The Union Pines boys' track and field team has rebounded from a 0-2 start to win its last five meets. The Vikes are now 5-2 on the year.

Tuesday the Viking boys defeated Harnett Central 92-79 in a Cape Fear Valley (CFV) 3A conference meet to move to 3-2 in the league standings.

Union Pines juniors Justin Marshall and John Minott both continued their stellar seasons Tuesday. Marshall had two individual first place wins in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. He is 6-1 in both events this year and has already qualified for the regional in the 300-meter hurdles. He was also a member of the Vikes' winning 400-meter and 800-meter relay teams.

Minott remained undefeated on the season in the triple jump, winning the event with a leap of 43'4". He won for the fifth time in six starts in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.6 seconds. Also a member of the 800- and 400-meter relay teams, Minott has qualified for the regional in the triple jump and the two relay events along with Marshall, freshman Samari Paulson and junior Mitchell McNeil.

Paulson has put together an impressive resume this season as a freshman. Already a regional qualifier for the 100 meter dash, he won the race Tuesday with a time of 11.4. On the year he has won the event in four of seven attempts. His fastest finishing time is 11.04 seconds.

McNeil took first in the high jump for the fourth straight meet with a mark of 6 feet and 2 inches; the junior has already qualified for regional competition in the event. Another Viking junior who has been performing strong on the track is Lamont Reeves.

Tuesday he placed first in the 800-meter run and was a member of the winning Vike 1,600- and 3,200-meter relay teams. In seven meets Reaves has won the 800 in all six of his starts. Marquis McKinney was Union Pines' other first place finisher Tuesday, with a winning throw of 40' in the shot put.

Last Saturday, the Union Pines boys won the Vike Invitational with a score of 164, Harnett Central finished second with 124 points and Western Harnett placed third tallying 109 points. The Viking girls also took the event with a winning total of 141 points. Western Harnett took second (139), while Harnett Central (52) came in third.

Winners for the Vike boys in the meet were: Minott (TJ and 200 M); McNeil (HJ); Marshall (300 M Hurdle); 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter relay teams.

Union Pines next event is this Saturday, at the J.J. Knox Track and Field Classic, in Mebane, at Eastern Alamance High School. The meet begins with field events at 10 a.m., while track events commence at 11 a.m.

Contact F.W. Manning II at 639-5481 or by email at fwm2@nc.rr.com.