Nyan Brown Breaks Record as Mallard Creek Falls by 2
Nyan Brown broke the state record in the final 300m hurdles race of his high school career, but Mallard Creek still lost the NCHSAA state track championship by two points. One athlete was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct at the May 16 meet in Greensboro, and that decision cost the school a third straight title.
Nyan Brown and the finish line
Brown said on Instagram that he ran the race at the NCHSAA 8A State Championship at North Carolina A&T and finished in 35.96 seconds. He said the previous record was 36.04, a mark that had stood since 2007 and belonged to Spencer Adams.
That race gave Mallard Creek a championship-level performance on the track. It did not end the team race. The school finished second to Jordan High School in the overall standings after the disqualification changed the points total at the meet.
Mallard Creek and the lost points
The disqualified runner raised his left arm with his hand about head-high and his palm open, facing inward, as he crossed the finish line. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association ruled that act unsportsmanlike, and Mallard Creek would have won its third-straight state track championship if the runner had received the points for winning the event.
By May 18, the call had turned into a public flashpoint. Robert Griffin III said on social media that a high school was robbed of a state championship and added that sports are expressive and passionate, while Jonathan Stewart wrote, “Smh... the official needs to be disqualified.”
North Carolina A&T aftermath
The association said, “Judgment decisions made by meet officials are done with the full knowledge of NFHS Track & Field Rules as well as rules and expectations of the NCHSAA relative to unsporting behavior and actions.” It also said, “We recognize there is deep disappointment experienced by the student-athletes, coaches, and the school community involved.”
For Mallard Creek, the result is simple and painful: a record-breaking individual finish and a lost team title in the same meet. Brown got the history. The team got second place by two points.
