St. Paul’s Janie Ford led a slew of strong performances with two meet records in Day 2 of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Class 4A-7A Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores on Friday.

Ford, a Vanderbilt University signee, broke the Class 7A state meet record in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 4 ½ inches, breaking the old record of 19-9 ½ set in 2018. She went 19-10 on her second jump of the competition to break the old record, and then broke the record again on her next to last jump. Three of her jumps were over 20 feet.

“That was my goal going into today, but when I initially got the record by jumping 19-10, I was ecstatic about getting that,” Ford said about breaking 20 feet. “Getting that jump and getting my PR (personal record) really helped me to relax for the rest of the jumping series. It’s a great feeling to finally achieve what you’ve been working for all season.”

Ford also ran the fastest qualifying time in the 200 with a time of 23.58 seconds, breaking the old record of 23.74 set in 2019. She also had the fastest qualifying time in the 100-meter hurdles (14.07) and is also scheduled to run the 300-meter hurdles.

After Friday’s action, Hoover led Class 7A boys with 58 points, followed by Vestavia Hills (54) and Hewitt-Trussville (51). Hoover also led Class 7A girls with 65.33 points, followed by Auburn (47) and Vestavia Hills (42).

Homewood led Class 6A boys with 39 points, followed by Northridge in second with 33 and Hazel Green, led by Bryce McCleary’s win in the 3,200 (9:22.68), third with 26. In Class 6A girls, Mountain Brook held a narrow one-point lead over Chelsea 49-48, with Homewood, led by Emma Brook Levering’s double wins in the 1,600 (4:58.44) and 3,200 (10:53.34), third with 40.

Scottsboro led Class 5A boys and girls after Day 2, with the boys holding a commanding 73-36 lead over Jacksonville thanks in part to freshman Ryder Linville’s win in the 3,200 (9:55.10). Central-Clay County (28) was third. Scottsboro’s girls held a narrow 58.50 to 57 lead over Guntersville, while Bayside Academy was third with 41.

In Class 4A boys, Hamilton led Montgomery Academy 49-35, with Anniston third (33). Ashville led Brooks 30.50 to 27 in Class 4A girls, while White Plains was third (24).

White Plains’ Maddyn Conn was one of several athletes who had double wins over the first two days of competition. After winning the 1,600 in 5:20.05 on Thursday, Conn ran to a convincing win in the 3,200 in 11:52.49, nearly 10 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

“The first mile was comfortable, but I was dying the second mile,” Conn said. “But overall, I was kind of overwhelmed; it was bittersweet because this is my last year and I got two state championships. I wanted to start out strong and go for it from there.”

Other notable double winners after the first two days were Chelsea’s Tamarah Rice (38-1 in the triple jump and 18-0 ¾ in the long jump); DAR’s Bailey Kendrick in the Class 4A boys’ 1,600 and 3,200 (4:25.70/9:47.32); Oak Mountain’s John Shoemaker in the Class 7A 1,600 and 3,200 (4:08.46/9:10.32).

Other notable individual performances on Friday included Beauregard’s Kameron James winning the Class 5A boys’ high jump (6-8); Bob Jones’ Alivia Urrutia winning the Class 7A girls’ 400 (55.43); Sparkman’s Joe Quez Keith winning the Class 7A boys’ 400 (48.08); Huntsville winning the Class 7A boys’ 4 X 800-meter relay (7:49.89); Smiths’ Station’s Carmello Williams winning the Class 7A high jump (6-8); Satsuma’s Sanjay Polk winning the Class 4A boys’ shot put (51-5 ¼); and Hatton’s Eva Armstead winning the Class 4A girls’ 400 (56.47).

Action concludes Saturday with field events starting at 8:30 and running events starting at 9 a.m. weather permitting.