Photo courtesy of Mary Grace Parker.
The Briarwood Christian School girls track and field team finished fourth in the Class 6A standings with 55.5 points, led by Emma Kerley’s triple jump title and the 4x400-meter relay championship.
Local athletes turned in a series of memorable performances at the state outdoor track and field meet, with Briarwood, Oak Mountain, Spain Park and Chelsea all sending competitors to the state meets at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores and Oliver Woodard Stadium in Cullman.
Briarwood’s girls made the biggest team statement, finishing fourth in the Class 6A girls standings with 55.5 points. Emma Kerley was the engine of that effort, winning the triple jump with a leap of 37 feet, 10 inches, the ninth-best mark in Alabama this season, while also placing third in the high jump at 5-2 and sixth in the long jump at 17-1.50.
Ava Doss backed her up throughout the jumping events, placing sixth in the triple jump at 36-8, eighth in the long jump at 16-9 and eighth in the 800-meter race in 2:22.56. Lena Anne Parker placed third in the 800 in 2:19.31, a personal best.
The Briarwood girls 4x400-meter relay won the title in 4:03.23. The 4x800 relay added a fourth-place finish in 9:54.44. Livi Reebals placed seventh in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.74 and eighth in the 300-meter hurdles in 46.16, a personal best. Allie Hale placed sixth in both the 1,600 meters in 5:14.78 and the 3,200 meters in 11:22.57, a personal best. Ava Wagar placed eighth in the discus at 107-10, a personal best. Blakeley Margene placed eighth in the pole vault at 10-0, a personal best.
Oak Mountain produced the area’s most eye-catching individual performance of the meet. Ava Washington won the Class 7A girls triple jump with a leap of 40-3, the top mark in Alabama and 36th-best in the country this season, winning the event in a tiebreaker over Thompson’s D’Asya Harold.
Cooper Jeffcoat was Oak Mountain’s standout on the boys side, placing second in the 800 meters in 1:54, third in the 1,600 in 4:16.91 and eighth in the 400 in 49.02. Oliver Griffin placed third in the boys pole vault at 13-6. Blake Harry placed eighth in the boys high jump at 6-0 and eighth in the javelin at 162-2. Max Coby placed eighth in the boys shot put at 47-3.75 and ninth in the discus at 147-8, a personal best. Noah Allday placed eighth in the boys long jump at 21-9.50, a personal best.
The Oak Mountain boys 4x800 relay placed fourth in 7:55.25. Alyssa McCaslin placed seventh in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.60. The girls 4x800 relay placed fifth in 9:47.12, and the girls 4x400 relay placed eighth in 4:02.61.
Chase Lovell swept the boys para ambulatory events, winning the 100 meters in 19.79, the 200 meters in 41.99, the 400 meters in 1:29.36 and the javelin at 26-10, posting personal bests in the 100 and 400.
Spain Park’s JD Thompson was one of the most versatile performers from any area school at the Class 6A meet, placing fourth in the 100-meter dash in 11.21, fourth in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.02 and fifth in the long jump at 22-4. Jonathan Fonbah placed third in the high jump at 6-4 and fourth in the triple jump at 46-11. Graydon Moran placed second in the boys pole vault at 14-0, a personal best and the seventh-best mark in Alabama this season. Carlen Watson placed seventh in the high jump at 6-2. Luca Zellner placed 10th in the 1,600 in 4:25.47. Leighton Zelwak placed sixth in the 800 meters in 2:21.58, a personal best, and seventh in the 1,600 in 5:15.38.
Chelsea’s Niles Cummings delivered the Hornets’ top finish of the meet, placing second in the Class 6A triple jump at 47-4, the 10th-best mark in Alabama and 97th-best in the country this season. Hudson Williams placed fifth in the 3,200 meters in 9:41.21, a season best. Jonathan Ludwig placed ninth in the pole vault at 12-6. Olivia Pryor placed seventh in the girls javelin at 111-5.
