Local high school outdoor track and field teams competed in their respective section meets last week, and there were a number of notable performances.
Belgreen, Phil Campbell, Red Bay, Tharptown, and Vina all competed at their section meets held in Winfield, while Russellville competed in Scottsboro.
Belgreen’s top finals finish was the Lady Bulldogs’ 4x100-meter relay team which took fourth place. Lilliana Willingham’s sixth-place finish in the long jump was the BHS girls’ team’s best individual placement. Jesse Clay, who ended up ninth in the 300-meter hurdles final, was Belgreen’s top performer in the boys’ meet.
Red Bay, competing in Class 2A Section 4 with Belgreen and Tharptown, had two run in final heats: Trip Torisky, who finished 20th in the boys’ 400-meter dash, and JoJo Thorne, who took 16th in the boys’ shot put.
Tharptown rounded out the Franklin County teams in 2A Section 4. The top performance for the Lady Wildcats was in the 4x100-meter relay, where Tharptown placed sixth in the final heat with a time of 58.02. The top individual performance for the THS girls’ team was Laikyn Gardner’s seventh-place finish in the shot put.
In the boys’ meet, Tharptown’s Angel Garcia had sixth- and seventh-place long distance runs in the 3200-meter and 1600-meter runs, respectively. Cody McCluskey had an eighth-place finish in the boys’ 100-meter dash with a time of 12.06.
In Class 1A Section 3, Vina’s girls had a good showing, finishing second overall in the section behind Marion County. Lindie Easterling grabbed gold in the girls’ 3200-meter run with a time of 13:45.65, and the Lady Red Devils’ relay teams earned three top-three finishes in the 4x100, 4x400, and 4x800 relays. Other top five finishers for the Lady Red Devils were Olivia Crum and Samantha Elder, who took fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 300-meter hurdles. Easterling had a second top-five finish in the 1600-meter race where she took fourth.
Vina’s Cai Lawler was another gold medal winner. He was top of the podium in the boys’ 300-meter hurdles with a time of 47.93. His teammate Branson Vick earned bronze in the same event with a time of 54.26. Lawler had two more top-five finishes in the boys’ long jump and triple jump finals. Fellow Red Devil Manny Alitriste took fourth in the triple jump, as well.
Phil Campbell, competing in 3A Section 4, had three top 10 finishes in the girls’ meet. Avery Wells took sixth and 10th in the 3200- and 1600-meter races, respectively, while Aspen Misner came in ninth in the girls’ javelin competition.
Russellville, competing in Scottsboro, had a number of top finishes in both the girls’ and boys’ meets.
In the girls’ meet, Ari Kate Willingham grabbed two silver medals, finishing second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.86 and runner-up in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.53. Willingham’s time in the 200-meter dash set a new program record.
There were two more top-five finishes for the Lady Golden Tigers: the 4x400-meter relay team took fifth with a time of 4:29.64, and Charley Johnson earned a fifth-place finish in the girls’ shot put final.
In the 5A Section 4 boys’ meet, senior EJ King was the Golden Tigers’ top performer, grabbing gold in the high jump. Darron Jones and Skyler Ergle also found their way to the podium, both taking bronze. Jones finished third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.69, and Skyler Ergle came in third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.39.
The student-athletes who qualified to compete in the state meet will do so this weekend. Classes 1A through 3A will compete in Cullman May 2-3 while Classes 4A through 7A will hold their state meet in Gulf Shores May 1-3.
Full results of the section meets held at Winfield can be found HERE. Results from the section meet at Scottsboro can be found HERE.
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