State track and field: Oak Mountain's Payne, Spain Park hurdlers, Briarwood relays, Westminster OM boys highlight area action
GULF SHORES -- Oak Mountain High School sophomore Nicole Payne is a starter for her school's soccer team, but on Saturday she missed the Lady Eagles' state quarterfinal game at Bob Jones.
Instead, Payne was standing on a podium about six hours south. Oak Mountain's two-sport star placed third in the girls 200-meter dash on the third day of the Class 7A state outdoor track and field meet, held at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. She won the 400-meter run the day before, clocking a more-than-respectable time of 56.58 seconds amid blustery conditions.
Wind gusts surpassed 20 miles per hour.
"It feels great, but I'd like to keep improving," Payne said. "[The wind] was actually a bigger factor than I thought it would be"
But she fought through it, just like she persevered this past year through the painstaking process of rehabilitating a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
She injured it last April during a club soccer game. On top of playing for Oak Mountain, she also competes for the U.S. youth national team.
She couldn't do either from last April to October. Daily rounds of physical therapy occupied her time and attention. She wanted to get back on the field, back on the track.
Doctors cleared her in October. Her persistence paid off.
"That's the kind of person she is," said Oak Mountain head track and field coach Riley White. "She's extremely driven. She's motivated. She works hard, so if there's anyone who was going to come back that fast from injury, it was going to be Nicole."
She picked up where she had left off, as if missing the 2016 state outdoor meet and following cross-country season took no toll on her physical fitness.
She broke her own 7A meet record in the 400 at February's state indoor championships, capturing gold in 55.24 seconds. She also placed fifth in the 60-meter dash.
"She's obviously extremely talented, but on top of that she gives incredible effort in practice," White said. "She's made very visible attempts to improve her running form, to fix her running mechanics. We're seeing great strides in that."
Payne hasn't slowed down, and won't anytime soon. Her Lady Eagles dispatched Bob Jones 3-0 in Saturday's playoff game. The state semifinals are next weekend.
Payne, with her track season behind her, will be on the field. She's after her next state title.
"You just have to power through," she said, "and finish the race."
Strong, Jordan propel Spain Park in 7A
The Spain Park High School boys finished ninth in the Class 7A team standings at the 4A-7A state outdoor track and field meet, scoring 36 points. The bulk of those came on Saturday.
Jaguar hurdlers Christian Strong and Thomas Jordan showed out in their signature events, scoring major points in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles.
Strong won the 110 hurdles in 14.57 seconds, and Jordan placed third in 15.29. Strong edged out Thompson's Craig Clark by less than two-tenths of a second to seal the victory.
"I've never been able to get out first or pull away," Strong said. "I'm just thanking God for letting me get this title."
Jordan had only run the 110 hurdles four times prior to the state meet. His unfamiliarity with the event didn't stop him from achieving his goal.
"I was just going for the podium from the start," he said. "It felt pretty good."
Strong and Jordan returned to the track less than an hour after their podium performances. In the 300 hurdles, Strong finished second in 39.18 seconds. Jordan finished eighth in 41.16.
Even after the quick turnaround, Strong said he entered the race eager to exert another championship effort.
"[It was] only 39 seconds of my life. I might as well give it all," he said of his mentality.
The hurdle standouts teamed up with Kameron McDaniel and Justice Canady to place eighth in the 4x100-meter relay. McDaniel also notched a fifth-place individual finish in the 200-meter dash, running 22.18 seconds.
Briarwood Christian relays win 5A titles
Katie Green, Morgan Hutchinson, Leigh Ann Matthews and Sophie Muir-Taylor began Saturday by winning a state championship. They ended it the same way.
The Briarwood Christian School quartet won the first and last events on the third day of the Class 5A state outdoor track and field meet, earning 20 points for their team.
The group ran 49.69 seconds to take first in the 4x100-meter relay and 4:05.56 to take first in the 4x400-meter relay. Both times set new school records.
"They've been working for this all year," said Briarwood head coach Glenn McWaters. "This is what they wanted."
The Briarwood girls finished 11th in the final team standings. The Briarwood boys tied for sixth.
The Lions' boys 4x100-meter relay team placed fourth in Saturday's final. On Friday, Zack Howard ran 10:11.59 to capture fifth place in the 3,200-meter run. The team's 4x800-meter relay also placed fifth.
Click here to read about Briarwood junior Ashton Domingue's breakthrough performance on the state meet's first day.
Westminster Oak Mountain boys win 1A state championship
CULLMAN -- Nate Collins won three events at the Class 1A state meet, leading his Westminster School at Oak Mountain boys track and field team to the state title.
Collins took first in the 800-meter (2:06.1), 1,600-meter (4:33.61) and 3,200-meter runs (9:58.76). The Knights prevailed over runner-up Marion County, 110-103.
The Westminster girls earned a second-place finish. Whitesburg Christian Academy won the team race, 135-106.