Greensboro, N.C. — Top athletes from across the state of North Carolina will compete in a second consecutive busy weekend as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association wraps up its state track and field championships.

The weekend of competition will feature 3-A championships for both men and women on Friday, and then on Saturday the 1-A championships will be held, all at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.

Action in the field events will begin at 11 am and running events will start at noon on Friday, while Saturday’s schedule opens with field events at 10 am and running events at 11 am. It will be the 88th annual men’s championships and the 37th annual renewal of the women’s event.

Mooresville is the defending men’s 3-A champion while Asheville T.C. Roberson won the women’s title in 2007, and both won their respective regional meets last weekend. Among other regional 3-A men’s champs were Winston-Salem Carver and Nash Central, with Winston-Salem Parkland and Jacksonville capturing women’s regional titles.

Durham’s North Carolina School for Science and Math earned last year’s 1-A men’s team crown and Hampstead Topsail is the defending 1-A women’s champion. Topsail was a women’s regional champ last weekend along with Swain County and Winston-Salem Prep, while the men’s regional champions included Hendersonville, South Stokes and Pamlico.

The 2-A and 4-A state championship meets were held last weekend. New Bern’s men and Matthews David Butler’s women captured 4-A team titles, while Burlington Cummings among the women and Shelby in men’s competition earned 2-A state championships.

The Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Greensboro Sports Commission, and Chick-Fil-A of Greensboro are serving as the host city sponsors for the event.

NCHSAA FastFacts
Event: NCHSAA Track and Field Championships, 3-A and 1-A classifications
Date: May 16-17, 2008, with 3-A men and women on May 16 and 1-A men and women on May 17
Site: Irwin Belk Track, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro
First Held: 1913 for men, 1972 for women
Qualifiers: The top four finishers in each event, including relays, qualified from the regional level to the state championship meet
Defending champions: women: 3-A, Asheville T.C. Roberson; 1-A, Hampstead Topsail; men: 3-A Mooresville, 1-A, Durham North Carolina School of Science and Math.
Of Interest: Scott Houston of Northwest Guilford set an all-classification record in the men’s pole vault last weekend at A&T in the 4-A meet, clearing 16 feet even to establish the new mark.
Host City Sponsors: Greensboro Sports Commission, Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chick-FIl-A of Greensboro