Hoover continued its indoor track dominance on Saturday by winning the Class 7A boys’ and girls’ indoor track championships at the 53rd AHSAA State Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Birmingham Crossplex.
In Class 4A/5A, Scottsboro’s boys won their fourth state indoor track title in the last five years and Lawrence County won its first girls’ indoor championship.
Hoover has won three of the last four girls indoor championships, while the boys have won six of the last seven. The Hoover boys scored 134 points to beat runner-up Vestavia Hills’ 61, and the girls had 111.5 points to runner-up Chelsea’s 81.
Hoover senior Gabriel Washington won the Class 7A 60 m dash in 7.62 s and the 400 m dash in 55.81 s. She was also part of the winning 4×200 and 4×800 relay teams.
Scottsboro scored 69.5 points to win the Class 4A/5A boys championship after winning in Class 6A last season. The Wildcats also won the Class 4A/5A titles in 2019 and 2020. Arab was the runner-up in class 4A/5A boys and girls.
Lawrence County freshman Katie Mae Cone played a key role in helping the Red Devils win their first girls indoor track title in Class 4A/5A. She won the 1,600 m in 5:16.92, the 3,200 m in 11:30.83, and ran on the championship 4×800 m relay team.
Lawrence County scored 47 points, runner-up Arab scored 40.
Demopolis senior Shondra Richardson delivered a strong all-around performance as she won the Class 4A/5A triple jump with a winning jump of 36 feet, 4¼ inches and also won the long jump of 36 feet, 4¼ inches. He clocked the fastest time in the 60 m dash preliminary in 7.69 seconds and won the final in 7.72. He scored all 30 of Demopolis’ points.
Chelsea senior Cady McPhail also won three individual titles, winning the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter running events in the 7A. She set new 7A girls indoor state records in the 800 m and 1,600 m events as the runner-up to Chelsea Hoover.
The Class 7A boys’ 1,600-meter event ranked as the top race of Saturday’s action.
Spain High School senior Keith Warner broke the Class 7A indoor state meet record in the 1,600m, but finished fourth. Vestavia Hills senior Alex Leith won the event with a time of 4:10.94. Auburn senior Maxwell Hardin crossed the finish line in 4:12.24 to finish second, and Vestavia Hills junior Henry Strand was third in 4:15.99.
All four runners broke Mountain Brook’s Drew Williams’ old record set since the 2016 state indoor meet. The boys’ 7A 1,600 set the pace on Saturday for the final day of the 2023 State Indoor Championships.
Several records also fell on Friday, the first day of the state meet, including in Class 6A and 1A/3A.
Cady McPhail of Chelsea set the 7A 1,600m record at 4:57.68. Scottsboro senior Evan Hill also set a new 4A/5A state meet record in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:21.47.
McPhail of Chelsea won the 7A 800m run championship at the AHSAA indoor state championships with a 7A state-record time of 2:11.63. While she didn’t break the AHSAA all-time state record of 2:08.63 she set earlier this season at a regular-season meet, she beat the 7A state-meet record of 2:12.15 set by McGill-Toulon’s Claire Frazier Bolton . 2020.
McPhail set the all-time AHSAA state meet record of 2:10.720 last season while competing in Class 6A. She now holds the two fastest times in AHSAA history at the state meet and the fastest high school time in regular-season and crossplex history thanks to her Jan. 16 race.
McPhail and Huntsville’s Ava McIntosh surpassed the 7A indoor 1,600-meter state record (4:58.68) set by Crawford West of Vestavia Hills at last year’s meet. Chelsea senior won the event on Saturday with a record winning time of 4:57.68. Behind him was Mackintosh, also a senior. She finished 33/100th of a second behind McPhail, who holds the crossplex record, with a time of 4.44.93 on January 7 during the regular season.
McPhail also won her third individual title of the day in the 3,200 meters with a time of 10:56.86.
Other top performances on Saturday included:
– Auburn sophomore TJ Autry clears the 7A indoor state meet record 6 feet, 9¼ inches to clinch the 7A high jump title, breaking the previous record (6-09) set by Oak Mountain’s Trey Allen at the 2019 state meet . Allen set an overall state record during the 2019 regular season by clearing 7 feet.
– In one of the final events of the day, Scottsboro senior Maddox Ham cleared 17 feet to set a new Class 4A/5A and all-class state indoor meet record in the pole vault.
– Priceville senior Adam Taylor won the highly competitive 4A/5A boys’ 800m with a time of 1:56.25. Right behind him were three others – Scottsboro’s Evan Hill (1:58.17), John Carroll’s II Sebatian Guerrero (1:58.43) and John Carroll Jr.’s Arthur Langley (1:57.78).
Scottsboro’s Evan Hill produced a massive comeback in the Class 4A/5A boys’ 1,600m final. He covered the distance in 4:21.47 to set the 4A/5A state indoor record. The old mark was set by Randolph’s Matthew Estopinal at the 2018 state indoor meet.
– Arab junior Bryant Bayouy held off a strong finish by Ramsey junior Curtis Lewis to win the 400m dash race in the 4A/5A. His winning time was 50.11 and Lewis was right behind in 50.36.
– In the 7A girls’ 400m dash, Hoover finished 1-2 with senior Gabrielle Washington winning in 55.81. Runner-up Freshma Daisy Luna recorded a time of 56.21, just 2 seconds off the state record with three years of competition remaining.
– The Hoover boys also went 1-2 in the 400m, with junior Dallas Beck winning the event in 49.09 and DeMarcus Gardner second in 49.12 – 3/100th of a second.
Patrick Sweeney of Auburn won the ambulance shot put with an indoor state meet record throw of 22 feet, 8 inches. He set the original record in 2022 with a toss of 21 feet.
Hoover broke the girls’ 4x200m relay record with a time of 1:39.35. This set the 7A and all-classification record, which Hoover had set in 2016 with a time of 1:40.91. The record-setting time was run by the team of Taylor Canada, Daisy Luna, Jabrea Chapman and Gabrielle Washington.
– Vestavia Hills broke the 4x800m relay record with a time of 7:57.02, the all-class record of 7:57.91 set by Smiths Station in 2007 and the 7A record of 7:47.923 run by Mountain Brook in 2016. The record-setting time was run by the team of David Howard, Max Armstrong, Michelle Scheff and Alex Leith.
– Hoover went 1-2 in the Class 7A 60-meter dash with Jay Avery winning in 6.96. The senior outpaced fellow senior teammate Khalid Ruffin, who crossed the finish line with a time of 6.98.
Avery also won the triple jump with a jump of 47 feet, ¾ inches and was runner-up in the long jump.
Full results of both days’ competition can be found at this link on the AHSAA website.
Saturday’s Program Winners:
Individual Event State Champions
class 7a girls
60 Meter Race: Gabriel Washington, Hoover, Sr. (7.62)
60m Hurdles: Tory Mack, Hewitt-Trussville, Jr. (8.92)
400m dash: Gabriel Washington, Hoover, Sr. (55.81)
800 meter race: Cady McPhail, Chelsea, Sr. (2:11.63) – 7A State Indoor Meet Record
1,600 meter race: Cady McPhail, Chelsea, Sr. (4:57.68) – 7A State Indoor Meet Record
3,200 meter race: Cady McPhail, Chelsea, Sr. (10:56.86)
4x200m Relay: Hoover, 1:39.35) – 7A State Indoor Meet Record (Taylor Canada, Daisy Luna, Jabrea Chapman, Gabrielle Washington)
4x400m Relay: Hoover, 3:55.28 (M. Blackledge, D. Luna, T. Canada, G. Washington)
4x800m Relay: Chelsea (9:31.80) (M. Dunavant, T. Casson, T. Griffith, C. McPhail)
long jump: Zimora Foster, Foley, Fr. (17 feet, 9½ inches)
Triple jump: Dasya Harold, Hoover, Fr. (47 feet, 1¼ inches)
boom: Niall Settle, Hoover, Fr. (5 feet, 4 inches)
Shot put: Akash Dudley, Thompson, Soph. (37 feet, 8 inches)
pole vault: Kennedy Moreland, Vestavia Hills, Soph. (12 feet)
Class 4A/5A Girls
60 Meter Race: Shondra Richardson, Demopolis, Sr. (7.72)
60m Hurdles: Ivy Techie, Wenonah, Sr. (9.46)
400m dash: Lexie Foshee, Westminster Christian, Sr. (58.69)
800 meter race: Aubrey Zuberi, Fultondale; (2:20.43)
1,600 meter race: Katie Mae Cone, Lawrence County, Fr. (5:16.92)
3,200 meter race: Katie Mae Cone, Lawrence County, Fr. (11:30.83)
4x200m Relay: Wenonah (1:48.18) (T. Lewis, I. Teachey, D. Heywood, J. Dort)
4x400m Relay: Arab (4.14.16) (L. Wright, G. Posten, J. Stapler, E. Moore)
4x800m Relay: Lawrence County (10:09.69) (Of. Who, K. Dumas, S. Williams, T. Williams)
Triple jump: Shondra Richardson, Demopolis, Sr. (36 feet, 4¼ inches)
boom: Lily Zlab, Gulf Shores, Sr. (5 feet, 4 inches)
Shot put: Lydia Reno, Gulf Shores, Sr. (35 feet 11¾ inches)
pole vault: Libby Chance, Arab, Jr. (10 ft.)
class 7a boys
60 Meter Race: Jay Avery, Hoover, Sr. (6.96)
60m Hurdles: Bradley Franklin, Thompson, Sr.; Junior (8.00)
400m dash: Dallas Beck, Hoover, Jr. (49.09)
800 meter race: Alex Leith, Vestavia Hills, Sr. (1:53.41)
1,600 meter race: Alex Leith, Vestavia Hills, Sr. (4:10.94) – 7A State Indoor Meet Record
3,200 meter race: Maxwell Hardin, Auburn, Sr. (9:22.13)
4x200m Relay: Hewitt-Trussville (1:29.04) (H. Bates, C. Wadsworth, M. Johnson, M. Caju)
4x400m Relay: Hoover (3:22.89) (D. Beck, Z. King, C. Pate, C. Crowder)
4x800m Relay: Vestavia Hills (7:57.02) – 7A State Indoor Meet Record) ,David Howard, Max Armstrong, Michelle Schaaf, Alex Leith)
long jump: Michael Igbinoghen, Hewitt-Trussville, Soph. (22 feet, 8¾ inches)
Triple jump: Jay Avery, Hoover, Sr. (47 feet, 0¾ inches)
boom: TJ Autry, Auburn, Soph. (6 feet, 9¼ inches) – 7A State Indoor Meet Record
Shot put: Bobby Gray, Sparkman, Sr. (52 feet, 10 inches)
Shot Put (Ambulatory): Patrick Sweeney, Auburn (22 feet, 8 inches) – state indoor record)
pole vault: Gavin Horton, Thompson, Sr. (15 feet, 5 inches)
Class 4A/5A Boys
60 Meter Race: Amon Lane, Moody, Sr. (7.03)
60m Hurdles: Cameron Osler, Alberta, Sr. (8.73)
400m dash: Bryant Boyce, Arab, Jr. (50.11)
800 meter race: Adam Taylor, Priceville, Sr. (1:56.26)
1,600 meter race: Evan Hill, Scottsboro, Sr. (4:21.47) – 4A/5A State Indoor Meet Record
3,200 meter race: Evan Hill, Scottsboro, Sr. (9:24.88)
4x200m Relay: Moody (1:32.90) (Of. Talley, B. Burke, C. Kitts, A. lane)
4x400m Relay: Bibb County (3:32.57) (G. Jordan, C. Colmes, J. Simmons, J. Cash)
4x800m Relay: Springville (8:24.62) (H. Cooley, C. Broome, E. Dennard, D. Robles)
long jump: Gabe Norton, Arab, Sr. (21 feet, 8¼ inches)
Triple jump: Gabe Norton, Arab, Sr. (46 feet, 6¼ inches)
boom: Cameron Osler, Alberta, Sr. (6 ft.) – won in one jump
Shot put: Royce Baucom, Guntersville, Jr. (45 feet, 4 inches)
pole vault: Maddox Hamm, Scottsboro, Sr. (17 ft.) – 4A/5A and all-class state indoor meet records
