I think there will be more to come': Ragsdale rises to win girls track state title

JAMESTOWN - In last year's state 4A outdoor track and field championship, the Ragsdale girls team had just one participant in the finals and she didn't score.

But add two star freshmen, develop the foundation and instill a winning mindset and the Tigers rose from being shut out to winning this year's 6A outdoor state championship, its second-ever state title in the sport and its first in 20 years.

Ragsdale scored 93 points, two more than Watauga. Also, the championship snapped Dudley's streak of three straight state championships after losing to the Panthers in the outdoor county, conference and regional meets.

"This is the only community school in Guilford County, which is a special thing, and we should make sure that we embrace Jamestown, High Point, Greensboro - our little pocket that supports our school," said Ragsdale athletics director Michael Holder, who was speaking during a celebratory parade on Thursday. "If you don't know why this is important - sure, winning a track championship is important - we are going to talk about that, we are going to give them their accolades, but this is bigger than just winning a track championship.

"These ladies are learning so many really wonderful things that they are going to use later in life," Holder added. "They are going to use all of these things to persevere and to work harder, whatever job that they have. I always say that athletes are not athletes. They are our future moms, dads, husbands, wives and then they are our future business owners."

Ragsdale was toward the bottom of Class 4A, then the highest high school classification, in average daily membership when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association realigned for 2022-23. The school tied for 37th with three points in the 2023 outdoor state championships, then didn't score at all the next two years. Then came the transition to 6A as part of the move from four to eight classifications this academic year.

"When I first got here, the track team was actually really big," said senior Alaina Cole, a future NC State cheerleader who finished fourth in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump at the state meet. "It was very intimidating, and I didn't know anyone. And then as I got older, freshman to junior year, it got smaller, and I was thinking, ‘Oh no, we might not have enough people to keep going.' And then when we got to this year, some people joined, freshmen joined, and it was good from there."

The program's foundational piece was sophomore Elle Dawson, the area's top-ranked long-distance runner, who finished second in the 2024 4A cross country state championships as a freshman. Dawson improved her times in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. In this year's state meet, Dawson won both those races and has drawn Division I interest from schools like Missouri.

"I think mindset was the biggest change," Dawson said of her improved performances. "You have to believe in yourself and come together on the day and just put your best out there, not too much pressure."

Ragsdale coach Simeon Platt knew what Dawson other returners could do, but said the outlook entering the year was still an unknown until newcomers began practicing and the team finished as runner-up during the indoor state meet.

There were high expectations for freshmen Taraji Jordan and Ndanu Pope, who had excelled at Jamestown and Southern Guilford middle schools, respectively, and for the High Point Blaze club, coached by Ragsdale coach Derrick Lambert.

Jordan, who was a strong sprinter, was the 13-year-old long jump champion at the 2024 Junior Olympics. She won the 2026 indoor 6A 55-meter title as a freshman and won the 6A Indoor State Championship MVP. In the outdoor state meet, she won the 100 meters, was part of the winning 4x100 relay and took fourth in both the 200 meters and long jump.

"Taraji comes in and she is a beast when it comes to working out and she wants all the smoke (eager to face a challenge)," Platt said. "When a freshman can come in like that, the other girls around will gravitate to them."

Pope won a middle school 800-meter state championship and was the AAU 15-16 year-old 1,500-meter indoor national champion in March. She was the Guilford County 800- and 1,600-meter champion and finished fifth in the state outdoor 800 meters, just behind teammate Faith Thomas.

"Ndanu is phenomenal," Platt said. "The first time I saw her run, I was like, ‘OK!' because I didn't know. You see times and stuff and you can guess but when you actually see her out on the track, she is a beast … she will be here. She is one that with Taraji that will hopefully lead this team to consecutive state championships, but she is phenomenal in the classroom too, one of our top students."

The program boosted the belief that it could win a state championship after finishing as runner-up in the state indoor meet. The Tigers lost the outdoor 6A Central regional by two points to Dudley but had some motivation.

"We all knew we had a part to do and a place to finish so that the team could come together in the end," said Dawson on what it took to get the title.

On Thursday, the team, escorted by the school's marching band, walked around Ragsdale's campus and received cheers from classmates, school staff and other supporters. The tour ended at the media center, where the team was greeted by more supporters in the company of Jamestown mayor Susan Dickenson and multiple city council members as well as both Guilford County Schools athletics directors. Holder gave certificates to individual event state champions.

"This accomplishment is here to put the rest of the state on notice," he said. "We're coming."

The team returns all but two of its state meet scorers, losing just Cole and Thomas.

"We lose Faith and Alaina, but for the most part, the bulk of those points are still in our building … " Platt said. " … I think there will be more to come. I think now the expectation is championship or bust really because we still have those pieces in the building and hopefully we are to add some good freshmen from Jamestown (Middle)."

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