At A Glance
Cuthbertson High Track
Coach: Dustin Allen
Between The Lines: Coach Dustin Allen is in his second year as the boys and girls track coach. … The Cuthbertson girls won the 2017 Class 3A Indoor Track Championship earlier this year. … The Cuthbertson boys finished in fifth-place overall at the indoor meet.
The Cuthbertson High track program is sprinting to new heights.
Back in the winter of 2016, Dustin Allen took over a track program that had 32 boys and girls on the indoor roster but that number swelled to well over 100 last spring. That momentum continued this school year as good numbers equaled a Class 3A Indoor state championship earlier this year for the Cuthbertson girls while the boys finished in 5th place.
“As the indoor season went on, we got better and better,” Allen said. “It was a great feeling for the kids.”
That momentum has carried over to the outdoor season that has the Cavaliers girls squad as one of the best teams in Class 3A while the boys are also highly ranked. The first step towards the Class 3A State Track Championships will come at the regional level where the top four finishers in each event will advance.
“We have changed the culture a little bit,” Allen said. “We have a lot of good talent and they are working hard. My whole coaching staff is great and they get the kids ready. I think the girls have a chance to repeat, but our region is so tough.
“Weddington is so good, Marvin Ridge is so good. But I think we have a good shot. It’s all about places at the regional meet. You have to come in in the top four places to go to the state championships. But we are building something in both boys and girls.”
Sarah LaTour is one of Cuthbertson’s top female runners as the junior is strong in the 800,1600 and 3200-meter runs while also anchoring the 4×800 relay. LaTour is getting looks from several major Division I track and field programs.
LaTour has the best time in the 1600 in the Southern Carolina Conference with a 5:08.61 and she leads the SCC in the 3200 with a 10:55.43, which is 48 seconds faster than Sydney Burke of Weddington High.
LaTour, who was named the overall Most Valuable Player at the indoor state championships, has the second best time in the conference in the 800 with a 2:20.32. LaTour, Gabriella Castro, Jaden Wensevic, and Charlotte Sperry have the best time in the SCC in 4×800 relay with a time of 9:48.46.
“Words can’t describe Sarah LaTour,” Allen said. “She is amazing and she means everything to our team right now. Just the way she works every day, she gives it everything she has and that is contagious. She is very impressive and she does everything 100 percent. She does everything a coach would want.”
Abby Happel and Jaelyn Warren occupy the top two spots in the SCC in the 100-meter hurdles while freshman Olivia Kuusman is second in the 300-meter hurdles. Kuusman is fourth in the 100-meter hurdles.
“Abby is getting a lot better,” Allen said. “Olivia is about a half second off the school record in 300 hurdles.”
Nathan Johnson is having a strong season in the 200 and 400-meter runs for the Cuthbertson boys.
“Nathan sets the tone for practice every day,” Allen said. “All the other guys, they follow what Nate does.”
Johnson, Justin Crawley, Casey Stamper and Christian MacIntosh have posted strong finishes in the 4×200 relay. MacIntosh, who is a freshman, set the school record in the 100-meter run earlier this season.
“I think they will break the record here in the next week or two,” Allen said.
Cuthbertson has just over a dozen seniors on the boys and girls roster while the bottom part of the roster has around 50 freshmen.
“A lot of those freshmen help us in the jumps,” Allen said. “We are very young in the jumps, and we are very young in the distance races. Lot of good, young talent.”
