Special to Dorchester Banner/Dave Ryan
Seniors Em’brion Jones, left, and Saj’heed McNair passed the baton during a relay.[/caption] CAMBRIDGE – North Caroline High School’s track and field dynasty is safe for another year, after their boys’ and girls’ teams swept the Bayside Conference Championships on Thursday. The NC girls racked up 132 points, with Kent Island being a close second at 124.5. Among the boys, North Caroline got out ahead and stayed there, finishing with 139, with runner-up Kent Island getting 78.5. The Bayside Conference comprises all Eastern Shore public schools, regardless of size. The two top finishers are both 2A schools, the second-largest division. No 1A schools were represented in the girls’ top seven. Snow Hill was the top-ranked 1A team, with 28 points, while C-SD was eighth, with 24.5. Snow Hill and C-SD are 1-1 against each other this season, and are looking toward 1A East Regional Championships to settle the matter. Among the boys, there were only 4.5 points separating the second, third and fourth-place teams. KI had 78.5, Colonel Richardson 76 and C-SD 74. “Every kid performed with heart and exceeded our expectations,” Head Coach Lois Narr said. “With our youth and inexperience, we still compete like champions,” she added, referring to the many freshmen and sophomores on this year’s Viking teams. With powerhouses Kent Island and North Caroline competing, C-SD coaches realized a Vikings win was a long shot, and planned accordingly. “We were looking for great performances rather than team points,” Coach Narr said, so the young athletes would get the feel of a big meet. Track and field includes running, jumping and throwing events, 18 in all, for boys and girls. An athlete may compete in up to four events per meet. At a meet with seven or more teams, points are scored down to eighth place, with first getting 10 points, second place 8, on down to eighth place, which earns 1 point. One young man who has scored his share of points this season is Ian Mason. Ian broke the school’s pole vault record at Baysides, with a jump of 11’ 0”, grabbing second place in the process. It was something the junior has been working on for three seasons. “I honestly didn’t expect to do it, because I was beginning to struggle at 10’ 6”,” he said. “But all the movements came together.” And what did he think afterwards, when he hit the mats and the crossbar was still in place? “Oh my gosh, I made it,” he said. Ian is also competing in the 300-meter hurdles this season, demonstrating that an athlete can find events to excel in if he tries – following his record-breaking performance in the pole vault, Ian hurried across the track to the start line for hurdles, where he set a personal record. Not a bad day for the Vikings as they prepare for Regionals at home at 4 p.m. on May 19 and 10 a.m. on May 21, where the 1A East teams will hold their championships and qualify athletes for state championships later in the month. Girls team scores 1 North Caroline High School 132 2 Kent Island High School 124.5 3 James M. Bennett High School 92 4 Stephen Decatur High School 66 4 Easton High School 66 6 Queen Anne’s County High School 60 7 Parkside High School 50 8 Snow Hill High School 28 9 Cambridge-South Dorchester 24.5 10 Wicomico High School 19 11 Pocomoke Senior High School 15 12 Crisfield High School 8 13 North Dorchester High School 7 13 Mardela Middle & High School 7 15 Colonel Richardson High School 3 Boys team scores 1 North Caroline High School 139 2 Kent Island High School 78.5 3 Colonel Richardson High School 76 4 Cambridge-South Dorchester 74 5 Snow Hill High School 62 6 Wicomico High School 59.5 7 Parkside High School 50 8 Stephen Decatur High School 47 9 Easton High School 43 10 Queen Anne’s County High 34 11 Kent County High School 13 11 Pocomoke Senior High School 13 13 James M. Bennett High School 8 14 Crisfield High School 4 15 Mardela Middle & High School 1