Photo by Phil Stapleton
GREENSBORO–If there was any doubt before, there isn’t now.
Myles Jermyn has cemented his name among the greatest athletes in the history of Hillsborough sports.
On Friday, Jermyn pulled away from Oak Grove’s Luke Vannoy to win the 5A State Championship in the 3,200 meters inside Truist Stadium at North Carolina A&T State University. Jermyn, who signed to run at Duke University earlier this month, earned his first state championship in outdoor track & field.
Jermyn is Orange’s sixth individual state track & field champion. He is the third Panther to win the state title in the 3,200 meters. The last Orange runner to capture a state championship was Gabriel Schmid, who won the 3,200 meters in 2023.
Jermyn was teammates with Schmid for two years in track & field and cross country. Schmid’s younger brother, Grant, earned a spot on the All-State team by finishing fifth in Friday’s race.
“This is one of my top accomplishments,” Jermyn said. “It was nice to have a team victory, but it’s even better to have a solo victory, finally. It’s the best way I could have ended my high school season.”
With the temperature hovering around 90 degrees as the afternoon dragged on, Jermyn’s mouth was dry when he stepped up to race. As the field of 15 runners sorted itself out at the opening gun, Jermyn took the lead on the second lap. Vannoy basically drafted Jermyn for the duration of the event as the two competitors pulled away from the pack midway through the eight-lap race.
Jermyn maintained his lead at the bell lap. As Vannoy stayed about two strides behind him, Jermyn sensed that his opponent was struggling to keep up. While the 3,200 meters is the longest running event in high school track and field, Jermyn made it a sprint in the final steps of his Orange career.
Jermyn pulled away midway through the final back stretch. He strides grew wider as he crossed the finish line at 9:18.92. Vannoy finished second at 9:21.69.
“I definitely kicked it in a little,” Jermyn said. “I was working hard out there. I wasn’t necessarily going all out, but I decided to put on the hammer. I could tell he was hurting, so I decided to bring it home.”
It was Jermyn’s final run as a Panther in an established career that has included being an instrumental part of Orange’s 2024 3A State Championship cross country team. Last fall, Jermyn finished second individually in the 5A State Cross Country championships behind only Michael Ferguson of North Buncombe.
“A lot of times it’s easier in track and in life to let other people lead and then squeeze in the lead at the end,” said Orange track & field coach Brian Schneidwind. “Myles has had a lot of second places over the years. To see Myles going out with the state championship and the courage associated with that is phenomenal.”
Jermyn won the 5A Central Regional championship in the 1,600 meters at Southeast Alamance High on May 9. It was his first individual regional title.
Now, Jermyn’s name will go down in the record books with Schmid and Alvis Whitted, the first Orange runner to win a state championship in track & field in 1993. Whitted is the only Orange player to ever play in the Super Bowl, suiting up for the Oakland Raiders and is now the wide receivers coach at Boise State.
“I have a lot of great memories at Orange,” Jermyn said. “It was a lot of fun. It’s been a priority of mine to be a great teammate. And I’ve been on some great teams.”
Jermyn made the 5A All-State team in two events. Earlier in the day, he finished 3rd in the 1,600 meters at 4:18.51. Ferguson won the state championship at 4:10.15, beating out Bryce Cooke of Parkwood. Grant Schmid, who also made All-State in two events, finished 5th at 4:23.50.
Cedar Ridge’s John Ngunjiri, in the final race of his career, came in tenth in the 1,600 meters at 4:33.90.
