Triad High School track and field standout Dominick McFarland competed in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Jr. Olympics meet in North Carolina on Wednesday.
McFarland competed in the boys 17-18 age bracket for the 100-meter hurdles.
He ran against 69 other athletes for an opportunity to advance to the finals.
The top eight fastest times qualified for the finals.
Weather played a bit of a factor in McFarland’s 64th place time of 16.18.
According to reports from North Carolina A&T, where the meet was held, a lighting alert from a nearby area forced meet officials to try and hurry through events.
McFarland was reportedly not able to get fully set in his blocks and had a rough start to the race.
“It was definitely not my best time by far,” he said.
“It wasn’t the outcome I had hoped for, but it was a great experience, none the less,” said McFarland.
“It gave me additional training to work toward my goal of getting to the top of the state (Division III) high school awards podium next spring.
“I also feel it has opened some doors for me as far as college recruiting goes,” said McFarland, who placed seventh in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles (40.17) during the 2019 high school state track and field meet.
McFarland said he has been invited to run with the T3 Elite track club of Columbus for the 2019-20 indoor season.