The Spartans amassed 94 points to finish comfortably ahead of second-place Northridge with 76.By Rubin E. Grant
The Mountain Brook girls track team entered the 98th AHSAA State Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 4-6 looking to complete the trifecta.
The Spartans already had claimed state titles in cross-country and indoor track and needed to win the outdoor title to accomplish their mission.
“The girls were focused on the triple crown,” Mountain Brook coach Michael McGovern said. “We hadn’t won all three in the same school year since 2007. That has been their focus since last summer. It’s hard to do.”
With the triple crown in sight, there was no denying the Spartans at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. Mountain Brook finished the task while repeating as Class 6A champions. The Spartans amassed 94 points to finish comfortably ahead of second-place Northridge with 76.
St. Paul’s Episcopal was third with 69.5 points, Homewood fourth with 66.5, and Saraland fifth with 65.
“Repeating was awesome,” McGovern said. “As usual, the key to our success was the distance races.”
Senior Reagan Riley, who is headed to Notre Dame, took gold in the 1,600 meters run with a time of 4:53.28 and in the 3,200, clocking 10:33.71. She earned bronze in the 800 meters with a time of 2:14.61.
Lucy Benton finished as runner-up to Riley in the 1,600 with a time of 4:57.10 and claimed silver in the 800 meters, clocking 2:12.19. She also earned valuable points by finishing fourth in the 400 meters with a time of 59.44.
“Reagan and Lucy came up big, competing in four events,” McGovern said, “and so did Mary Katherine Malone, competing in both relay races.”
The Spartans won the 4×800 relay with a time of 9:38.86 and were second in the 4×400, clocking 4:03.09.
Annie Kerr captured bronze in the pole vault, clearing 12-00.00. Malone finished fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:15.90, Virginia Averyt was fourth in the 3,200 with a time of 11:01.26, and Ellie Fooshee was fourth in the javelin with a heave of 118 feet.
“It was a team effort all the way ‘round,” McGovern said.
Homewood Boys Back on Top
Homewood’s boys also put forth a team effort to edge St. Paul’s Episcopal for the boys Class 6A title. The Patriots finished with 88 points to St. Paul’s 86 to win their first title since 2019.
“Going into it, I knew if everybody stepped up who needed to step up it would give us a chance,” Homewood coach Josh Donaldson said. “All the athletes stepped up. We didn’t have anyone who really stood out, but we had people scoring. We were able to have people in the right place at the right time. It was a team effort.”
Slate Rohrer took gold in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 39.50 and bronze in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking 15.15.
Hunter Drake was second in triple jump with a distance of 44-05.75. Colvin Bussey earned silver in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.72. Elliott Allen finished third in the pole vault, clearing 13-06.00. Grayton Murray was third in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:17.38.
The Patriots finished second in the 4×800 relay, clocking 8:00.06, and third in the 4×400 with a time of 3:23.72.
On the girls side, Homewood’s Brooke Walden set a new Class 6A state-meet pole vault record by clearing 12 feet, 10 inches. That was 1 inch higher than McGill-Toolen’s Margaret Ollinger cleared in 2014.
The Patriots’ fourth-place team finish included a gold medal performance in the 4×400 relay in a time of 4:02.17. They took bronze in the 4×800, clocking 9:50.98.
Neily Stephens earned silver in the javelin with a throw of 127 feet, 9 inches. Maris Owen finished third in 400 meters, clocking 59.29, and Emma Brooke Levering was third in the 3,200 with a time of 10:59.59.
Altamont Girls Earn Triple Crown
The Altamont School’s girls won the Class 3A state title at the AHSAA Class 1A-2A-3A State Track and Field Championships at Cullman High School’s Woodard Stadium.
The Knights finished with 72 points, ahead of second-place Houston Academy (66 points), third-place Westminster-Oak Mountain (63 points) and fourth-place Indian Springs (60 points).
The victory completed a triple crown for the Altamont girls this school year, following state titles in cross-country in November and indoor track in February.
“This was an incredible feat for our girls to accomplish,” Altamont coach Jamie Rediker said. “Our veteran runners and leaders were joined this year by some new athletes who made an immediate impact.
“Cross-country set the tone with a strong core of distance runners. Indoor track incorporated several key field and mid-distance athletes. Outdoor track brought everything together to culminate in this amazing achievement by our girls team.”
Merrit Fulmer, who set a new school record in April, claimed gold in the pole vault, clearing 10 feet.
Frances Overton earned silver in the 800 meters with a time of 2:25.58 and in the 1,600 meters, clocking 5:23.94. Talia Floyd won silver in the triple jump with a distance of 34 feet, 2 inches.
The 4×800 relay team of Abbey Sellers, Kate Nichols, Mary Spann and Elle Sellers also earned silver with a time of 10:22.20, and the 4×400 relay team of Abbey Sellers, Arden Campbell, Elle Sellers and Overton finished third, clocking 4:17.17.
In boys competition, the Knights’ Harris Strang set a new school record in the 3,200 meters (9:50) while finishing second and set a new school record in the 1,600 (4:31) while finishing third.
Notables
Vestavia Hills set a record in the Class 7A boys 4×800-meter relay with a time of 7:44.67.
The Rebels’ Alex Leath claimed gold in the boys 800 meters, clocking 1:55.49, and in the 1,600 with a time of 4:07.33
Vestavia Hills’ Kennedy Moreland took gold in girls pole vault, clearing 11-03.00.
Oak Mountain’s Devan Moss clocked 10.65 seconds to win the Class 7A 100-meter dash.
John Carroll Catholic finished second in Class 5A boys while claiming four gold medals — Aden Malpass in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.22; Kenneth Beck in the 400 meters, clocking 49.56; James Edmonds in the pole vault, clearing 14-00.00; and in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:27.78.
Indian Springs‘ Cara Huff established a new Class 3A girls’ discus record with a throw of 132 feet, 7 inches. Leeds’ Tiphanie Baker set the previous mark (132-0) 37 years ago in 1986.
Indian Springs’ Elise Picard swept the girls distance races in Class 3A, winning the 800 meters in 2:22.01, the 1,600 meters in 5:15.43, and the 3,200 in 11:36.09.
Westminster-Oak Mountain’s 4×800 girls’ relay team set a record (10:06.78) in Class 3A, erasing the record (10:09.18) set by Montgomery Academy in 2012.
Westminster’s Madden Sellers earned gold in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking 16.84. Teammate Emily White claimed gold in the triple jump with a distance of 35-03.50 and silver in the high jump, clearing 5-02.00.
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