Cherryville's Trentavis Friday named N.C. Gatorade boys track athlete of the year

From staff reports

CHICAGO (June 20, 2014) — In its 29th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Trentavis Friday of Cherryville High School as its 2013-14 Gatorade North Carolina  Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.  Friday is the first Gatorade North Carolina Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Cherryville High School.

Friday was named All-Observer boys track athlete of the year last week.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Friday as North Carolina’s best high school boys track & field athlete.  Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June, Friday joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Meb Keflezighi (1993-94, San Diego HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt HS, Ia.).

The 6-foot-2, 165-pound senior won three individual state championships and anchored the winning 4x400-meter relay quartet at the Class 1A state meet this spring, leading the Ironmen to a second-place finish as a team. Friday took gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.59 seconds, the 200-meter dash in 20.95 and the 400-meter run in 47.87. The New Balance Nationals Indoor champion and the NBN meet indoor record-holder in both the 60 and 200, he also captured the 200-meter crown at this month’s New Balance Nationals Outdoor championships. Friday’s season-bests of 10.17 in the 100 and 20.33 in the 200 both rank as the nation’s No. 1 performances among prep competitors in 2014 at the time of his selection.

Friday has maintained a B average in the classroom. In addition to serving on the Cherryville High school yearbook and school newspaper staffs, he has volunteered locally for two years on behalf of the First Wesleyan Church’s feed-the-homeless initiative. He has also donated his time as part of his school’s morning-announcements team and has worked with special needs students at the Webb Street School.

“He’s worked hard and stayed healthy, and he’s just a special runner,” said Cherryville head coach Keith Fox. “He can do anything. He could go out and run a 1:54 in the 800 if we wanted him to. He put in a lot of time in the offseason, worked in the weight room. We knew he was capable of a season like this.”

Friday has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at Florida State University this fall.