Photo by Thomas Fowlkes
Even without two of its top performers, the Orange women’s track & field team claimed second place at the 5A Central Regional Championships.
Clara Fowlkes, who finished 2nd in the 2025 3A State Championships in the pole vault, captured her first regional championship at Southeast Alamance High School last Saturday. Fowlkes cleared eleven feet. It was the highest clearance by any competitor in any of the various regional championships at the 5A level on Saturday. Lelu Hill of East Rowan finished second at ten feet.
Fowlkes finished tied for first in the 3A State Championships last year at ten-feet, six-inches. Gracie Finely of Ashe County captured the state championship. Fowlkes is the younger sister of former Cedar Ridge pole vaulter Caroline Fowlkes, who won the 2022 3A State Championship and graduated from Appalachian State last week. Carolina Fowlkes is participating in the Sun Belt Conference championships this weekend for the Mountaineers.
Orange senior Kierstyn Pate also qualified for the state championships in the pole vault, finishing fourth by clearing eight feet.
Lady Panther sophomore Ava Bishop pulled a dominant surprise in the 3,200 meters, winning the regional title with a time of 11:26.80. Bishop, who was a member of Orange’s women’s cross country team that won the Big 7 Conference Championship last fall, captured her first regional title. She also finished a close runner-up in the 1,600 meters, qualifying for the state championships with a time of 5:18.29. Paige Riesling of Atkins High won the 1,600 at 5:17.26.
Orange’s 4×800 relay team of Bishop, Amatha Reddy and Kayla Willey claimed the regional title at 10:10.05. Cedar Ridge’s team of Elaina Sobus, Lily Mallia, Ila Diaz and Henry finished 4th to earn a spot in the state championships at 10:31.49.
Orange’s 4×200 relay team finished Gianni Burnette, Fearrington, Fowlkes and freshman Julie Ann Wurtzinger finished sixth at 1:47.97.
Individually, Willey qualified for the state championships by finishing third in the 400 meters at 1:01.69.
Orange was without senior Adelyn Alvis, who signed to run at N.C. State last week during a ceremony at Orange High Gymnasium. They were also without sophomore Reilly Jermyn, who won three Big 7 Conference Championships in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters at Seaforth High on April 29.
Despite that, Orange still finished 2nd in the overall team standings with 89.5 points. Atkins won the team regional championship with 104 points.
In the high jump, Orange sophomore Natalie Ingold finished 2nd at four-feet, eight-inches to earn her first trip to the state championships. Kiara Hill of Southern Guilford won the regional title at five-feet.
Cedar Ridge sophomore Ayla Henry finished runner-up in the 800 meters with a time of 2:26.13. Kiesling also claimed the regional title in the 800 meters at 2:23.51.
Red Wolf sophomore Isabella Taylor-Hall, another member of Cedar Ridge’s cross country team, finished fourth at 12:02.82.
Red Wolf freshman Michelle Pringley qualified for the state championships in the discus and the shot put. Pringley finished fifth in the shot put at 34-feet-one inch. She came in fourth in the discus at 113-feet-two-inches.
Ila Diaz, a sophomore, qualified for the 1,600 meters with a time of 5:47.18.
Reddy, a freshman for Orange who appeared in several varsity basketball games over the winter, finished fifth in the 800 meters at 2:27.60.
The 5A State Championships will start on Friday morning at Truist Stadium at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.
