Southeast Alamance boys win state title in 400-meter relay

Southeast Alamance left Greensboro with a milestone that reached beyond one race: the boys 400-meter relay delivered the school’s first gold medal in a state track and field meet. Jatay McMillian, Joseph Gibbs, Isaiah Tumey and Marquis Burnette won the Class 5A title in 42.60 seconds at the NCHSAA championships held May 13-16 at Marcus T. Johnson Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.

The margin told the story of a relay built on precision. Monroe finished second in 42.90 seconds, leaving Southeast with a 0.30-second victory in one of track’s most unforgiving events. In a relay, the exchanges matter as much as the speed, and Southeast’s quartet handled both with enough control to finish first on one of the state’s biggest stages.

The win carried added weight because Southeast Alamance is still a third-year school. Burnette was the only senior in the relay, while Gibbs and McMillian are also receivers for the football team and Tumey runs at running back. That mix of youth, speed and versatility gives the program a foundation that could carry into future seasons if the group remains intact and continues to develop.

Coach Bryce McCulley said the relay title was the school’s first gold medal in a state track and field meet, a measure of how quickly the program has climbed. Assistant coach Eddie Stone worked with the relay unit, and the result was a state championship that gives Southeast a clear identity in one of the sport’s signature events.

The relay title also fit a stronger pattern that had already emerged in the spring. At the Mid-Carolina Conference meet on May 1, Southeast won the boys 400 relay in 43.05 seconds with Burnette, Gibbs, McMillian and Tumey, and the boys team took the conference championship with 119¾ points. The state race built on that momentum and confirmed the conference form was no fluke.

Southeast’s boys finished the state meet with 24 points and tied for ninth in the 5A team standings, giving the relay win broader context within the program’s overall showing. For Alamance County, it was a rare state-title moment that reinforced Southeast’s rise and added another high point to the county’s high school sports profile.