GREENSBORO — Aaron Combs, a rising senior at Starmount High School, capped a stellar spring track and field season with an appearance in the Nike Outdoor Nationals Track and Field competition over the weekend.
The meet was held on the same bright blue track at N.C. A&T University in Greensboro that Combs ran on en route to a silver medal in the 800 meters at the Class 2A state championship last month.
In Saturday's competition, Combs placed third in his heat in the 800, with a time of 1:56.03. That ranked him 13th nationally in the Emerging Elite division.
Combs was the Mountain Valley 2A Conference champion in both the 400 and 800 meters. He won the region gold medal in the 800, then edited his own personal best by a couple of seconds to finish as the state runner-up.
The Nike Outdoor Nationals is considered the premier high school outdoor track meet in the country. The event drew about 2,800 athletes to Greensboro, with 80 to 100 college coaches in attendance.
The North Carolina Class 2A state champion in the 800 meters, John Schilkowski of Morganton, placed fourth in the Emerging Elite Division with a time of 1:54.64.
Only three seconds separated the top 22 runners in the event. Matt Hillenbrand of Louisville won with a time of 1:54.31. The 12th place finisher was just .01 ahead of Combs.
Out of North Carolina runners in the event, Combs was third.
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