NCHSAA Records | NCHSAA Team Champions
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War Memorial Stadium, Greensboro (1927-1941)
The Civitan Relays was considered the best meet in North Carolina until the late 1930s, aside from the state meet, and was sponsored by the Greensboro Civitan Club the entire 19 years of the meet, drawing teams from all over North Carolina (and sometimes more teams than attended the state meet). * At the time, this meet was the only meet besides the state meet that official state records were allowed to count, according to a story in the (Greensboro) News & Record in 1924. * The track at Greensboro's Central Carolina Fairgrounds, used by the meet from 1923-1926, was an 880-yard oval, and the straightaways were 220-yards long. War Memorial Stadium, where the meet was held from 1927-1941, was a normal 440-yard track and also hosted minor league baseball games. * North Carolina's first Olympian, Harry Williamson (also the 1935 NCAA Mile runner-up and member of the world record-setting 4x800-meter relay in 1936), competed at the meet in 1930 and 1931 while at High Point High School, winning 3 invidividual titles in the 880-yard run and Mile, along with one of the nation's best all-around athletes, Bob Gantt, who competed in 1938, 1939 and 1940 while at Durham High, winning 6 individual titles in the shot put, discus and javelin (Gantt starred at Duke in basketball, football and track and field, and later played in the ABA), and future NFL kicker Jack Helms (Charlotte Central), who beat Gantt to win the discus in 1940. Both Williamson and Gantt are in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame...Also, hometown favorite Clarence Phoenix, winner of the state's first-ever cross country meet and first-ever championship in 1926, competed in 1926, 1927 and 1928, winning 5 individual titles in the 880-yard run and Mile. Many other state champions competed at the meet, in a meet that was often held after the state meet. * In 1927, the meet was renamed the Civitan Relays after the previous four years of it being called either the Central Carolina meet, Central North Carolina meet or the Western North Carolina meet, because meet organizers wanted to open the meet to all schools in North Carolina instead of only schools in the central or western parts of North Carolina. For the first four years of the meet (1923-1926), it was held at Greensboro's Central Carolina Fairgrounds. * The 1925 meet featured Olympic gold medalist Jackson Scholz (portrayed in the 1981 movie, Chariots of Fire) in a special 100-yard race, in which he ran 9.5 to eclipse the world record by 0.1 seconds, but because the meet was not a sanctioned AAU meet (then the governing body of U.S. track and field), it couldn't count. He ran against collegiate runners from North Carolina (Emmerson) and Davidson (Currie). Scholtz also ran the 220-yard dash in 21 seconds, beating Currie, Emmerson and Ben Hackney (North Carolina). Olympian Willie Godwin, also of the NY Athletic Club, also ran in the meet, competing in a special two-mile race and running 9:56.3. The story says that he ran against four collegians (Daniels, Lambeth, Hackney), who each ran 880 yards and beat Godwin by “a couple of hundred yards.” * In the early years, a banquet was held for the teams after the meet, and awards would be presented. Music by orchestra, dancing and a dinner were all provided free of charge... in 1928, “Following the relays the entertainment committee of the Civitan club and the high school will have the contestants as guests at the King Cotton hotel. A round of entertainment is planned.” The entertainment included an orchestra and a dance. * A trophy was given to the winning teams and winning relay teams, and medals were given to the first (gold), second (silver) and third (bronze)... in 1929, the winning team (Charlotte) received a bronze trophy representing the Greek god Mercury, and also gave the same type of trophy to the winning relays, and gold, silver and bronze medals went to first, second and third-place finishers, respectively. * The meet was canceled in 1942, when, on March 27, 1942, then-meet director Bob Jamieson announced a number of reasons why it had to be canceled that year: Memorial Stadium, where the meet had been held, had no open dates during the season that they could use (Greensboro's minor league baseball team was using the stadium every available Friday and the available Saturday dates conflicted with the Duke Invitational, the Western Conference Championships and the state meet), and rising transportation issues caused by World War II, which had been going on since 1939, and with the U.S. becoming involved just 4 months prior in December, 1941, there were concerns and rationing of gas, tires and other essentials would happen soon in 1942). Also, the host school, Greensboro High, disbanded its track team, as did other sports suffered because students, as young as 17, and sometimes younger, entered the military and teams were depleted during that time (it was known that students were lying about their age to enter the military, with the youngest American reported being a 12-year-old boy from Texas). |
TEAM CHAMPIONS AND RUNNER-UPS
1923: Charlotte Central 38, Reidsville 31
1924: Charlotte Central 40, Reidsville 32.5
1925: Charlotte Central 26.5, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds 23
1926: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds 37.5, Charlotte Central 36.5
1927: Charlotte Central 38 1/3, Greensboro 37
1928: Greensboro 64, Charlotte Central 55
1929: Charlotte Central 50.5, High Point 26
1930: Charlotte Central 70.2, Greensboro 35.2
1931: Charlotte Central 48 3/5, Greensboro 20 3/5
1932: Charlotte Central 45, High Point 33
1933: High Point 33, Durham 31
1934: Durham 37, High Point 30.5
1935: High Point 39, Durham 35
1936: Durham 41.5, High Point 37.75
1937: Durham 33, Barium Springs 32
1938: Charlotte Central 41, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds 29
1939: Durham 70, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds 45
1940: Durham 54.5, Charlotte Central 47-0.5
1941: Durham 52, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds 35
100-YARD DASH
1923: Thomas, Charlotte Central, 10.1
1924: Billy Smith, Charlotte Central, 10.2 (state record)
1925: Wade Isom, Charlotte Central, 10.2 (state record)... (ran 10.0 in the semifinals)
1926: Wade Isom, Charlotte Central, 10.4
1927: Charlie Farmer, Wilmington, 10.2 (story said Farmer ran 10.0 in the semifinals to break state record and U.S. high school record)
1928: Goodwin, Greensboro, 10.5
1929: Woodside, Charlotte Central, 10.4
1930: Goodwin, Greensboro, 10.4
1931: Spain, Durham, 10.6
1932: Sizemore, High Point, 10.6
1933: Spain, Durham, 10.4
1934: Elmore Hackney, Durham, 10.2 (ties record... they don't count semifinals times as records)
1935: S.C. Southerland, Durham, 10.4
1936: Johnson, Barium Springs, 10.2 (ties record... they don't count semifinals times as records)
1937: Barr, Goldsboro, 10.2 (ties record)
1938: Billy Wartmann, Charlotte Central, 10.0
1939: Joe Hornbuckle, Durham, 10.2
1940: B. Lyon, Durham, 10.2
1941: Britt, Fayetteville, 10.3
220-YARD DASH
1923: Thomas, Charlotte Central, 24.3
1924: Billy Smith, Charlotte Central, 22.6 (state record)
1925: Wade Isom, Charlotte Central, 22.6 (state record)... ran prelims in 22.4
1926: Wade Isom, Charlotte Central, 23.0
1927: Charlie Farmer, Wilmington, 22.2 (state record)
1928: Goodwin, Greensboro, 23.1
1929: Woodside, Charlotte Central, 23.4
1930: Goodwin, Greensboro, 22.8
1931: Spain, Durham, 23.7
1932: Sizemore, High Point, 23.4
1933: Howard Spain, Durham, 22.9
1934: Elmore Hackney, Durham, 22.5
1935: S.C. Southerland, Durham, 23.8
1936: Johnson, Barium Springs, 22.6
1937: Daughtry, Goldsboro, 22.8
1938: Billy Wartmann, Charlotte Central, 22.0 (meet record)
1939: Joe Hornbuckle, Durham, 23.5
1940: B. Lyon, Durham, 22.2
1941: Ausbon, Durham, 24.1
300-YARD DASH NOVICE
*this race was for anyone who had not run or qualified for another event
1926: Covington, Thomasville Orphanage
1927: “Red” Goodman, Greensboro, 35.0
1928: Lindeman, Greensboro, 35.8
1929: Steed, High Point, 34 3/5
1930: Crews, North Wilkesboro, 35.2
440-YARD DASH
1923: Wyrick, Greensboro, 54.4
1924: Wilkins, Greensboro, 54.2
1925: Ward Packer, High Point, 52.8 (state record; meet record)
1926: Embler, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 54.4
1927: Weaver, Greensboro, 56.2
1928: Thomas, High Point, 55.5
1929: Evans, Charlotte Central, 52.6 (state record; meet record)
1930: Hopson, Charlotte Central, 53.4
1931: Wimbish, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 53.6
1932: Nappier, Rockingham, 53.4
1933: McNulty, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 52.9
1934: Southerland, Durham, 53.2
1935: Koury, Greensboro, 53.0
1936: Jimmy Williams, Durham, 52.6 (ties meet record)
1937: Jimmy Williams, Durham, 52.4 (meet record)
1938: Daughtry, Goldsboro, 53.5
1939: Clowers, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 52.8
1940: Clower, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 50.7 (meet record)
1941: Richard Means, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 54.0
880-YARD RUN
1923: Ford, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 2:13.0
1924: “Slow Motion” Whitfield, Burlington, 2:08.6 (state record)
1925: Minor Barclay, Statesville, 2:07.7
1926: Bill Horney, Greensboro, 2:03.3 (state record)
1927: Clarence Phoenix, Greensboro and Carbine, Charlotte, 2:08.0
1928: Clarence Phoenix, Greensboro, 2:09.0
1929: Curlee, High Point, 2:12.0
1930: Harry Williamson, High Point, 2:05.8 (meet record)
1931: Cadman, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 2:00.1 (meet record)
1932: J. Suggs, Sanford, 2:04.0
1933: Worth, Durham, 2:13.2
1934: Bill Hendrix, Greensboro, 2:06.0
1935: Davis, Goldsboro, 2:04.1
1936: Walter Sprye, High Point, 2:05.4
1937: Jordan, Durham, 2:05.8
1938: Wise, Charlotte Central, 2:08.0
1939: Thomas, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 2:06.9
1940: Owen, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 2:05.3
1941: Safrit, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 2:10.2
MILE
1923: Fogleman, High Point, 5:33.0
1924: Gallagher, Charlotte Central, 4:47.8 (state record)
1925: Minor Barclay, Statesville, 4:45.0
1926: Clarence Phoenix, Greensboro, 4:54.2
1927: Clarence Phoenix, Greensboro, 4:52.4
1928: Clarence Phoenix, Greensboro, 4:55.6
1929: Jones, Asheville, 4:52.8
1930: Harry Williamson, High Point, 4:47.8 (meet record)
1931: Harry Williamson, High Point, 4:39.4 (meet record)
1932: Frazier, Oxford, 4:39.6 (meet record)
1933: Bill Hendrix, Greensboro, 5:06.4
1934: Holt, Old town, 4:41.2
1935: Bill Hendrix, Greensboro, 4:34.4 (meet record)
1936: Chastain, High Point, 4:47.0
1937: Vaulter, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 4:42.4
1938: Vawter, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 4:44.5
1939: Moore, Rural Hall, 4:45.8
1940: Tyndall, Greenville, 4:42.5
1941: McKenzie, Salisbury, 4:37.0 (meet record)
120-YARD LOW HURDLES
1923: McMillan, Charlotte Central, 15.9
1924: Miller, Reidsville, 16.2 (state record)
1925: Ward Packer, High Point, 14.8 (state record)
1926: Fort, Charlotte Central, 15.0
1927: Millstead, Charlotte Central, 14.2 (state record)
1928: Reid, Charlotte Central, 14.8
1929: Watt, Statesville, 15.2
120-YARD HIGH HURDLES
1930: Beall, Charlotte Central, 17.2
1931: Abernathy, Greensboro, 17.0
1932: Harold Rafty, Salisbury, 16.8 (meet record)
1933: Byrd, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 18.4
1934: Umstead, Durham, 16.8 (ties meet record)
1935: Potts, High Point, 17.2
1936: Potts, High Point, 16.0 (meet record)
1937: Taylor, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 15.2 (meet record)
1938: Taylor, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 15.6
1939: Mangum, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 15.8
1940: “Hoot” Brantley, Charlotte Central, 14.9 (meet rcord)
1941: McLeod, Durham, 16.3
220-YARD LOW HURDLES
(1930 was first year of event)
1930: Smith, Wilmington, 26.3 (meet record)
1931: Hawthorne, Charlotte Central, 26.8
1932: Shipman, 27.2
1933: Byrd, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 26.6
1934: Graves, Charlotte Central, 26.3 (ties meet record)
1935: Wilson, Durham, 26.8
200-YARD LOW HURDLES
1936: Wall, Greensboro, 23.2
1937: Robinson, High Point, 23.6
1938: Gregory, Charlotte Central, 24.1
1939: Mangum, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 24.0
1940: “Hoot” Brantley, Charlotte Central, 22.4 (meet record)
1941: Frazier, Greensboro, 23.4
MILE RELAY
1923: Greensboro (unknown runner, unknown runner, Dick Newell, Carnie Wyrick)
1924: Charlotte Central, 3:48.0
1925: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 3:45.3
1926: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 3:39.4 (state record)
1927: Charlotte Central (Bill Carbine, Joe O'Neill, George Houston, Artie Woodside), 3:39.0 (state record)
1928: Asheville (Evans, Prunty, Miller, Jones), 3:49.7
1929: Charlotte Central, 3:42.5
1930: Wilmington (Britton, Lynch, Rankin, Roberson), 3:38.6
1931: Charlotte Central (Hopson, Landis, Moody, Glasgow)
1932: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Burns, Metty, Smothers, Duggins), 3:40.6
1933: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Smothers, Kinney, McNulty, Duggins)
1934: Charlotte Central, 3:41.0
1935: Greensboro (Davidson, Aydelette, Koury, Hendrix), 3:34.8 (meet record)
1936: Durham (Mangrum, Hopkins, Vigue, Williams), 3:35.4
1937: Durham (Vigen, Donald, Jordan, Williams), 3:42.2
1938: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Clower, Thomas, Keece, Vawter), 3:36.4
1939: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Thomas, Stockton, Moore, Clowers), 3:37.5
1940: Durham (Davis, Council, Loftis, Lyon), 3:32.2 (meet record)
1941: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Means, Williamson, Safrit, Means), 3:39.2
MEDLEY RELAY (220 yards, 440 yards, 880 yards, 1,320 yards)
1927: Asheville
1928: Greensboro (Goodwin, weaver, Lafort, Horney), 7:24.5
1929: Greensboro (John Lindeman, Albert Johnson, Lew Caudle, Tom Knight), 7:21.0
1930: Greensboro (R. Goodwin, Bradley, Knight, Douglas), 7:20.6
1931: Greensboro (Gunter, Burroughs, J. Knight, Nowlin)
1932: Charlotte Central (Pickard, Yandle, McLaughlin, Evans), 7:13.8
1933: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Poe, Lanier, Berthold, Goolsby)
1934: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 7:08.0
1935: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Vogler, Russ, Goolesby, Morris), 6:54.1 (meet record)
1936: High Point (Furr, Van, Roach, Sprye), 7:02.4
1937: Greensboro (Langston, Eley, Brewer, Matthews), 7:10.2
1938: Greensboro (Brown, Moffett, Matthews, Summers), 7:01.0
1939: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (Williamson, Salmon, B. Owens, Brewer), 7:00.5
1940: Roanoke (VA) Thomas Jefferson (Holt, Coleman, Watton, Smith), 6:54.3
1941: Roanoke (VA) Thomas Jefferson (Holt, Rea, Walton, Smith), 6:40.3 (meet record)
BROAD JUMP
1923: Miller, Reidsville, 19-1.5
1924: Harrison, Greensboro, 19-8.5
1925: Robert Reid, Charlotte Central, 20-4.7 (state record)
1926: Fort, Charlotte Central, 21-1
1927: Neihman, Charlotte Central, 19-4
1928: Brown, Greensboro, 19-8 7/10
1929: Laney, Charlotte, 21-1.75
1930: Meachum, Charlotte Central, 19-10
1931: Guy Soule, Charlotte Central, 20-7.75
1932: Guy Soule, Charlotte Central, 22-1.25 (meet record)
1933: Graham, Salisbury, 20-10
1934: Hackney, Durham, 21-6
1935: Shutts, Louisville, 21-2
1936: Potts, High Point, 20-1.5
1937: Mengle, Chapel Hill, 20-5
1938: Mengel, Chapel Hill, 20-11 7/8
1939: Taylor, Durham, 21-8.5
1940: C. Loftis, Durham, 20-3
1941: Ausbon, Durham, 19-3.25
HIGH JUMP
1923: Miller, Reidsville
1924: Miller, Reidsville, 5-6
1925: Andrew Smith, Statesville, 5-3.5
1926:
1927: Bennett, Wilmington and Reid, Charlotte, 5-7
1928: Reid, Charlotte, 5-4
1929: Johnson, Greensboro, 5-7
1930: Wood, Charlotte Central, 5-6
1931: Thornton, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 5-5.75
1932: Thornton, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 5-8.5 (meet record)
1933: Archer, Barium Springs and Marion Sams, High Point, 5-8.75 (meet record)
1934: Joaquin Alvarez, Elise Academy, 5-9.75 (meet record)
1935: Bill Sams, High Point, 5-10 (meet record)
1936: Black, Greensboro, 5-8
1937: Johnson, Barium Springs, 5-6
1938: Gray, High Point, 5-9.75
1939: Morgan, Durham, 5-9 5/8
1940: Rattelade, Durham, 5-8
1941: John Chastain, High Point, 5-11.25
POLE VAULT
1923: Schlitz, Charlotte Central
1924: Neal, Reidsville, 9-8
1925: T.B. Houston, Charlotte Central, 9-8.5
1926: Neiman, Charlotte Central, 10-4
1927: Neiman, Charlotte Central, 10-0
1928: Sharpe, Burlington, 9-7
1929: Norman “Pinkie” James, Hickory, 11-1
1930:
1931: Norman, Greensboro and Hopson, Charlotte, 10-6
1932: Red Hendricks, High Point and Hall, Oxford orphanage, 10-9
1933: Red Hendricks, High Point, 11-3 (meet record)
1934: Red Hendricks, High Point, 11-10.75 (meet record)
1935: Freeman, Barium Springs and Potter, Barium Springs, 10-11
1936: Shannon, Barium Springs, 10-0
1937: Jessup, Barium Springs; Shannon, Barium Springs; Donaldson, Barium Springs; McCrimmor, Barium Springs, 11-0 (4-way tie by all Barium Springs vaulters)
1938: Shannon, Barium Springs, 11-0
1939: Spencer, Barium Springs, 10-3
1940: Creech, Old Richmond, and Norman, Barium Springs, 10-10
1941: Alspaugh, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds and May, Durham, 10-10
SHOT PUT (12 pounds)
1923: Delancy, Reidsville, 38-6.5
1924: Schlitz, Charlotte Central, 38-9
1925: Pierce Brewer, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 39-1
1926: Brewer, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 41-2.25
1927: Theron Brown, Greensboro, 45-3
1928: Brown, Greensboro, 45-3
1929: Luther Williams, Oxford, 49-2 2/5 (state record, beating his own state record of 47-11.5, but he also won the DeWitt title at Georgetown University in D.C. the previous Saturday with a put of 51-3)
1930: Mullis, Charlotte Central, 47-9.5
1931: Wrenn, Greensboro, 44-8.5
1932: Sutton, Charlotte Central, 45-3
1933: Elmer Wrenn, Greensboro, 46-0.5
1934: Willard, Kernersville, 47-2.5
1935: Pate, Golsboro, 43-1.5
1936: Woody, Durham, 45-0
1937: Lucas, Durham, 44-1.5
1938: Bob Gantt, Durham, 47-2
1939: Bob Gantt, Durham, 50-8 (meet record)
1940: Bob Gantt, Durham, 53-0 (meet record)
1941: Yancey, Fayetteville, 47-1
DISCUS
1923: Gillikin, Reidsville, 99-8
1924: McPherson, Burlington, 103-0
1925: Walter Newman, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 112-0 (meet record)
1926: Brewer, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 103-2
1927: Theron Brown, Greensboro, 116-0 4/10
1928: Brown, Greensboro, 119-8
1929: Mullis, Charlotte, 118-7
1930: Mullis, Charlotte Central, 119-2.25
1931: Norman, Greensboro, 111-2.75
1932: Poovey, Hickory, 115-9
1933: Freeman, Barium Springs, 112-0.5
1934: Oliver, Barium, Springs, 113-4
1935: Woody, Durham, 103-9
1936: Childress, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 126-3
1937: Darnell, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 116-0.5
1938: Bob Gantt, Durham, 126-8.25 (meet record)
1939: Bob Gantt, Durham, 127-0 (meet record)
1940: Jack Helms, Charlotte Central, 128-7.25 (meet record)
1941: Yancey, Fayetteville, 123-2
JAVELIN
1923: Devant, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 127-4
1924: Miller, Reidsville, 149-10 (state record)
1925: Bob Blackwood, Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds, 138-8
1926: Roper, High Point, 148-4 3/10
1927: Edmundson, Roanoke Rapids, 145-4
1928: Brown, Greensboro, 157-1
1929: Martin, Asheville, 153-2
1930:
1931: Howard Sutton, Charlotte Central, 154-8
1932: Sutton, Charlotte Central, 172-2.5 (meet record)
1933: Scarlot, Salisbury, 154-9.5
1934: Oliver, Barium Springs, 150-10
1935: Hilton, High Point, 160-0
1936: Jones, Durham, 151-2
1937: Spencer, Barium Springs, 150-6
1938: Spencer, Barium Springs, 158-0
1939: Pendergraft, Durham, 152-6
1940: Bob Gantt, Durham, 167-4
1941: Herndon, Durham, 149-4.5
NOTES:
* In 1926, there was a boys' 1-mile bicycle race (won by Fred Jones, 3:14), a boys' pony race (won by Vernon Spencer) and a girls' horse race (won by Dougless Long)
* The 1927 meet held the first mile medley relay ever held in North Carolina and Asheville High won the event.
*The 1930 meet was combined with the state collegiate meet.
Last updated June 13, 2023.
Thanks to Brett Honeycutt for researching and writing this page.
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NCHSAA Records | NCHSAA Team Champions
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