GREENSBORO — Round and round, everywhere Courtland Clavette spun Saturday in the discus circle, he did not see a thrower capable of beating him at the NCHSAA 4-A track meet.

The Reynolds junior won his first state championship with ease. Clavette recorded a mark of 172 feet on his fourth attempt at North Carolina A&T.

Ragsdale's Cedric Allison came in second (157-5).

“It's a great sense of fulfillment,” said Clavette, who also placed third in the shot put (50-7.75).

“It's what I've been working for. I kind of expected (to win) today, but what I really wanted was to throw 180 feet. I just wasn't able to keep it in-bounds.”

Indeed, Clavette had already pocketed the state championship before making his final three throws Saturday. They all went wide of the boundaries for a fair throw.

Clavette broke a 38-year old school record for the discus (166-4) in early April with an effort of 171-8. He raised the record to 173-2 at last week's 4-A Western Regional meet.

“He was as focused this season as any athlete I've ever had,” longtime Rockets coach Buck Buchanan said. “Good things happen to good people. And he's one of the best.”

Clavette was an All-WNC linebacker in 2009 for Reynolds' NCHSAA 4-A championship football team.

Clavette said he already has scholarship offers for football from Lenoir-Rhyne and Western Carolina.

“It was a good junior year,” Clavette said. “A dream year.”

Clavette was not the only Rockets athlete to score points Saturday — senior Alex Hadley placed sixth in the girls pole vault with a personal-best height of 10-6.

Story by Andrew Pearson Asheville Citizen-Times.com