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Hoover sweeps Class 6A titles at 2014 Alabama State Meet - DyeStatPublished by
Humphreys lead Hoover to pair of 6A titles
BY ARTHUR L. MACK for DyeStat
GULF SHORES, Alabama — This year’s edition of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s 4A-5A-6A state outdoor track and field championships at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium will be remembered for sweeps, upsets and records.
In Class 6A, Hoover’s boys and girls, led by Marlon Humphrey and Brittley Humphrey, respectively, took home titles in both 6A boys and 6A girls’ competition. Homewood’s boys and girls swept the 5A titles. It was even more impressive because the Patriots not only defeated defending 5A girls champion, but did so by the margin of one point.
Homewood’s boys also won a title, defeating Columbia 102.50 to 51, with defending champion Paul W. Bryant third with 43 points.
UMS-Wright’s boys continued their winning ways, defeating Dadeville 93-55 to win its sixth straight 4A championship. UMS-Wright’s girls were another story, as Beauregard — led by Kylee Carter and Alexis Milner — ended a five-year championship streak by defeating the Bulldogs 150-116.
In addition, seven records were broken in Day 2 of the competition, bringing to 15 the total number of records broken during the two-day meet.
Here’s the recap from Day 2:
CLASS 6A: Hoover proved that it was indeed the top Class 6A track and field program as both teams scored impressive team victories.
Hoover’s boys defeated surprising Opelika 105.50 to 88, while defending champion Auburn was third with 68 points. The girls were even more impressive, routing Mountain Brook 119.50 to 60, while Auburn was third with 57 points.
Marlon Humphrey — who sat out with an injury until sectional competition — successfully defended his 110 and 300-meter hurdle titles in 14.53 seconds and 37.45 respectively, and ran a monster third leg on the victorious 4 X 400-meter relay, which ran 3:18.03.
What made it even more amazing was that he did it after being out for most of the outdoor season as a result of a hamstring injury suffered in the first meet of the indoor season. In addition, he was ill the week leading up to state.
“He got injured the first event during indoor and wasn’t available to us at all,” said Hoover coach Devon Hind. “He’s a team guy and he gave everything he had for his team. A lot of people didn’t realize it, but his legs were like Jell-O this weekend because he’s been sick all week, so what he did today was amazing.”
The Bucs also got a big win from Daniel Fort in the javelin with a throw of 194 feet, 2 inches.
Opelika got two big wins on Saturday from Stephen Roberts in the long jump (23- 3/4), and Jaquavious Tolbert in the high jump (6-4), while Auburn won the 4 X 100 meter relay in 41.62.
Humphrey’s little sister Brittley, meanwhile, had another fantastic day, winning the 100-meter hurdles in 14.45 and 300 meter hurdles in 42.74. The latter time was a new state meet record, breaking the old record of 42.91 set by Amelia Anderson of Smiths Station in 2005.
Teammate Chloe White set another record, winning the 6A girls javelin with a record throw of 140-1, breaking the old record of 136-2 set by Huntsville’s Mariah Pennington in 2011.
“We did have a really good meet—the girls especially,” said Hind. “I was comfortable with them all weekend. They’ve been good all year and kept performing all day. Opelika made it interesting (on the boys side), but we had some outstanding performances.
Mountain Brook’s big win on Saturday came from Rachel Reddy, who won the 3200 in 10:45.27.
In fact, Class 6A athletes had plenty of outstanding performances.
Birmingham Woodlawn’s Jayla Kirkland broke yet another 6A girls’ record—this time in the 200 meters. Kirkland—who earlier in the day won the 100 meter finals in 11.80 after breaking the record in the prelims on Friday—breezed to 23.65 in the 200 meters, breaking the record of 23.79 she set in the prelims.
Kirkland—only a freshman—said she had some concerns coming into the race, but one would not have known it with her performance in the sprints—particularly in the 200.
“It was of scary, because I’m a freshman and the other girls are older,” she said. “I just popped out of the blocks and stayed on the inside of the curve. I knew it (the records) was coming because in previous meets I set records and knew I would have competition to push me at state.”
Meanwhile, Mobile McGill-Toolen Catholic’s Margaret Ollinger became the second Yellow Jacket in as many days to break a state meet record when she won the Class 6A girls’ pole vault. Ollinger was credited with a 12-9 clearance after an appeal, which broke her own record of 11-9 set last year—as well as establish an all-classes record.
Ollinger appeared to have cleared 12-9, but as with Vestavia Hills’ Joseph Lee on Friday, the bar—even though not knocked down—did not wind up in the same position as before it was touched. But McGill-Toolen head coach Drew Bentley successfully appealed that ruling, which enabled Ollinger to be credited with the clearance, as well as in the case with Lee—who was credited with clearing 16 feet in the Class 6A boys’ competition after originally being credited with a 15-9 clearance.
Though Ollinger was happy about the win and breaking the all-class record, windy conditions made it tougher for her to reach or break her personal best of 13-2.
“It wasn’t really a good day (weather wise),” she said. “I wanted to get the all-class record, and it should have been easy (today). I got a jump at 12-9, but the bar landed on a different side. It feels good to break the state record, but I was hoping for more. The headwind didn’t help with the movement of the poles.”
Alabaster Thompson’s Jaalen Jones swept the Class 6A boys 100 and 200 over a very competitive field, winning both in 10.76 and 21.17 respectively. Jones also ran anchor on the second-place 4 X 100 meter relay team.
“It was crazy, because yesterday (Friday) we had a great tailwind behind us, but God does what he does, and I can’t worry about it,” he said. As long as I came out and got the win, I’m all right. Turns are not my forte, but in the 200, I was able to open it up and put it away. It’s the last time I’m running with the team, and I’m glad I was able to put them out like that.”
Hewitt-Trussville’s Austin Norwood edged out McGill-Toolen Catholic’s William Carroll in an exciting boys’ 800-meter race, winning in 1:55.78.
Among other notable 6A girls’ performances, Hewitt-Trussville’s Veronica Lyle won the 800 in 2:13.92. The field events had their share of great performances, too, as Opelika's Jakayla Hand won the triple jump (38-7 ½) and Tuscaloosa Northridge’s Indyia Summerville won the discus (125-8).
CLASS 5A: St. Paul’s bid to win its ninth straight Class 5A girls’ championship came to a heartbreaking end asHomewood defeated the Saints by one point, 126.50 to 125.50. Fort Payne was third with 63.50 points.
A second-day surge by Homewood, led by Kiara Williams’ double wins in the 100-meter hurdles (15.90) and long jump (18-3) as well as a second-place finish in the 200, plus some unbelievable bad luck by St. Paul’s, contributed to the upset win. In addition, Homewood completed the 5A sweep by routing Columbia 102.50 to 51, while defending champion Paul W. Bryant was third with 43 points.
St. Paul’s appeared to be well on its way to continuing its streak, as Anna Braswell won the 3200 (11:37.52). The Saints maintained the lead for the early half of Saturday, but a disastrous fall by Chanel Krause in the 100-meter hurdles opened the door for the Patriots, who took advantage of a win in the 800 from Ann Mosely Whitsett (2:21.21). Yet, the Saints battled back as Shelley Spires—who finished second in the long jump and along with Krause finished 1-2 in the high jump—actually led by two points going into the final event—the 4 X 400 meter relay.
St. Paul’s was in Heat 2, while Homewood was in Heat 3. The Saints won their heat with a 4:11.05, which was the top time headed into Heat 3, which not only had Homewood, but also Tuscaloosa Paul W. Bryant and Sylacauga.
Paul W. Bryant won Heat 3 in 4:05.36, while Homewood ran 4:08.87. Sylacauga, though, ran 4:10.65—a scant .40 ahead of St. Paul’s. Had the Saints managed to beat Sylacauga’s time, both they and Homewood would have been co-champions.
“We knew we had a chance (to beat St. Paul’s) but we knew we were the underdogs coming in,” said Homewood coach Tom Esslinger. “We had to have people do their absolute very best to even have a chance. We had a lot of athletes who stepped up and did better than they did all season. To beat them is unimaginable.”
“The fact we finished second hurts, but I’ve watched these kids compete this weekend and they laid it on the line,” said St. Paul’s coach Jim Tate. “You add up the little things and the would ofs and should ofs, but in the books it still goes down as a runner-up. But if I did anything else, I wanted to make the kids believe that they were the best, and be proud of one of another and the effort that they put forth.”
Homewood’s boys dominated from start to finish.
The Patriots opened the second day of competition with a 1-3-4 finish in the 3200 from Andy Smith (9:47.13), Alex Ngei (9:55.21) and Mike Rohdy (9:59.84).They then followed it up with a 1-2-4 finish in the 800 by Logan Sadler (1:59.90),Tristan Lindsey (2:00.44) and Smith (2:01.35) after original winner Evonte Linebarger of Paul W. Bryant was disqualified.
With the boys’ win, Homewood completed the triple crown — winning the 5A cross country, indoor, and now outdoor titles.
“We felt good about it (winning outdoor) coming in, and we just had to stay injury-free and not have any major injuries in sectionals and get everybody qualified,” Esslinger said. “We had to make sure all the pieces were in place. Our coaching staff did an amazing job overall, and I’m really proud of the kids.”
Paul W. Bryant’s Harrison Dudley added to his 400-meter victory on Friday, coming back on Day 2 with an impressive win in the 200 (21.37). Meanwhile, there were several other strong performances. Among them were Cullman’s Garrison Hill winning the pole vault (13-3); Mobile LeFlore’s Kentonio White winning the triple jump (45-8); and Hartselle edging Etowah in the 4 X 100-meter relay (42.62 to 42.95).
CLASS 4A: UMS-Wright’s boys continued their winning ways as they routed Dadeville 93-55 to win their sixth straight title. However, UMS-Wright’s bid to win six straight Class 4A girls’ titles came to an end when Beauregard—led by Carter’s four victories—defeated the Bulldogs 150-116.
Carter defended her javelin title with a toss of 127-7, breaking the old record of 123-8 set by Morgan Chandler of Brooks in 2012. In addition, Carter also won the high jump (5-4), long jump (17-2 ¼) and the triple jump (36-5 ½).
“They (UMS-Wright) pushed us to try harder, and we were like pushing and pushing to get better because that’s our competition every year,” Carter said. “I felt good about my performances, and thank God that the wind was blowing in the right direction (for the javelin) because sometimes it can take a toll on my throw. We needed every point we could get.”
Milner won the 100 meter hurdles (15.35) and 300-meter hurdles (45.98) and had second-place finishes in the 100 and 200 meters to help Beauregard’s cause.
“It was definitely our girls,” Beauregard coach Glenn Copeland said. “It’s always a team effort. Kylie’s a gamer, and when the lights come on, she turns it up. She’s a joy to watch. UMS-Wright has always helped us raise our game because they’re a very good program and we tried to match with them as much as we could.”
UMS-Wright coach Pat Galle said he knew Beauregard was going to be tough, and also praised his boys’ team for coming up with points when needed.
“They (Beauregard) had two or three cream of the crop girls, and we couldn’t touch them,” he said. “We were picking up our seconds and thirds, but they were just too strong for us. As for the boys, we put together a solid team meet. We doubled up some guys in the distance events and picked up some good points.”
In addition to Carter’s record throw in the javelin, two more 4A records were broken as the Class 4A girls and boys’ 3200-meter records were broken within minutes of each other.
In the 4A girls’ 3200, St. James Rachel Yergensen’s 11:16.06 shattered the old meet record of 11:32.88 set by UMS-Wright’s Claire Kennedy in 2011.Yergensen, who ran by herself for most of the race, she said that she was hoping for even faster times next year.
“I was really aiming for 11:15, so I knew I had to keep even pace and in the last mile, go all out,” she said. “I was excited—they kept announcing the state record and I was saying, ‘All right, I want to do this (break it).’ I’m going to keep working at it and I want to get lower.”
Randolph’s Eshan King outdueled UMS-Wright’s Robert Hope, winning the Class 4A boys’ 3200 in 9:40.42, breaking the old record of 9:49.91 set by Oneonta’s Alex Gilliland in 2013.
Hope was also under the old record, running 9:49.27.
There were some other notable performances as well.
Hillcrest-Evergreen’s Matt Likely and Madison County’s Jacob Salisbury switched wins in the 100 and 200. Likely edged Salisbury in the 100 (10.95 to 11.02) but Salisbury returned the favor in the 200, narrowly beating Likely 22.34 to 22.35.
Lincoln’s Shelbi White continued her winning ways, following up her record-setting performances on Friday in the Class 4A 400-meter finals and the 200-meter prelims with wins in the 100 (12.39) and 200 (25.18) on Saturday. Her teammate, Austin Swain, won the boys’ 110-meter high hurdles in 14.98
Hillcrest-Evergreen edged Anniston 43.36 to 43.44 in an exciting 4 X 100-meter relay that went down to the wire, while Oneonta got big wins from Ethan Boyd in the discus (150-3) and Rashad Roberson in the 300-meter hurdles (39.60).
FRIDAY RECAP: Collins, Kirkland enjoy record performances
GULF SHORES, Alabama — It was a great day for Mobile McGill-Toolen Catholic’s Sean Collins and Birmingham Woodlawn’s Jayla Kirkland in Day One of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s 4A-5A-6A state outdoor track and field championships at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium.
Collins, a junior, cleared 16 feet, 2 inches in the Class 6A boys’ pole vault, breaking the old record of 16-1 set by McGill-Toolen’s Thomas Fowkes in 2001; while Kirkland broke records in the prelims of the Class 6A girls 100 and 200 meters.
Kirkland ran 11.47 seconds in the 6A girls’ 100 meter prelims, breaking the old record of 11.60 set by McGill-Toolen’s Frenchie Holmes in 1986. Kirkland also ran 23.71 in the 200 meter prelims, breaking the old 200-meter record of 23.99 set by Murphy’s Nellina Lofton in 1985.
Kirkland also won the 400, running 57.18.
Two other Class 6A meet records were set by Hoover’s Brittley Humphrey in the 100-meter hurdles (14.00) and Bessemer City’s Autavia Fluker in the shot put (44-5 ½).
The smaller classifications were not immune from record-breaking either, as Mobile UMS-Wright’s Rose Brutkiewicz broke the old record in the Class 4A girls’ pole vault, clearing 12-1.50, and Lincoln’s Shelbi White broke her own meet record in the 4A girls’ 400 meters, running 58.85.
White also ran 24.64 in the 200-meter prelims, breaking the old record of 24.84 set by Clarke County’s Fertacia Chapman in 1987.
Hoover led the Class 6A boys division after day one with 41.50 points, followed by Opelika with 35 and Huntsvillein third with 27. In Class 6A girls, Hoover led Mountain Brook 38-31, while Pelham was third with 19 points.
Mobile St. Paul’s Episcopal’s girls led Class 5A with 44 points, with Homewood second (38) and Scottsboro third (24). Homewood led the Class 5A boys’ division with 29 points, with St. Paul’s second 22 and Fort Payne third with 18.
St. Paul’s got three big wins on Friday. Shelly Spires won the 400 in 58.21; Anna Braswell won the 1,600 in 5:15.94; and Charlotte Krause won the triple jump (37-9).
UMS-Wright led the boys and girls in Class 4A after day one of competition. The boys led Dadeville 69-29, while Brooks was third with 21. In Class 4A girls, UMS-Wright led Beauregard 60-44, while Wilson third with 26.
UMS-Wright went 1-2 in the pole vault as Josh Russell cleared 13-6 and Sam Grady cleared 13-0. The Bulldogs also got a big win from Jawon McDowell in the 400 (50.76).
The 6A boys’ pole vault competition was indeed one for the ages.
Collins was in a heated battle with Vestavia Hill’s Joseph Lee, who gave Collins as much as he could handle in the competition. Collins missed twice at 14-0, but was able to clear it on his third attempt. Both vaulters cleared 15-9, and then went to 16-0, where Collins cleared it with ease.
Lee missed twice at that height, and then appeared to clear it on his third attempt when the bar stayed on after he brushed it. However, when the bar was brushed, it did not land on the flat portion of the bar, negating the attempt, effectively giving Collins the victory.
Collins then went on to clear 16-2 to break the record, and had three good attempts at 16-4.5-, but brushed the bar on all three tries.
“That was the best pole vault competition Alabama’s ever had,” said Mc-T coach Drew Bentley. “I was glad to be part of it.”
“I had to make sure I beat him (Lee) said Collins. “I hit the bar at 14 feet with the pole coming back, and got it on the last one. All of those third attempts scare me. It feels good clearing 16-2, because I’ve been trying to clear it all year, and I finally have it.”
While Collins was beaming with joy at breaking a state meet record, Brutkiewicz was likely happy to be hyped up for her competition. After she set the 4A record, she said that most of the adrenaline she had during the indoor season was not there for most of the outdoor season, but she got it back in time for state outdoor.
“During the indoor season, I had a lot of adrenaline, but I had not been doing as well since the indoor season,” she said. “But once we got to state, I got the adrenaline back.”
White, a University of Tennessee signee who is favored to win both the 100 and 200, said it was just a matter of battling nerves before breaking the record in the 400.
“I was a little nervous, and I was just hoping that God would touch me to set a personal record,” she said. “I was just thinking about what I learned in practice and put it into use. I’m very excited about that (breaking the meet record).”
There were several other notable performances on Friday:
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