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Teams look to defend titles at 2014 Alabama State Championships - DyeStat

Published by
DyeStat.com   May 2nd 2014, 1:35am
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Preview: State titles on the line in Alabama

 

BY ARTHUR L. MACK for DyeStat 
 
Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores will be the site of one of the most competitive Alabama State Outdoor 4A-5A-6A Track and Field Championships in recent memory.

Five schools — 6A Auburn’s boys, 6A Hoover’s girls, 5A Tuscaloosa Paul Bryant’s boys, 5A Mobile St. Paul’s Episcopal’s girls, and 4A Mobile’s UMS-Wright’s boys and girls — put their titles on the line Friday and Saturday.

For Hoover, St. Paul’s, and UMS-Wright, this year’s meet will be especially important — all three schools have impressive championship streaks on the line.

Hoover has won two straight 6A girls titles, and will be going for a third, St Paul’s is going for its ninth straight girls 5A title, while UMS-Wright’s boys and girls are going for their sixth straight 4A crowns.

How each school fares will depend on the competition, which could very well be fierce, especially in 4A and 5A.

Let’s take a look at what to expect from each classification:

 
CLASS 6A: Auburn High won last year’s 6A boys title much to the surprise of some people. But it was no fluke, because the Tigers have a very strong squad again this year.

Besides being strong in the relays — especially in the 4 X 100, where it has run a state-leading 41.51 seconds, in addition to having a powerful distance corps led by Mitchell Gomez and Dylan Ogburn and Fernando Lincoln, Auburn is well represented in several events.

Of course, Hoover, led by Marlon Humphrey, may have something to say about that.

Humphrey has the top seed in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, and is the defending state champion in both events. Humphrey is also scheduled to run the 400. Daniel Fort has the top-seeded throw in the javelin (181-11).

Several individual events will be very interesting.

The 100 and 200-meter dashes will be fun to watch. Among the favorites in the 100 is Mobile McGill-Toolen Catholic’s Tony Bridges, the defending champion who has run 10.84 this season. But that’s small potatoes compared to Alabaster Thompson’s Jaalen Jones, who has run a state-best 10.51; Prattville’s Travis Johnson (10.68); and Decatur-Austin’s Kendrick Smith (10.72).

Jones also has an impressive time of 21.35 in the 200, while Johnson and Smith have run 21.82. All three pale in comparison to Hazel Green’s DeOndre McClain, who has run 21.27.

The 800 meters, as well as the pole vault, will be fun to watch as well. McGill-Toolen's William Carroll has the top-seeded time of 1:55.50, but will undoubtedly be pushed by Hewitt-Trussville’s Austin Norwood, who is also one of the favorites in the 1600.
In the pole vault, Carroll’s teammate, Sean Collins, has a seasonal best of 16-0 and is favored to win the event.
It’s no secret that Hoover’s girls are powerful. Led by Brittley Humphrey, Marlon’s little sister, the Bucs have the strongest 6A girls team in the state. Humphrey, who has the top seed in the 100-meter hurdles (13.84) and the 300-meter hurdles (43.09), will be hard — maybe impossible — to beat in those events.

Humphrey joins Sarah Sanford and Shaina Cadet in the 400-meters. The three have the fastest seeds, and a 1-2-3 sweep is possible unless Prichard Blount’s Ashley Banks or Birmingham-Woodlawn’s Jayla Kirkland spoil the party. Speaking of Kirkland, she comes into the meet as the favorite in the 100 and 200 meters with seeded times of 11.94 and 24.22 respectively.

One of the more interesting events on the 6A girls side is the pole vault, where McGill-Toolen’s Margaret Ollinger has already cleared 13-2 this season. In addition, keep your eyes on Mountain Brook’s Rachel Reddy and Jessica Molloy, who have both run under 11:30 in the 3200 meters this season, and are favored to go 1-2 in that event.

 
CLASS 5A: With the advent of Homewood as a major 5A track and field power, can Tuscaloosa Paul Bryant successfully defend its boys’ title?

Conventional wisdom says no.

Homewood has a solid distance corps led by Alex Ngei and Andy Smith, and that alone would be enough to make it tough for any team to defend its title. But the Patriots have more than distance — they have a solid sprint corps and are more than adequate in the field events.
But don’t expect Paul Bryant to roll over and die. It is strong in the sprints and has excellent relay teams as well. Harrison Dudley has great seeded times in the 100, 200, and 400 meters, and the Stampede is more than a match for what Homewood dishes out. But meets are won on the track — not on paper.
Speaking of the 400, it should be a very interesting event, where Dudley, Columbia's Jordan Burks and Spanish Fort’s Stephan Holcombe should engage in a very close and entertaining battle.

One event on Friday that bears watching is the shot put, where St. Paul’s Tre’ Williams, who will play football for Auburn, is considered one of the favorites. In the long jump and triple jump, Mobile LeFlore’s Kentorio White has the top 5A marks in the state.
On the girls side, Homewood poses a big threat to break St. Paul’s streak of eight state titles. But as long as Shelly Spires has a good meet and the supporting cast has strong performances, St. Paul’s should be okay.

Spires will be in four events — the high jump, long jump, 300-meter hurdles and 400 meters. Her biggest threat in the 400 meters may well come from Homewood’s Ann Mosely Whitsett, while in the other events, Spires is the runaway favorite.
Meanwhile, Spires’ teammate, Anna Braswell, will be relied on in the 800, 1600, and 3200. However, she could face a tough battle in the 800 from two Fort Payne runners — Collyn Davis and Olivia Thurman. Braswell has a way of coming up big in the big meets, and could very well pull off the triple, as she did last year.

Homewood, though, is strong in the field events, particularly in the javelin and triple jump, and that could make things interesting. Keep you eye on Homewood’s Kiara Williams in the triple jump. She will have some interesting competition from a pair of Central-Tuscaloosa jumpers, Imani Irby and Jimmeshia Wilder.

 
CLASS 4A: Can Mobile’s UMS-Wright make it six in a row on the boys and girls’ side?

UMS-Wright’s boys appear that they can do so, if its showing in sectional competition is any indication. Led by distance ace Robert Hope, the Bulldogs have athletes in virtually every event, and if they have strong performances, could very well get another blue map to go in their trophy case.

The field events will certainly help UMS-Wright’s cause, as pole vaulters Josh Russell and Sam Grady, along with javelin throwers Chris Majure and Hamilton Phillips will get some very valuable points. The Bulldogs will also get some much-needed help in the 200 and 400 from Jawon McDowell.

If any team can challenge UMS-Wright, it’s Lincoln, Tallassee and Dadeville. All three teams have solid sprint squads, but are lacking in the distances. Huntsville Randolph is strong in the distances, but does not have enough overall firepower to overtake the top three teams.

As for UMS-Wright’s girls, they will have to rely on hard work and overall team strength to win a sixth straight title. The Bulldogs have a young, but hard-working distance corps led by junior Ellie Carter, which seems to find a way to get points out of nowhere.
Quite a few of UMS-Wright’s girls will be competing in at least three events, even four, which will make conditioning more of a factor. The field events — paced by discus/javelin thrower Sarah Morris, pole vaulter Rose Brutkiewicz, and jumper Aryn McDowell — will play a key role in the Bulldogs’ success.

Beauregard, led by jumper/javelin thrower Kylee Carter and distance runner Kalynn Simpson, appears to be the team that can give UMS-Wright a challenge.

Individually, Lincoln’s Shelbi White, by far the top 4A performer in the 100, 200 and 400, and distance runner Rachel Yergensen of Montgomery’s St. James should have outstanding meets.



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