A high school boys’ track and field team in North Carolina was awarded a share of the state championship Tuesday, after an appeals board reversed a decision made at last month’s title meet to penalize the team when a runner celebrated winning the 4×400m relay by raising five fingers as he crossed the finish line.The gesture, made by Mallard Creek relay anchor Nyan Brown, signaled the school’s impending fifth straight state crown between indoor and outdoor competition. The win in the 4×400 would have given the Charlotte school enough points to be named state champions. Instead, race officials raised a yellow flag and disqualified Mallard Creek’s victory for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”A video of the May 16 race’s finish has attracted more than 9 million views on X, and the penalty made national news.
Mallard Creek boys track and field was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct after winning the 4×400 relay in the final event of the day. Had the result stayed, the Mavericks would have won the team state championship. Instead, they remained in second place.
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— HighSchoolOT (@HighSchoolOT) May 16, 2026Tuesday’s reversal, which was made by the state Independent Interscholastic Athletic Appeals Board, instated Mallard Creek as co-champions with C.E. Jordan High School in Durham, N.C.
