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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

Noelle Childs is a senior on the West Forsyth girls track-and-field team, and she just continues to reach new heights. 

Literally. 

Childs competed this past weekend in the pole vault at the NCHSAA Class 4-A Track-and-Field Championship at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, co-winning the state championship with sophomore Tessa Kranick of Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons with a best vault of 11 feet.

“It was fun,” Childs said. “We both had jumped 11 and had gotten everything on our first attempt. So, they asked us if we wanted to do a jump off and kind of go back and forth. 

“They gave us another shot at 11-6. We went back down to 11-3.” 

It continued from there between Childs and Kranick. 

“They gave us a choice, where they wanted us to stop and just share it, but we were both pretty close at 11-6,” Childs said. “We wanted to give it one more try. And we both missed it, and then we both tried 11-3 and missed it. 

“We decided before that attempt if we both miss it again, we were just going to share it and stop jumping. My legs were getting pretty tired.’”

Childs is content with being co-champion. 

“No, not really,” she said of whether she’d won outright. “I’m happy with what happened.” 

Coach Sean Joyce, who was recently named interim head coach after Nathan Newsome resigned from West Forsyth, witnessed what transpired in the jump-offs between Childs and Kranick.

“I thought she did great,” Joyce said. “(She) put a lot of hard work in and it paid off for her.” 

Morgan Edwards of Waxhaw Cuthbertson finished third in the Class 4-A girls vault, and Rachel Riley of Mount Tabor finished fourth.

“She’s one of the best in the state,” Joyce said of Childs. “It doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from hard work and dedication. And sometimes people have the talent and can’t rise to the occasion. She was able to perform and compete and do her best, and it was good enough to win.” 

Because it was in Winston-Salem, West Forsyth had a big fan base there. 

“Everybody was ecstatic, of course, to see somebody compete at that level,” Joyce said. “And to go ahead and rise to the occasion and take care of business was awesome.” 

Coming into the state championship on Saturday, Childs didn’t feel the nerves. 

“I felt pretty confident,” she said. “I went to practice at Vault House (in High Point) a few times and had some of the best practices I’d had all season.  

“(I) got some new poles that I hadn’t been on yet. And I just had a good feeling that it was going to work out and I was going to do well.” 

Childs, as did Kranick, made their first four jumps at 9-6, 10, 10-6, and 11. 

“I don’t always get all my jumps in my first attempt, but every bar I cleared I did on the first attempt,” Childs said. “And after the first, what you want to do, I realized that’s when I realized I only needed one attempt.  

“But sometimes when I get on a new pole the first time’s more of a tester. But I just went out there, and even on the first attempt I gave it my all.” 

Childs was the only winner for both the girls and boys indoor track-and-field teams at West Forsyth in the state championship, but a handful of others performed well. 

Freshman Laila Jones finished seventh in the girls shot put at 35 feet, 11.75 inches. Natalie Brown of Weddington won at 46-0.75. 

“She’s been awesome,” Joyce said of Jones, who is currently playing girls basketball for the Titans. “She’s a freshman. And the shot is heavier this year. But for her to be able to compete in her freshman (year) and finish seventh, holy cow, the sky’s the limit for her.” 

Also for West Forsyth, the girls 4×800-meter team of Tatum Snow, Dempsey Baldini, Celia Tonindandel and Lily Baugh finished 14th at 10.00.44. Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons won at 9:18.37. 

As for the West Forsyth boys, Aydin Davis finished eighth at 35.77. Micah Walker of Parkland, which is in the Central Piedmont 4-A with West Forsyth, won at 33.96. 

Max Leonard didn’t reach the boys 55-meter hurdles finals after a time of 7.96 after finishing 14th in qualifying, Nyan Brown of Charlotte Mallard Creek won the championship 7.36. 

Now it’s time for the Titans to prepare to start the spring outdoor track-and-field season.  

“Being a coach is being a coach,” Joyce said of finishing the season after taking over for Newsome less than a month ago. “And trying to lead kids and coach kids I think all coaches kind of have that innate ability. There’s some different nuances, of course with the transition.”