Stuart Anderson Jr. of Mathews won a state gold medal in the high jump at the VHSL Group 1A/2A State Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held on Friday and Saturday at East Rockingham High School in Elkton.

The Mathews High School senior had a leap of 6’5” to win the state medal. He also placed fourth in the triple jump (43’8.5”). A two-sport standout this spring, Anderson also won the Conference 42 MVP in soccer, as well as first team All-District, All-Conference and All-Region honors.

Mathews boys finished fourth overall, behind Patrick Henry, Covington and Auburn, out of 36 teams. The MHS girls finished in a tie for 27th place.

The top eight placers receive an all-state medal for each event. The MHS boys’ 4x800 relay team—Jalen Thomas, Caleb Sadler, Caleb Carson and Wade Webb—finished third with a time of 8:29.70. Thomas also earned third place in the 800m run with a time of 2:03.25. Jordan Jenkins finished fourth in the two-mile run (...