As Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s outdoor track team prepares for this weekend’s state championships, it is in the wake of sophomore Noah Giles having helped the squad establish a winning conference tradition in the 100-meter dash.

A year after current senior Jared Morse won the event at the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools Championships, Giles did the same, claiming all-conference honors as a result.

“It was a little bit of a surprise,” Giles said of his victory. “Last year, I didn’t even make the finals.”

But in the intervening time, he said he has been in the weight room and working hard, becoming eligible and leading to his winning 11.37-second performance.

Of Giles’ performances so far, “I think it was the best,” said NSA boys’ track coach Terry Crigger. “He ran in a fast heat, and it pushed him, and that’s what he needed.”

Giles said it was in the middle of the race when he started to break away that “I was thinking that I could actually win this.”

He noted his company down the stretch.

“Well, Jared, he was right beside me, and then out of my peripheral vision, I could see somebody from (Norfolk Academy) running up, catching back up.”

Norfolk Academy’s Joshua Freeman took second, finishing in 11.48 seconds, and Morse finished third with a time of 11.60 seconds, an improvement on his winning time from 2013, which was 11.73 seconds.

Reflecting on his win, Giles said, “It means a lot. I’m glad NSA could win it two years in a row, though, too. I feel like that’s really nice and really cool that we can two-peat.”

Crigger commented on Giles’ development.

“He’s steadily growing and getting better,” he said. Morse had won the 100 most of the year, but “Noah’s just creeping up, and he finally caught him.”

The coach credited the two for helping each other in practice, forcing each other to work hard because of the challenge their mutual speed posed to each other.

Like Morse, football is a priority for Giles, who has been part of the Saints’ rushing attack.

Giles is training now for the state championship track meet, which will be held this Saturday at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He will run in the 100 and the 4×100-meter relay.

Measuring in seconds, Crigger said, “Our relay time is within nine hundredths of our school record, so we’re going to try to break that.”

He also said senior Zach Ward is six hundredths of a second away from breaking the school record in the 400-meter dash.