It took four years for Bandys High pole vaulter Nathan Flowers to see his hard work pay off.
His senior year turned out to be the best for Flowers, capped by a state title and the Mooresville News boys’ track and field athlete of the year award.Flowers went undefeated in the boys’ pole vault in eight meets this past season, including five major meet titles during his run to the state title.Among his wins were titles at the Catawba County championships, the Appalachian High School Invitational, and the Southern District 7 2A conference championships.
Then Flowers, who had won just three meet titles in his three previous seasons combined, dominated at the NCHSAA 2A West regional meet, winning with a then-personal best of 12 feet, 9 inches. The runner up, Bunker Hill’s Cody Farrant, managed a vault of 12 feet.That made Flowers the favorite heading into the NCHSAA 2A state championships, held May 10 at N.C. A&T University’s Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro. He didn’t disappoint, taking his first state title with a personal best of 13 feet, 6 inches better than North Pitt’s Johnathan Shingleton.That was quite an improvement from his freshman year, when Flowers’ best vault that season was 8 feet, 6 inches.
He improved each year after that, from 10 feet as his best as a sophomore, to 12 feet as a junior and qualifying for the NCHSAA regionals for the first time. Mooresville News boys’ track and field coach of the year: Jerry Castro, North Lincoln – Castro completed a rare double, taking the Mooresville News’ track coach of the year honors for both the boys’ and girls’ teams this season.Like with the Knights’ girls teams, North Lincoln’s boys didn’t take a step back after its move up to class 3A, competing in a conference that had both 3A and 4A schools.The Knights finished third at the North Piedmont 3A/4A championship meet behind two 4A teams – Mooresville and Lake Norman – then finished fourth at the NCHSAA 3A Midwest regional meet, and had four athletes qualify for the NCHSAA 3A state meet.North Lincoln finished 15th in the team standings at the NCHSAA 3A state championships, held May 16 at N.C. A&T University in Greensboro, with two of the Knights’ four qualifiers earning medals and the others finishing in the top 10.
Ryan Shannon finished second in the 3,200-meter run and Andrew Fea came in third in the 1,600-meter run. Chase Stehling finished seventh in the shot put, Zach Wesson was eighth in the 1,600, and Fea also came in ninth in the 800-meter run.