Charlotte Runner’s Raised Hand Costs His Team a State Track Title

A Charlotte high school sprinter who had broken a 20-year-old state record earlier in the day was disqualified from the final race of the North Carolina state track and field championships on Saturday after raising his hand near the finish line, handing the team title to Durham’s Jordan High.

Nyan Brown, an N.C. State signee running the anchor leg of Mallard Creek High School‘s 4×400 relay, was well ahead of the field when he lifted his left hand and held up five fingers, signaling what would have been the Mavericks’ fifth straight state title between indoor and outdoor competition. He held the gesture for the last two or three seconds before crossing the line.

An official threw a yellow flag. Brown was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. The 10 points Mallard Creek would have earned for the win became zero. Jordan, which led the team standings by two points going into the relay, was named champion.

“They didn’t like that,” Samuel Willoughby, the Mallard Creek track coach, told The Athletic. “(The team) was shocked. They were looking at me like deer in headlights. Like, ‘Coach, is this really happening?'”

The meet was held May 13-16 at the Marcus T. Johnson Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. Mallard Creek’s girls team had already clinched its own state title earlier in the day. The boys needed only two points from the relay to win a third consecutive outdoor championship.

Brown had been flagged with a warning earlier in the day after winning the 300-meter hurdles in a state-record time. According to officials, he was warned for flexing toward photographers and slapping hands with a teammate. Willoughby disputes that any warning was delivered properly.

“When they warn an athlete, they call the coach in and say, ‘The athlete did this. If it happens again, he’s disqualified.’ No warning was said to him. No one called for me,” Willoughby said. He asked if there was video of the warning. He was told there was none.

Athletic director Bryant Bailey told the Charlotte Observer the call was inconsistent with what officials let go all week.

“If you go back and look at other photos and videos throughout the week, you can see multiple instances of kids celebrating way, way harder while coming across the line than what I think our young man did,” Bailey said. “If you’re going to make that call, make it all week long, and not on the last event on the last day of a state meet.”

NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker defended the officiating in a statement.

“Judgment decisions made by meet officials are done with the full knowledge of NFHS Track & Field Rules as well as rules and expectations of the NCHSAA relative to unsporting behavior and actions,” Tucker said. “We recognize there is deep disappointment experienced by the student-athletes, coaches, and the school community involved.”

Mallard Creek’s principal, Dr. Jared Thompson, filed a written appeal with the NCHSAA on Monday. The association confirmed receipt. Trophies have already been awarded to Jordan, and on-site judgment calls are rarely overturned.

Video of Brown crossing the line, first shared by HighSchoolOT, has been viewed more than 7.8 million times on X. The clip drew comparisons online to the post-race celebrations of sprinters like Usain Bolt and to similar finishes by other young track stars such as Australian teenager Gout Gout. Brown declined to comment to The Athletic, citing a desire to “prevent the issue from snowballing,” Willoughby said.

Brown finishes high school with four state titles, a state record in the 300-meter hurdles, and a scholarship to N.C. State, where he plans to join the sprint program this fall. His coach reminded him of that afterward.

“This is nothing that’s going to tarnish your legacy,” Willoughby told him.