College track and field: Wright finishes strong

Staff report

GREENSBORO — UNC Wilmington captain Cooper Wright finished his track and field career with some great efforts in the Coastal Athletic Association Championships held at North Carolina A&T.

Wright was obviously fast when he was at East Rowan and had plenty of potential as a 6-foot-2 receiver, but he had no luck as far as injuries, and he also came through East during the two school years affected by COVID.

Track and field became Wright’s sport at East. He racked up all-county and all-conference accolades as a Mustang. Track and field also took him to the next level at UNC Wilmington, where he ran some terrific times in the 200 and 400. The 400 became his main event.

In the 2021 CAA Championships, Wright ran a 21.63 200 for fourth place. He was second in the 400 in 47.57 seconds and ran a leg on a third-place 4×400 team.

In the 2022 CAA Championships, Wright ran a PR 21.36 in the 200 for third. He was conference champ in the 400 with 48.46 clocking. He also ran on the championship 4×400 team that was timed in 3:20.68.

Wright battled some injuries after that. He was on the fifth-place 4×400 team in the 2024 CAA Championships.

He came back with a great year as a fifth-year performer.

He ran a PR in the 400 — 47.37 — in last week’s CAA Championships and finished sixth.

A more amazing effort came in the 4×400 where he ran the swiftest 400 of his life to close his career — 46.52 — on the third leg. UNC Wilmington finished third in the event, but it was a school record run for the Seahawks.

Wright graduated with a degree in accounting and finance and is launching a career as a financial planner.