Orange Panther of the Week: Cyrus Neal

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is graduate Cyrus Neal. Last academic year, Neal was a valuable part of the first Orange men’s cross country team to win a state championship. At the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, Neal finished 12th in the state, tops among the Panther seniors. His nine points limited orange to 63, paving the way for the state championship finishing ahead of North Lincoln. Neal finished ninth as the Panthers won the Mideast Regional title for the third time in four years. Orange won its fourth consecutive Central Conference championship last October in Burlington, where Neal finished ninth. Last spring, Neal qualified for the 3A State Outdoor Track and Field Championship, where he competed at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. He finished 8th in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.74. He was also a member of Orange’s 4×800 relay team, which finished seventh in the state with a time of 8:18.82. Last winter, Neal competed in indoor track and field. He finished eighth in the 1000 meters at the State Indoor Track and Field Championships at the JDL FastTrack in Winston-Salem. He ran on the 4×400 relay team, which finished tenth in the indoor state championships. Neal graduated in June and will start classes at UNC-Chapel Hill next month.