Life in the fast lane: Mount Tabor boys, girls 4x800 relay teams seek to add outdoor state championships to already impressive resumes.

WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA--There is a looming presence that sits not far from the entrance to the track at Mount Tabor High School.

The giant white board is full of names of Spartans’ past—and now present—of record-holders for every track and field event the school has produced in its storied history.

Both the boys and girls 4x800 relay teams will soon see their names on that board as both have shattered previous school records this season, and in the case of the girls team, on numerous occasions.

Both 4x800 teams captured NCHSAA 4-A indoor state championships in February and are hungry for outdoor titles.

Two members of the boys’ team—seniors Andrew Burrell and Conner Inman—were part of the outdoor state championship 4x800 team last season.

And three members of the girls’ team—Hannah Riley, Eliza Brand and Katie McFerrin—were on the runner-up teams in the event for both the indoor and outdoor state championships last season.

The girls shattered their own school record in the event on a national stage recently at the Penn Relays, finishing in 9 minutes, 4.08 seconds, which garnered them a third-place finish and the fifth-best time in North Carolina history. It bested their own record by a little more than 10 seconds, which was set at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in March.

The boys team established their new record of 7 minutes, 45.45 seconds on Senior Night meet, which also happened to be the fifth best time, all-time in North Carolina.

The previous boys 4x800 record stood since 2014, and that team went on to win the state championship that year. It stood for nearly 20 years before that.

“We see that board just about every day,” said Andrew Burrell, a senior who ran the anchor legs on last year’s outdoor state championship team and this year’s indoor state championship team. “When we got the school record on our senior night, that was a big deal. There is such a great tradition here with the great runners who have come through this program. Getting on that board just one time is a massive accomplishment, and doing it on senior night, when we had a lot of people here to see it, was pretty special.”

Whatever the formula for developing successful 800-meter runners is, the Spartans’ boys and girls track and field teams have seemingly discovered it—particularly the last two seasons.

A more appropriate term, perhaps, might be 4x800 U.

U as in university.

The 800 combines endurance and speed for two full laps, and when you add in the relay element--the small detail of four baton hand-offs as team members whisk their way through exchange zones at full speed—there is plenty of excitement, not to mention anticipation.

The Midwest 4-A Regional is being held Saturday, and outdoor state championships will be May 20.

Despite their successes this season, both teams will still need to place in the top four in the Regional to qualify for the state championship meet on May 20.

What exactly makes a great 800 runner?

“Definitely endurance and speed,” said Hannah Riley, who runs the opening leg for the girls team. She also holds the school record in the pole vault and her father, Mike is the team’s coach. Her mother, Summer, coaches the Mount Tabor pole vaulters.

“My job is to get us in a good position and get that momentum going. I feel that one of my strengths is having plenty of speed left at the end of the race when everyone else might be tired on that second lap.”

Bronwyn Parks, a junior who transferred to Mount Tabor for the 2022-23 school year, runs the second leg.

“When I get the baton, I know we still have a huge part of the race left,” Parks said. “And I want to maintain or improve what Hannah has done for us.”

Eliza Brand takes over during the third leg.

“I respond to wherever we are when I get that baton,” Brand said. “If we are in a good position, I want to run out front and see if I can get that lead. If we are running with someone, I want to try and get rid of them. If there are people to catch, that’s my main goal. My responsibility is to respond to whatever situation we are in at that point.”

Junior Katie McFerrin said her job as the anchor leg is simple.

“Bring it home,” McFerrin said with a smile. “If I have to drop the hammer and catch as many girls as I can if we are behind, that’s my job. And yes, that second lap really can kill you. I can attest to that. I usually add a couple of seconds between my laps. But I know I need to keep my focus and finish strong.”

That’s exactly what McFerrin did during the indoor state championships in February.

“When I crossed that line, I was so overjoyed,” McFerrin said. “I didn’t really know what to do. My first thought was to go and hug my teammates, but Hannah wasn’t there.”

Riley was tending to other matters.

“I was throwing up,” she said with a laugh. “I missed a really touching moment, unfortunately.”

The boys team features Burrell, Inman, sophomore Andrew Riley—Hannah’s brother—and Luke Armentrout.

Patrick Cromwell has been the Spartans’ track and cross-country coach since 2006 with a laundry list of individual and team state championships to his credit.

The boys’ team is not a set rotation—they discuss it among themselves on race day as to how they are feeling.

For the indoor state championship, Inman ran the first leg, Riley the second, Armentrout the third and Burrell the anchor.

For the school record race, Riley ran the opening leg, Inman was second, Burrell was third and Armentrout, who has signed to run at UNC Charlotte, was the anchor.

“We went into the state championship with the best time in the state and I was actually pretty nervous before,” said Armentrout, whose father, Brant, was a standout distance runner for the Spartans in the late 80s, winning a cross country state championship in 1989. “It was actually quite a relief to bring it home. When I got the baton, we were in first, so it was a little nerve-wracking because you don’t have anyone to pace off. I wanted to drag the other guys out with me and force them to get off hard and run an even pace race before handing off to Andrew (Burrell).”

Burrell was confident when he took the baton for the final leg.

“When I got that baton from Luke, I knew we had it,” Burrell said. “I felt like I was the best anchor in the field. Knowing that I was going to cross that line and see these guys smiling was a great feeling.”

Inman, who was the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference cross-country champion, said his strategy for running the opening leg is usually the same.

“My job is to just go out hard and not get squashed in the back of the pack,” said Inman, a senior who has signed to run at Georgia. “Most of the time we start on the break and make up the staggered start, and then you just have to watch when you merge in and keep your place while you are running with the lead.”

Andrew Riley said that running the second leg can sometimes be daunting.

“At the indoor championships, I took the baton and we were in third or fourth, I think. I knew my job was to get us back up there and put us as close to the lead as possible so Luke and Andrew could bring it home.”

Both teams know that they have targets on their backs for the Regional and then hopefully, the state championships.

“No team has run within nine seconds of us this year,” said Burrell, who will run at UNC Charlotte next year. “Charlotte Catholic and Marvin Ridge have some really good teams. We know what’s ahead of us and we know we still need to run our race. Winning a double state championship would be a great way to end my career here.”

And what would another state title mean to the girls 4x800 team?

“We have dropped so much time and getting all the experience we have has made us so much better,” Hannah Riley said. “I think we all know how to race this event a little better. And I think our success this season gives us the confidence we need.”