With football players in tow, Southern Durham takes third in 3A indoor track

Southern Durham didn’t come away with the state title, but the Spartans showed the depth needed to pick up points in several events thanks to a few football players.

Southern was third in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A indoor track and field championships, just two points behind runner-up Jacksonville.

Marcus McDonald, a football signee at UNC-Pembroke, won the triple jump (44 feet, 9 inches). He was also fourth in the long jump. He attributed the team’s around-the-calendar workouts to why it did so well.

“After all the hard work it finally paid off,” McDonald said. “It was a lot of hard work; practices in every condition. It seemed like we were the only ones practicing over winter break.”

Khaleb McRae was Southern’s only runner-up, finishing second in the 500 (1:07.24).

Montrel Cooper was third in the 500 and Derek Gibbons fourth in the triple jump.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 3:54 PM with the headline "With football players in tow, Southern Durham takes third in 3A indoor track."