North Meck senior wins indoor titles, readies for outdoor season

Sabrina Moore has proved that she is one of the fastest high school girls in the state.

The North Mecklenburg senior won a 4A indoor track state title in the 55-meter dash (7.10 seconds) earlier this month to add to her already impressive sprinting resume. Moore won the I-Meck and 4A West Regional titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes last spring and had top-five finishes in the events at states last spring.

She also won a 100-meter state championship in Oregon her sophomore year before transferring to North.

Moore’s success also has allowed her to earn the chance to run track collegiately. Moore signed with Texas Christian on Feb. 15, choosing the Horned Frogs over East Carolina, Indiana and North Carolina.

“I’ve had a great run over the last two weeks,” Moore said. “First, winning the state championship and then officially signing. I feel like I have a ton of momentum going into the rest of year.”

Moore’s winter track season wasn’t without adversity.

Coming into the new year, Moore said, she was having a hard time coming close to her goal times – in practice and in competition.

“My physical and mental abilities just weren’t connecting, and I was doubting myself at times,” Moore said. “I had to go back to square one and focus on the basic fundamentals of everything I do on the track.”

She explained how important that was.

“If you want to be a great sprinter, in most races you should be running against the clock as much as running against your opponents,” Moore said. “Every little fundamental, every little technicality, from start to finish can be the difference between winning and losing. Every tenth of a second, even hundredth of a second, can make a huge difference.”

Moore focused on techniques such as resting her arms right after she got off the blocks, slanting her shins to the ground, keeping her head level and finishing off the race at full speed.

Her commitment to getting better, even at the most basic levels, proved to be the winning formula. Everything came together at the state meet.

While Moore’s focus is on the sprinting, she also won the 4A indoor state championship in the long jump, launching to a career-best 18-feet, 7 inches in the state meet’s final jump.

“After winning the 55 (meter dash), I was jumping on adrenaline,” Moore said. “I think that last jump kind of even took me by surprise.”

“It’s funny because last year, when Sabrina first start talking about doing the long jump, I was like, ‘I don’t know if you want to do that,’” North Meck track coach Lawrence Lawson said, “but she has really been coming a long way in the last year.”

Moore hopes her year-round commitment to the sport, which includes competing with her Carolina Flight club team, will pay off in her final high school season as the Viking focuses on the outdoor track season.

Moore and Lawson have already started working on her overall condition, with speed and weight training, as well as her mental toughness.

Lawson said that he would like to see Moore running the 100-meter dash near the 11.79 she ran last year at regionals, while also running the 200, her main event, in the high 23-second range. Moore’s goals in the long jump will be to get around 19 feet.

She could be a state contender all three events.

“When you get to Moore’s level, you really have to block out what everybody else is doing,” said Lawson. “All you need to think about is running your own race or making your own jump. If we can get to the times we want, all the championships will take of themselves.”

Moore is working hard to make sure her high school track career ends in style.

“I try to look at every day like it’s one of my races,” Moore said. “There are so many distractions out there – the crowd, the other events, the fans. But you have to focus on the end result and that is a gold medal. I am hoping to finish my North Meck career with three gold medals.”