Cummings High girls win 4A state track and field title

Cummings High School’s girls track and field team turned Marcus T. Johnson Track at North Carolina A&T State University into an Alamance County victory lane Wednesday, scoring 104 points to win the NCHSAA 4A outdoor state championship in Greensboro. First Flight finished a distant second with 61.5 points, and Cummings’ margin reflected the kind of depth that has made the school’s girls program one of the state’s standard-bearers.

D’Anna Cotton led that push and was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the girls championships. Kaili Payne also earned recognition for Cummings, receiving the Sportsmanship Award as the Cavaliers finished at the top of the 4A field. The 4A meet shared the opening day of the NCHSAA’s four-day track and field slate with the 2A championships, with 1A and 3A following on May 14, 5A and 7A on May 15, and 6A and 8A on May 16, all at the same Greensboro venue.

The title gave Alamance-Burlington School System another state crown to celebrate and added a new benchmark to Cummings’ long-running girls track dynasty. In February, ABSS said the program had won 32 NCHSAA girls track and field titles overall, and that Cummings remained the only North Carolina program to win state championships in every NCHSAA classification. The school also said that when track and field was reclassified this school year, Cummings captured the first available championship in the new 4A format.

The outdoor victory also extended a dominant 2025-26 season for the Cavaliers. Cummings had already been recognized as the top girls indoor track and field program in North Carolina after winning its 13th indoor state championship in February, and the school said the indoor team finished No. 1 in the final state rankings. A February report noted that indoor title came with 87 points and that Cotton won four events, underscoring the individual production behind the program’s team success.

For Alamance County, the result carried more than a trophy. It showed the kind of continuity coaches can build, the kind of athlete development that produces statewide results, and the kind of school pride that tends to travel well across the county when Cummings puts another banner in place.