Owen track and field lands second in Western Highlands Conference

Warhorses place second, Warlassies third in championship meet

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
April 30, 2026

Track and field teams representing the seven members of the Western Highlands Conference converged on Black Mountain, April 28, as Owen hosted the championship meet at Howard Fisher Memorial Field at Montreat College’s Pulliam Stadium.

The Warhorses, who earned 17 medals in the competition, finished second in the conference, while eight top three performances from the Warlassies secured third place. Owen, with a combined score of 251.5, finished second overall in the WHC.

Owen athletes competed in 36 events, as senior distance runner Jordan Robertson led with a trio of first-place finishes, including a 2:36.5 performance in the 800 meter race. The Morehead-Cain Scholar secured a victory in the 1,600 meter run, completing the event in 5:59.55, before closing out the afternoon with a victory in the 3,200 meter event (13:01.25).

Fellow senior Craig Webb, who won individual state championships in cross country and indoor track, led all runners in the 1,600 meter run with a time of 4:55.71, before securing the top spot in the 3,200 meter race in 10:11.6, earning a pair of gold medals for the Warhorses. Freshman Darrel Currie added another top performance, recording a time of 23.17 in the 200 meter dash.

The Warhorses placed second in multiple track events, with Webb taking the spot in the 800 meter run and Junior Alex Argueta finishing the 1,600 meter race in 5:07.33. The boys relay teams in the 4X200 meter race, which included Currie, LaSalle Jones, Ayden Lambie and Spencer Woolley, and 4X800 meter combination of Argueta, Adlai Dwight, Aaron Ferrell and Calvin Barker, claimed silver medals.

Sophomore athlete Cam McDonald claimed a pair of second-place finishes, recording a shot put of 43-feet-6-inches and a 130-feet-11-inch discus throw.

Currie, Jones, Dwight and seniors Taylen Lynch and Nick Sharkey added to the program’s medal count with third-place performances in the 100 meter, 400 meter, 3,200 meter, 300 meter hurdle and 1,600 meter events, respectively.

The Warhorses, with a score of 154, finished behind conference champion, Hendersonville, which recorded 169 points. Polk, with a total score of 92, rounded out the top three boys track and field teams.

Led by Robertson’s individual gold medals, the Warlassies accumulated 97.5 total points, behind Hedersonsville (144.5) and Avery (133).

The Owen girls program placed in the top three in eight events, including a second place showing from junior Ava Grant, who registered a 1:03.52 in the 400 meter race. Sophomore Evelyn Brown, with a time of 6:27.37, claimed silver in the 1,600 meter race, and bronze in the 3,200 meter run (14:27.48). The Warlassies 4X800 relay team of Robertson, Grant, Brown and Ruby Sudnik finished second in the event, while Grant, Adyson Draper, Aleah Meyers and Kyasia Jones added a bronze medal to the count in the 4X200 meter relay race.

Photos from the 2026 Western Highlands Conference Track and Field Championship meet can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.