James Clemens High School’s Benjamin Thomason captured the AHSAA 2023 Decathlon Championship and Janie Ford of St. Paul’s set a new record to win the Heptathlon title on Tuesday at Hoover High School.

Ford, who finished runner-up in 2022 with 4,981 points, totaled 5,118 over the seven events at this year’s competition to set a new AHSAA record. The old record of 5,000 points was set by Shelley Spires, also of St. Paul’s, in 2014. Caroline Sanders of Scottsboro finished second with 4,3479 points and Lanette St. John of Hayden was third with 4,094 points.

In the AHSAA Decathlon Championships, Thomason won with 6,166 points. Heath Whigham of McGill-Toolen was runner-up with 5,844 points followed by Northridge’s William Numnum with 5,536 points.

Ford dominated the heptathlon both days finishing first in five of the seven events and fourth in the other two. She won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.30; the 200-meter dash in 25.38; the 800 in 2:33.97; the high jump with a 5-02.50 leap; and the long jump with a 19-01.25 distance. St. John won the javelin throw with a 128-05 heave and Katie Wilkerson of Beauregard won the shot put with a 31-02.50 toss. Ford threw the javelin 106 feet, 5 inches and the shot 30-0.75 feet to take fourth place in both.

Thomason, by contrast, won no individual events but finished in the top five in four. His best finish was third in the shot put with a 41-01 throw. Winning that event was Hewitt-Trussville’s Braxton Armstrong with a heave of 44-11. Armstrong also won the discus throw with a toss of 125-11.

Devan Moss of Oak Mountain set a new decathlon state record in winning the 100-meter dash with a 10.58-second finish. Walter Womack of Helena was second, clocking 10.75 seconds to also eclipse the old mark of 10.88 set by Stone Shellnut of Hewitt-Trussville in 2019. Moss also won the high jump (6-01.50). Womack won both the long jump (22-04.50) and 400-meter dash (50.50).

Jack Lamey of Hoover won the javelin competition with a 174-06 toss, Sam Kilgore of Hoover won the 1,500 meters in 4:30.03, Cold Springs’ Cameron Nunn cleared 13-11.25 to win the pole vault event, Tykell Thomas of Opelika won the 110-hurdles in 15.08 seconds and had a 125-11 throw to win the discus event.

AHSAA DECATHLON/HEPTATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS

Girls’ Heptathlon

Top 10 Scoring

1. Janie Ford, St. Paul’s – 5,118

2. Caroline Sanders, Scottsboro – 4,379

3. Lanette St. John, Hayden – 4,094

4. Chaci Whitfield, Oxford – 4,036

5. Mary Hayes Johnson, Cherokee County – 3,668

6. Hallie Harrell, Jasper – 3,558

7. Livi Reebals, Briarwood Christian – 3,505

8. Hope Collins, Foley – 3,497

8. Sara Cothran, Oak Mountain – 3,497

Boys’ Decathlon

Top 10 Scoring

1. Benjamin Thomason, James Clemens – 6,166

2. Heath Whigham. McGill-Toolen – 5,844

3. William Numnum, Northridge – 5,565

4. Matthew Galvin, McGill-Toolen – 5,536

5. Devan Moss, Oak Mountain – 5,530

6. Braxton Armstrong, Hewitt-Trussville – 5,524

7. Max Kuehnert, Mountain Brook – 5,362

8. Cameron Nunn, Cold Springs – 5,319

9. Wallace Womack, Helena – 5,273

10. Isaac Pollard, James Clemens – 5,249