St. Paul’s Janie Ford ended her high school career with a bang in Day 3 of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships, breaking the Class 7A state meet 200-meter record.

She set the mark at 23.58 in Friday’s prelims and broke it with a blistering 23.34 in the finals on Saturday.

The 200-meter record came moments after the Vanderbilt University-bound Ford, who won the 100-meter hurdles easily with a time of 14.13, blazed to a state-meet record 41.43.

Those performances, along with the state meet record 20 feet, 4 ½ inches in the long jump, gave her four wins and three state meet records for the weekend. In addition, the four wins gave her 20 state titles in her high school career.

In the 200 finals, Ford easily defeated two highly-regarded James Clemens runners, Zaria Parker (23.83) and London Hall (24.11).

“Going into the 200, I was a lot calmer than I was in my other races,” Ford said. “I was excited earlier in the hurdles, so I went in really confident and I just had to trust myself because I was slightly fatigued from my previous races. I just knew as long as I didn’t let them get too far out front, I could bring it home at the end.

“It’s really bittersweet that I’ll be done with track in Alabama. It’s been my home for so long with my mom being the coach, but I’m just so thankful to be getting another opportunity (at Vanderbilt). I love running, and the competition is so amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.”

Ford’s performances were the bright spot for St. Paul’s, which finished sixth in Class 7A girls’ competition with 43 points. Hoover, as expected, finished first with 99.33 points, ahead of Auburn (80) and James Clemens (75).

In Class 7A boys’ Vestavia Hills defeated Hoover 109-95, with Hewitt-Trussville third with 76 and Sparkman fourth with 50. For Vestavia Hills, it was the first Class 7A boys’ title since 2021, and for Rebels’ head coach Richard Anderson, it was proof positive his team was on the rise. A 1-2 finish in the long jump by Jack Stubbs (24-4 1/2) and Nate Bradshaw (23-9 1/2), plus a big win in the 200 by Chase Webb (21.20) and a sixth-place finish in that event by Stubbs (21.68) helped Vestavia secure the win

“It’s been awesome,” Anderson said. “Hoover and us have a great relationship, pressing each other and to be competitive. They’re a great team, and they’re the reason we’re here today; it’s that something that makes us better, and we want to embrace that competition. The 18 points by Jack and Nate were huge, and the 200 helped solidify us. Vestavia’s always had a great-middle distance program and cross-country program, but what we want to do is have a complete program.”

Individually, Sparkman’s Joe Quez Keith had a strong performance, winning the 400 (48.08), along with the 300-meter hurdles (37.35), in addition to anchoring the winning 4 X 400-meter relay in a state meet-record time of 3:15.18. He also finished fifth in the 200 (21.59).

“As a whole, I had a really great time,” Keith said. “I like to thank God, and without him and my teammates I wouldn’t be out here. They’ve supported me all year long while I was at Sparkman.”

In Class 6A, Homewood defeated Northridge 79-64, with Blount third with 45. Blount had victories in the 110-meter high hurdles from Lazeric Johnson (14.24) and 300-meter hurdles by Kantrell Benjamin (38.64). Blount also won the 4 X 400-meter relay (3:21.59). Chelsea upset favorite Mountain Brook 87 to 80.5, with Homewood third (68). Chelsea was led by Ty Cason, who won the 400 (57.49) and 800 (2:11.34).

Mountain Brook’s Anna Kerr broke her own state meet record in the pole vault, clearing 13-6.

Scottsboro swept the Class 5A boys’ and girls’ divisions. Scottsboro’s boys, led by victories by freshman Ryder Linville in the 800 (1:57.56), 1,600 (4:20.97) and 3,200 (9:55.10), defeated Central-Clay County 121-70, with Jacksonville third (58). Meanwhile, Scottsboro’s girls, behind Banks Bradford, who won the 800 on Saturday ((2:18.90) to go with her wins in the 1,600 and 3,200, defeated Guntersville 107.5 to 81. Bayside Academy was third (77).

Anniston finished the day strong with a record-setting 4 X 400-meter race (3:23.15) and wins in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles by Elijah Lanier (14.63/39.17), defeating Hamilton 82-69, with W.S. Neal third (41). In Class 4A girls, Randolph defeated Brooks 45-41, with Hatton third (39). Katelyn Valtos had a big win for Randolph on Saturday, winning the 800 in 2:20.66.