Hoover, Scottsboro pull off sweeps in 4A-7A meet in Gulf Shores

Hoover, Scottsboro pull off sweeps in 4A-7A meet in Gulf Shores

Hoover High School swept the Class 7A boys’ and girls’ state championships Saturday as the 98th AHSAA State Outdoor Track and Field Championships for Classes 4A, 5A, 6A and 7A concluded at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.

Hoover’s girls won a third straight Class 7A title, while the boys took home the Blue Map for the second straight season. Hoover’s boys won their 11th championship, all since 2005.

In Class 5A, Scottsboro also swept the boys’ and girls’ state championships. Scottboro’s boys took home the Blue Map for the second straight season, having won in 6A last year. For the Scottsboro girls, it is the first outdoor track state title since 2019.

Anniston’s boys also repeated as the Class 4A champions, thanks to sprinter Jayden Lewis winning individual titles in the 100- and 200-meter dash events. Mountain Brook also repeated as the Class 6A girls’ team champion. Other state champions crowned Saturday were Brooks in 4A girls, and Homewood in 6A boys.

RELATED: Complete results

Two girls’ state-meet 100-meter records fell. Foley’s Destiny Roper set a new Class 7A record by clocking 11.73 seconds, and Demopolis’ Shonedra Richardson won the 5A title in 11.77 seconds. Richardson also won the 5A 200-meter title in 24.49 seconds, and she won the triple jump with a leap of 39 feet, 5 inches.

Roper won in a star-studded 100-meter final that included runner-up Gabrielle Washington of Hoover (11.902) and Baker’s Myla Reed (11.905) in third. Reed clocked 11.62 seconds in last week’s sectionals to set a new AHSAA all-class girls’100-meter outdoor record. In the Class 6A girls 100-meter final, Saraland’s Morgan Davis won in 11.63 seconds, just a tick off Reed’s new record set last week.

Davis also won the Class 6A girls’ high jump, clearing 6 feet to set a new state-meet record. The old record of 5 feet, 10 inches was set by Murphy’s Kelly Gregory in 1985. Davis also set a new state-meet record in the Class 6A girls’ long jump on Friday, soaring 20 feet, 8½ inches. She also won the 200-meter dash title in 24.06 seconds, giving her four individual championships this season. Davis won the 100 meters for the third straight season.

In the boys 100-meter championship races, two future Iron Bowl participants won state titles. Clay-Chalkville’s Jaylen Mbakwe, an Alabama football commit, clocked 10.70 seconds to win the Class 6A boys’ title. Anniston’s Lewis, an Auburn football commit, won the 4A title in 10.72 seconds. Oak Mountain’s Devan Moss clocked 10.65 seconds – the fastest time of the day – to win the Class 7A 100-meter dash championship, and Vigor’s Jerrian Graham (10.75 seconds) took home the Class 5A 100-meter title.

Lewis and Mbakwe also won 200-meter individual titles, with Mbakwe finishing in 21.57 seconds and Lewis clocking 21.89 seconds. Bob Jones’ Jordan Urrutia had the day’s fastest 200-meter time at 21.51 seconds winning in Class 7A.

Wenonah’s Ivy Teachey won individual titles in the Class 5A 100-meter hurdles (14.91 seconds) and 300-meter hurdles (45.88 seconds).

Thompson’s Bradley Franklin turned in the fastest 110-meter hurdles time, clocking 13.92 seconds to win the Class 7A title, and also had the fastest 300-meter hurdles time. He won the individual title in 37.70 seconds. McGill-Toolen’s Anthony Eager was second in the Class 7A 110-meter hurdles (14.03 seconds) and 300-meter hurdles (38.60).

Janie Ford of St. Paul’s Episcopal ran the fastest girls’ 100-meter hurdles time of the day, clocking 14.33 seconds to win the Class 6A individual title. Shades Valley’s Reah DeGraffenried was second in 14.63 seconds. The other 100-meter hurdles winners were Mobile Christian’s Hailey Padgett (16.08) in Class 4A, and Hewitt-Trussville’s Tori Mack (14.44) in 7A.

DeGraffenried set a new Class 6A girls’ 300-meter hurdles record of 42.48 seconds, followed by Janie Ford in 42.68 seconds. DeGraffenried broke the old record of 42.74 seconds set by Hoover’s Brittany Humphrey in 2014.

St. Michael Catholic’s Tia Acker won the Class 4A girls’ 100-meter and 200-meter titles, clocking 12.05 seconds in the 100 and 24.68 in the 200. She also won the 400-meter title earlier in the meet to sweep the sprints.

Chelsea’s Cady McPhail won the Class 7A girls’ 800 meters in 2:10.14, the fastest time of the day. In 5A, Scottsboro’s Emma Bradford won the 800 meters in 2:23.00, adding to the 1,600- and 3,200-meter titles she won earlier in the week.

Priceville’s Adam Taylor set a new Class 4A state meet record and won the boys’ 800-meter title, clocking 1:55.04 to beat Munford’s Dakota Frank by about two seconds. The old record of 1:55.12 was set in 2018 by Northside’s Tanner King. Taylor also won individual 800- and 1,600-meter titles during the meet.

In field events, Hoover’s George Mann set a new state-meet record in the Class 7A boys’ javelin with a heave of 198 feet, 8 inches. That beat Vestavia Hills thrower Will Macoy’s record-setting toss of 196 feet, 6 inches in 2015.

Homewood’s Brooke Walden set a new Class 6A girls’ state-meet pole vault record by clearing 12 feet, 10 inches. That is 1 inch higher than McGill-Toolen’s Margaret Ollinger cleared in 2014.

In the Class 7A girls’ high jump, Bob Jones’ Kaitlyn Ford won with a new state-meet record of 5 feet, 8 inches. Runner-up Nyel Settles of Hoover was runner-up clearing 5 feet, 6 inches, as she joined Kaitlyn Ford in breaking the old record.

Benjamin Russell’s Malcolm Simmons won the Class 6A boys’ long jump with a leap of 24 feet, 1 inch. Vestavia Hills set a record in the Class 7A boys 4×800-meter relay with a time of 7:44.67.

TEAM SCORES:

BOYS

Class 4A: Anniston 81, Priceville 54, Montgomery Academy 48, Brooks 40, Handley 40.

Class 5A: Scottsboro 104, John Carroll Catholic 43.3, Demopolis 43.3, Southside-Gadsden 43, Arab 42.

Class 6A: Homewood 88, St. Paul’s Episcopal 86, Northridge 59, UMS-Wright 50, Clay-Chalkville 42.04.

Class 7A: Hoover 146.5, Vestavia Hills 89.5, Hewitt-Trussville 54, Huntsville 54, Auburn 51.

GIRLS

Class 4A: Brooks 87.5, Bayside Academy 58.5, Montgomery Academy 49, Cherokee County 39, White Plains 35.

Class 5A: Scottsboro 113, Beauregard 60, Arab 59.5, Wenonah 48.5, Lawrence County 46.

Class 6A: Mountain Brook 94, Northridge 76, St. Paul’s Episcopal 69.5, Homewood 66.5, Saraland 65.

Class 7A: Hoover 125, Chelsea 79, Hewitt-Trussville 71, Auburn 69, Foley 49.