In the 30-year history of the Mobile Challenge of Champions, only two athletes had ever won consecutive Invitational girls MVP honors, both Georgia track competitors.

The first was Kendall Williams of Kell (Marietta) 2012-2013 followed by Candace Hill of Conyers 2014-2015.

Saraland’s Morgan Davis became the third and first from the state on Saturday.

Last year’s female MVP, Davis repeated in this year’s Invitational portion of the meet, winning the long jump with a meet record 20 feet, 4 1/2 inches, the 100 meters in 11.90 seconds and the 200 meters in 24.18.

“I’m definitely blessed and grateful to be able to come out and run today,” Davis said. “I knew if I got out strong and if I held my speed, I could definitely win the race. I just knew coming in I had to be confident.”

On the boys side, Ra’Hji Dennis of Edna Karr High in New Orleans earned MVP honors, winning the 100 (10.55) and 200 (21.41) as well as anchoring the winning 4 x 100-meter relay (41.85).

Dennis, who finished third in the 100 meters in last year’s meet, said it was a motivating factor in coming in this year and have a strong performance.

“I wanted to put a show on for the people in Mobile, Alabama and I delivered,” Dennis said.

Davis started the day off with a bang, breaking the long jump record of 20 feet, 1 1/4 inches set by Hartselle’s Quaniesha Burks in 2012, holding off Demopolis’ Shonedra Richardson, who jumped 19-11. Despite attending her high school prom the night before, Davis said she was feeling good and ready to go.

“I knew I had the jump in me; I just had to put all the pieces together,” Davis said. “I knew coming down the runway it was going to be a big jump. Coming into the meet, I was feeling pretty good. We had prom yesterday and I got in a little late, but I still felt pretty good.”

About her competition with Richardson, Davis said, “We definitely push each other, so I love to get to compete against her.”

Some of the other top performances in Saturday’s meet included:

·          *Chelsea winning the girls’ 4 X 800 in 9:26.45, while Catholic-Baton Rouge defended its title in the boys 4 X 800, winning in 7:53.79. Cady McPhail, who anchored Chelsea’s 4 X 800, came back to win the 800 in 2:15.42.

·           *Auburn’s T.J. Autry winning the boys high jump, clearing 6-8.

·          *St. Paul’s Janie Ford winning the triple jump with a new personal best of 41-0 ¾, as well as the 100-meter hurdles (14.37). She also was second in the 300-meter hurdles (43.77). Her teammates, Stone Smith, Evan Wrights, and Mac Conwell also won races—Smith winning the mile, running 4:13.62 and barely missing the meet record set by East Central’s Christian Balcer in 2021 (4:13.28); Wrights winning the 800 in a photo finish over Tanner Moore of Pearl (Miss.) 1:54.13 to 1:54.14; and Conwell convincingly winning the 2-mile run in 9:28.61.

·           *Calera’s Braylyn Farrington winning the boys’ 400 in 47.82.

·           *Athens’ Jayshon Ridgle winning the boys’ 110-meter high hurdles in a photo finish over McGill-Toolen’s Anthony Eager. Both ran 14.35.

·           *Clinton (Miss.) Meagan Womack winning the girls’ shot (43-1) and the discus (132-7).

·           *Hoover winning the girls’ 4 X 400-meter relay (3:50.90).

They said it: “In my last race, I ran into a 5.5 mile an hour headwind and ran 10.81. I just knew I had to come out here and get a faster time. We’ve been working to get that fast time, trying to get that muscle memory and try to perfect it.” Dennis on his 100-meter victory

“I definitely expected fast times because of the pressure that this meet brings. But I jumped 41-3/4 which was a giant PR for me. I didn’t expect it, but it was a good result. In the 100 hurdles, there were some fast girls, so I had to get out and push myself fast.” Ford on her performance in the triple jump and 100-meter hurdles.

“I didn’t want to let the rain delay get to my head. I just wanted to focus and stay calm. With Charles (Perry, who finished third in 4:14.80), he’s always tough to beat. I just wanted to stay in front of him, because if he gets in front of you, he’s got some quick speed.” Smith on his win in the boys’ mile run.

“I tried to put a show on for St. Paul’s, and I love this track. In the race, I was just trying to keep my knees up and hips forward. Me and my coach have been working on that a lot, and it came together in that race. Hopefully I can go even faster the next time.” Wrights on his 800-meter victory.