Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Cooper Williams hit the shot put competition like a sledgehammer on his first throw. AJ Sweet did what he does in the pole vault, and the Davie track & field stars qualified for the state meet in the 4-A Midwest Regional at Cuthbertson.
The top eight in each event scored points, and the top four earned state berths in Waxhaw on May 10.
Williams set the tone with a 59-0 explosion out of the gate in the shot put. A little more than a week earlier in the CPC championships, the senior did the same thing, starting out with a 60-3 throw and watching the field fight for second. At the regional, Marvin Ridge junior Manny Lewis was the runner-up at 55-7.
“That’s what he did at the CPC meet as well – blow it out, get a good mark and then everybody else is fighting for second at that point,” coach Rob Raisbeck said. “I would say he’s about three feet clear of the next-best 4-A thrower in the state.”
Williams also made his presence felt in the discus, finishing third with a toss of 166-5. The top two were Hickory Ridge juniors Chase McCullough (170-5) and Colt Simpson (169-9).
This marked the first regional outdoor title in the shot put for Williams, who was ninth and fifth in the discus the past two years.
“Our region is by far the toughest in the discus,” Raisbeck said. “Last year something like six of the top eight discus throwers in the state were from the Midwest Region. I don’t know the what the exact numbers are this year, but it’s similar to that. Cooper has admittedly not been as consistent in the discus as he needs to be – until this meet, and he put together a good series. So we’re pleased with how he threw. It’s very possible the top two guys at the state meet will come out of the Midwest.”
Sweet soared to his third outdoor state berth by taking second in the pole vault at 14-0. The only vaulter who was better was Cuthbertson sophomore Ryder Sgheiza at 14-6. Sweet was fourth in the past two regionals at 13-06 as a freshman and 14-01 as a sophomore.
“The kid who won it was on his home track,” Raisbeck said. “I’m sure he’s a little disappointed (at second), but the whole idea – like the NCAA tournament – is to survive and advance. All you’ve got to do is get in the top four and move on.”
Sweet’s other event was a 13th-place finish in the 110 hurdles at 16.01.
“AJ is a dynamic athlete, and I think when he gets to college he’ll be a decathlete,” Raisbeck said. “He’s got a really good combination of strength and speed.”
Davie had two near-misses. Senior Thomas Essic was fifth in the 3200 and junior Clara Phelps of the Davie girls was fifth in the pole vault.
“The region is so tough,” Raisbeck said. “Thomas and Clara would have qualified (for state) in other regions.”
In the 3200 meters, Essic turned in the second-best time of his career at 9:32.27, but the fourth and final state berth went to Mt. Tabor junior Whit Longhurst (9:29.19).
“Thomas was running ninth for a couple of laps, and by the time he tried to move (up), it was too late,” Raisbeck said. “He got to fifth but it was too much ground to catch up. He’s in shape to run faster than 9:32. He said he didn’t feel all that great. The fitness is there but sometimes you’re not quite hitting on all cylinders. He felt just a tiny bit sluggish and didn’t feel like he could respond early in the race.”
Phelps actually tied for fourth in the pole vault at 10-6, but the end of the event was heartbreaking because the tiebreaker went to West Forsyth senior Noelle Childs, who also vaulted 10-6 but had one fewer miss than Phelps.
“Clara has a gymnastics background, and that bodes well for vaulting,” Raisbeck said. “Even though she’s really thin and wiry, she’s got good upper-body strength from her gymnastics. She pole vaulted a little bit last year, but she really got serious about it this year and had a pretty significant improvement. That was a good result for her. If she continues to get stronger in her upper body and works on her technique, she has a chance to make another jump next year.”
For the Davie boys, senior David Patton was 10th in the long jump at 19-9. For the Davie girls, senior Jamie Cornatzer was 13th in the shot put at 31-1 and juniors America Stockton and Alyssa Marion competed in the high jump.
“David is a remarkable story just to get there with the injuries from his past,” Raisbeck said.
Notes: Williams and Sweet had blockbuster performances in Saturday’s state meet. Williams captured the shot put, giving him three state championships, and was fourth in the discus. (He won indoor state titles in the shot in 2024 and 2025.) Sweet dazzled with a second-place effort in the pole vault. A story on the state meet will appear next week. … The Davie boys were eighth out of 27 schools in the regional. The top eight scores: Cuthbertson 102, Mt. Tabor 69, Marvin Ridge 63, Reagan 58, Weddington 48, Hickory Ridge 39, Parkland 38, Davie 28. … The Davie girls scored four points and tied for 20th out of 24.