Owen takes first place in eight events, advances to State Championships meet

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 13, 2023

The Owen Warhorses are the 2023 NCHSAA 2A West Regional Champions, following a 136-point performance in East Burke, May 13. Owen will head to the State Championship meet in Greensboro, Saturday, May 20. Photo courtesy of Maggie Jones

The top track and field teams in Western N.C. faced off, May 13, in East Burke, but none of them were better than Owen. 

Led by eight first place finishes and 13 top-three performances, the Warhorses emerged as NCHSAA 2A West Regional Champions. 

Multiple athletes posted personal records as Owen tallied 136 points to top the hosting Cavaliers, who came in second with 122. Bunker Hill rounded out the top three with 58. 

The Warhorses, led by seniors and cross country state champions Elijah Jones, Jaheem O’Hara and Tad-Sloan Westmoreland, set the pace in several distance events. Jones captured first in the 3,200 meter run, with a time of 10:01. He was followed by his teammate, junior Leo Parementer, whose personal best of 10:21.19 clinched second place. Sophomore Harding Kinnaird finished less than 13 seconds later in the fourth spot. 

Jones, who committed last month to the UNC Charlotte program, added another gold medal to his collection, following a first-place performance in the 1,600 meter run. Fellow senior and future Queens University of Charlotte athlete Tad Sloan-Westmoreland grabbed the second spot with a personal best of 4:32.28.

Jones and Sloan-Westmoreland went on to collect another top finish with the 4x800 meter relay team, which featured senior Jaheem O’Hara and Josh Hollowell. O’Hara, who will continue his running career at UNC Asheville, also collected another gold medal on the 4x400 relay team, which also featured Sloan-Westmoreland and sophomores Davis Kendall and Owen Lollis. 

The speed of the Warhorse sprinters played a key role in the victory, as Kendall, who won a state championship as a member of the Owen soccer team in the fall, and another with the indoor track team in the winter, was in top form. He finished first in the 200 and 400 meter dashes while earning gold on the 4x200 relay team. 

Junior Trevae Woodyard added to the tally with a victory and personal best time of 39.35 in the 300 meter hurdles. His performance in the event sets the mark as the best in the state. 

The 4x100 Warhorse relay team of Woodyard, Kameron Moore, Taj Burgin a Keron Clayton broke the school record for the event, catching the Shelby runner at the finish line in a photo finish. Moore also earned state championship appearances in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.

The Warlassies finished 11th in the competition, qualifying to compete in the 4x800 meter relay in the state championship. Junior Nevaeh Perkins, who finished fourth in the 400 meter dash, also earned a trip to the title meet.

Sophomore Sierra Honeycutt posted a 4-foot-8-inch showing in the high jump to secure fifth in the event.

The Warhorses will attempt to add to the school’s collection of 2022-23 state championships at 8 a.m., Saturday, May 20, on the Marcus T. Johnson Track at N.C. A&T University in Greensboro. Owen athletes have collected state titles in cross country, soccer and indoor track and field this school year.