Westminster Of Oak Mountain Wins First Girls Title;
Nine Records Fall In Class 1A, 2A, 3A State Outdoor Track Meets
Junior Katie Brooks Boone did something Saturday no other Class 1A track athlete had been able to do in the last five seasons and in the process helped her team, Westminster of Oak Mountain, do something it had never done before.
Brooks Boone beat senior track sensation Alexis Gholston of R.A. Hubbard in the 100- and 200-meter finals at Selma Memorial Stadium in the 88th annual AHSAA Outdoor Track and Field State Championships and Westminster won its first state track title. The Knights totaled 120.33 points to beat runner-up Linden (100.0) by 20.33 points.
Gholston, who began her track career as a seventh grader in 2008 with state championships in the long jump, 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes, is one of the most dominant prep runners in AHSAA history. She repeated that first-year success for the next four years winning all four events three of the four years. She finished second in the 100 as a sophomore. She won her 20 individual outdoor state championship Friday with a 55.69 time in the 400-meter dash.
Saturday, Brooks Boone ran the 100 in 12.58 seconds to win that event and clocked 25.97 seconds in the 200 to beat Gholston again. She also won the 300-meter hurdles for her third state championship.
Gholston, who holds 1A state outdoor records for the 100, 200, 400 and long jump, was third in the 100-meter finals. Parrish's Mekya Hill won the long jump Friday and Gholston finished second.
Westminster, coached by Dale Carrell, also won the 4x800 relay and Maddie Hoaglund won the 3,200 meters and Hope Thompson won the triple jump for the Knights.
Falkville won its first 1A state boys’ championship, LaFayette won the boys’ 2A crown and Piedmont captured the 3A boys’ title. Montgomery Academy used a dramatic finish to claim the 2A girls’ state championship and Bayside Academy won its second straight girls’ 3A title.
MONTGOMERY ACADEMY FINISHES STRONG: Montgomery Academy's girls went into the last field event and last running event Saturday with just four points separating the Eagles and runner-up LaFayette. Coach Kevin Weatherill's Eagles sealed the championship when Drake McGowin and Kacky Starke set a new 2A girls’ state record clearing 9-03 in the pole vault to finish 1-2 as McGowin finished first with less misses. The 4x400-relay team finished first.
The Eagles finished with 110 points, LaFayette had 91 and Cold Springs was third with 86.
BAYSIDE WINS SECOND STRAIGHT: The Lady Admirals had 131.50 points with T.R. Miller second at 110.50. Alona Melendez won both the 100 and 300 hurdles championships with times of 15.87 and 47.60 seconds, respectively. Emory Builta also won the discus for Bayside. In the 3,200-meter run, winner Karisa Nelson of T.R. Miller and runner-up Kaitlin York of American Christian each broke the previous 3A state record with times of 11:14.13 and 11:20.67, respectively.
FALKVILLE WINS 1A BOYS BY 41 POINTS: Coach Keith Wilemon's Blue Devils used their depth to capture the 1A boys’ championship with 106 points. Linden was second with 65. Canaan Smith was the only individual champion, winning the javelin with a 158-0 throw. Falkville's 4x400 relay team won the final race of the day to close with a bang.
VINES PACES LAFAYETTE TITLE RUN: Jerquin Vines won the 110-meter high hurdles and the 300 intermediate hurdles and the Bulldogs had a strong showing in the field events as Coach Don Jones’s team won the 2A boys’ championship with 120.50 points. Mobile Christian was second with 110.
Fultondale's Ardarius Stewart won three events including the 100, 200 and discus.
PIEDMONT NIPS TRINITY FOR 3A BOYS CROWN: Coach Mark Mitchell, who coached Cedar Bluff's boys to six straight 1A crowns, led Piedmont to the 3A crown in his first year as the Bulldogs' head coach. Denard Spears won the 100-meter dash and helped the Bulldogs take the 4x100 relay.
Piedmont finished with 81 points and Trinity followed with 74.
Several state records were set including:
GIRLS
Class 1A Javelin: Tiana Drinkard, Falkville, 121-08
Class 2A 300 Meter Hurdles: Taylor Young, Altamont, 45.64
Class 2A Pole Vault: Drake McGowin and Kacky Starke, Montgomery Academy, 9-03
Class 3A 1600 Meter Run: Kylie Frank, Montgomery Catholic, 5:11.11
Class 3A 3200 Meters: Karisa Nelson, T.R. Miller, 11:14.13
Class 3A Triple Jump: Breanna Thompson, Piedmont, 37-02.00
BOYS
Class 2A Pole Vault: Jesse Austin, Montgomery Academy, 13-03.00
Class 3A 1600 Meter Run: Wesley Curles, Trinity, 4:25.29
Class 3A Javelin: Quante Brown, Greensboro, 178-05