BY ED DUPREE
SALISBURY POST

CHARLOTTE — LaTasha Pharr’s amazing high school track and field career is over, but the senior All-American went out in style here Friday.

Pharr won three events as North Rowan’s girls captured their third straight state 2A championship at UNC Charlotte’s Irwin Belk Track.

The University of Alabama signee has now won 12 gold medals in her four years of state track competition.

She won her favorite 100-meter hurdles in 14.19 seconds after being forced to run the event three times. She fell over the third hurdle in the preliminary round, got to her feet and still finished second in the heat to apparently qualify for the finals.

“That was pretty hard,” she said. “A real athlete doesn’t quit. I couldn’t lay there on the track and not get back up. That’s my favorite, so I had to get back up.”

However, officials decided to re-run the event, because the entire third row of hurdles was positioned incorrectly wrong. She won her heat the next time, then captured the title with a time of 14.19 seconds.

Pharr, battling leg injuries since October, had season bests in the other three events, winning the triple jump with a leap of 39 feet, 11 inches and the 300 hurdles in 46.09 and taking second with a long jump of 18-5 1/2.

“I’m pretty excited. That’s my best all season,” she said of her long jump, triple jump and 300 efforts.

She holds Rowan County records of 13.31 in the 100 hurdles, 44.05 in the 300 hurdles and 41-7 3/4 in the triple jump, and her best long jump ever is 19-1.

“I’ve worked hard the last two weeks. I kind of felt that I would do good, because my legs haven’t been bothering me,” she said. “I think I’m 90 percent. I’m not at 100 percent right now. I know by the time of Junior Nationals (Richmond, Va. in June), I’ll be ready.”

Her 2A career started out with firsts in the 100s and triple jump as a freshman, when she set a state record of 14.43 in the 100s. She was also third in the long jump.

She swept all four events in 1999 with times of 14.60 and 46.50 and jumps of 39-0 and 18-2.

Last year she broke three state marks with a times of 14.06 and 44.05 in the hurdles and a triple jump of 40-9. She was third in the long jump.

That gives her an amazing 142 points in four years of state meets.

Pharr is especially proud of being undefeated in the hurdles in all four state meets.

“It means a lot.It says that, with hard work, it pays off. It’s important for me to do good. It’s my senior year. I’m a competitor,” she said.

“I hate to see her go, but I’m happy that she’s leaving on such a high note,” said coach Brian Mills, whose Cavaliers were ahead of Southern Vance 70-55 with one event to go last night in a meet that was running two hours behind schedule, mainly because of two power failures. Southern Vance was seeded fourth going into the final race, the 1600 relay, and could score no more than 10 points by winning.

“It’s been a goal,” said Mills of winning three state titles in a row. “The girls have worked hard all season. I’m real proud of them. I’m real proud of the senior class — LaTasha, Garette Hunter and Latrice McCullough. They have been part of a good run that we continued tonight.”

Hunter contributed 20 points to North’s total by finishing second in both the shot put (career-best 38 feet, 1/4 inch) and discus (109- 1/2). She was credited with first-place team points, since the winner of both events, Katrina Lewis of Southeast Halifax, was the only athlete from her school and not eligible for team points.

As for Pharr’s performance, he said, “When she fell and got up, that’s something she’s been taught. That is just instinct. ... She’s been through a lot of adversity this season, being hurt. She’s just now starting to compete to the level she’s capable of, and it’s the end of the season.

“We’re real happy for LaTasha and real happy for Garette Hunter.”

Mills referred to his team’s season bests, including Tiffany Mack’s fourth-place long jump of 16-11 1/2 and added, “When your athletes go out and compete and do your best, that’s all I can ask.”

North also got fourth places from Moriah Jones in the 200 (26.51) and the 400 relay team of Elizabeth Alexander, Mauria Turner, Mack and Jones (51.08).

Ternisha Charleston, Tiffany Kennedy, Stephanie Morris and Monique Shaver of Salisbury took third places with times of 50.97 in the 400 relay and 1:46.17 in the 800 relay.

Salisbury, coached by Julie Lillrose, was in 10th place going into the final event.

North’s boys, in ninth place late in the meet, got a second place from freshman Terry Wood, who triple jumped 45-6. Teammate Aundray Russell was third with a leap of 45-5 1/4. Adrian Sloan added a fourth place in the 110 hurdles.

“We lost a couple of key guys (Thomas Mashore and Malachi Jones to leg injuries last week),” said coach Robert Steele, who has had five outdoor state championship teams. “It was a great effort from the kids that I had. I’m very proud of them. Hopefully, next year we can take it back to the level that North Rowan is accustomed to holding.”