After being the best competitor for the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team last fall, Naomi Dyreng has become joined a group of impressive Red Wolves to win a regional championship in track and field.
On Friday, Dyreng won three championships at the 3A Mideast Regionals at Franklinton High School. Dyreng claimed the individual title in the 1,600 meters in 5:24.35, beating out Central Carolina Conference rival Catherine Parker of Eastern Alamance, who came in second at 5:27.48.
In the 3,200 meters, there were two Red Wolves who finished in the top three. Dyreng finished first at 12:01.11, six seconds ahead of Natalia Serre of Carrboro. Cedar Ridge’s Abigail Klaitman finished 3rd at 12:13.46.
Klaitman, another sophomore, also finished fourth in the 1,600 meters at 5:35.47.
Dyreng and Klaitman both qualified for the 3A State Championships, which will be held on Friday at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.
In addition, Cedar Ridge’s 4×800 relay team, which is comprised of Dyreng, Klaitman, Serena Summers and Eliza Klaitman, pulled away with a strong anchor leg to win the regional title. The Red Wolves finished at 10:25.02. Union Pines finished 2nd at 10:39.02.
Cedar Ridge junior Typhany Cheek also qualified for the state championships in the long jump. Cheek had a leap of 16 feet, 3.50 inches, good enough for a third-place finish. Shamari Allen of Durham School of the Arts took the gold medal at 17-feet, three-inches.
Orange sophomore Iyauna Justice earned a spot in the state championships in the shot put. Justice finished fourth in regionals with a toss of 34-feet, seven inches. It will be Justice’s first appearance at the state championships.
In November, Dyreng finished 23rd in the 3A State Cross Country Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. She finished 2nd in the Central Carolina Conference Cross Country Championships at Lake Cammack Cross Country Course in Burlington. Her regional championships are the first she has ever won in cross country. In her freshman year, Dyreng played tennis but opted to focus on cross country and long distance running for her sophomore season.
Dyreng and the 4×800 relay team will attempt to bring Cedar Ridge another individual state championship in track and field. Last May, senior Caroline Fowlkes won the 3A State Championship in the pole vault in thrilling fashion. Fowlkes took the gold medal after a jump-off against West Carteret’s Alyssa Cooley when each competitor failed to clear 11-feet. Fowlkes is now on the Appalachian State track & field team.
There were other regional competitors for Orange and Cedar Ridge in the 3A Mideast Regionals. Dyreshia Farrish finished 12th in the 100 meter hurdle preliminaries with a time of 18.72 seconds.
Summers finished 8th in the 3,200 meters at 13:23.42. Eliza Klaitman, a freshman, finished ninth in the 1,600 meters at 6:15.03.
In the 800 meter finals, Orange sophomore Sophia Schultz finished seventh at 2:40.71.
There have been eight female state champions in track & field for Cedar Ridge. The last Red Wolf female to win a state title in a running competition was Lindsay Fuller, who won three gold medals at the 2A State Championships in 2009. Fuller won the the 100 meter dash at 12.44 seconds. She also claimed the 4×100 meter relay championships and the 4×200 meter relay in 2009.
Overall for her career, Fuller won five state championships for Cedar Ridge. She won the 100 meter dash state championship three times. As a sophomore, she won in 2007 at 12.27 seconds. The following year, Fuller finished first crossing the finish line at 12.44 seconds.
In 2003, Cedar Ridge’s Italie Murphy became the first female athlete from a Hillsborough high school to win a state championship. She won the 400 meters in the 2A State Championships. It was the first of three consecutive state championships for Murphy in the event.
Orange has never had a state champion in women’s track and field.