FAYETTEVILLE - With the only indoor track facility in the state unavailable because of construction on UNC-Chapel Hill's campus, the NCHSAA elected to conduct winter championships for the combined 1-A/2-A/3-A ranks and a 4-A meet on the same day at John Daskal Stadium at Reid Ross Classical School.

No area runner was happier to see the association elect to do a one-time "winter" track and field championships instead of none at all than Cardinal Gibbons' Sarah Rapp.

The Crusaders girls won the 1A/2A/3A state championship meet thanks to Rapp's effort. She won three gold medals at the meet, giving her MVP honors.

Rapp scored 30 of Gibbons' 36 team points in the 1-A/2-A/3-A girls meet with her victories in all three distance events, the 1,000, 1,600 and 3,200. The reigning 3-A state cross country champion had won the mile and two-mile but not the 1,000 at last year's indoor state meet.

"I'm just glad they had this meet. I wouldn't have wanted to miss a meet because we didn't have the indoor meet in my senior year," Rapp said.

The Wakefield girls finished with 93.25 points to top the 4-A ranks, more than double the total of runner-up Green Hope (45).

Other area 4-A champions included Cary's 4x800 girls relay team and Green Hope's Lauren Colberg in the girls 1,600.

Asheville won the 1-A/2-A/3-A boys team title, while Knightdale won the 4-A boys title.