Tallassee High School senior Kayden Slay qualified for the 2023 AHSAA Track Championships by delivering Class 5A’s best high jump at sectionals, at 6 feet, 4 inches.

He was better – much better – on Friday at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.

Slay cleared seven feet to win the Class 5A individual championship and set a new 5A state meet record. Chilton County’s Lance Lenior set the previous record of 6 feet, 10½ inches in 1986.

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Slay became just the second athlete to clear seven feet in a state meet in AHSAA history. The effort performance proved to be the highlight on Day 2 of the 2023 AHSAA State Outdoor Track and Field Championships for Classes 4A, 5A, 6A and 7A.

Anthony May of Hoover set the 6A state record in 2008 by clearing 7 feet and ¾ inch.

Scottsboro’s Evan Hill won the Class 5A boys 3,200-meter title in 9:01.59, about 30 seconds ahead of runner-up Arthur Langley of John Carroll Catholic. It’s also a tick faster than the 9:01.74 he ran last year to set the 6A boys’ state meet record.

Hill also set a new Class 5A boys 1,600-meter record on Thursday when he clocked 4:14.04.

Saraland’s Morgan Davis set a new state-meet record in the Class 6A girls long jump, soaring 20 feet, 8½ inches. That broke the overall record of 19-2 ½, which was set last year by Class 5A Demopolis’ Shonedra Richardson.

Auburn senior Maxwell Hardin won the Class 7A boys 3,200 meters and clocked 9:11.55 to set a new 7A state meet time. He broke the previous record of 9:12.88 set by Vestavia Hills’ Ethan Strand in 2022. Hardin finished second in the 1,600 meters on Thursday.

In the closest race of the day, Blount’s Marlon Miller won the Class 6A boys 400-meter dash in a photo finish, clocking 49.015 seconds. Calera’s Braylyn Farrington was second at 49.017 seconds.

In the team competition, Montgomery Academy leads in Class 4A boys with 30 points, and Haleyville is currently second with 29. Scottsboro has a huge lead in 5A boys with 70 points, followed by Arab’s 29 points.

St. Paul’s Episcopal leads in Class 6A boys, with rival UMS-Wright in second with 42 points. Hoover leads the Class 7A boys with 76.5 points, followed by Huntsville with 30 points.

On the girls side, Bayside Academy leads in Class 4A with 48.5 points, and Brooks is second with 32.5 points. Scottsboro has also built a big lead in Class 5A girls, leading with 53 points followed by Beauregard with 33 points.

Mountain Brook has 49 points to lead in Class 6A boys, followed by Northridge with 42 points. Hoover has 41 points to lead Class 7A girls, followed by Auburn with 40 and Chelsea with 37.

Other notable individual performances from Thursday’s action:

Mountain Brook’s Reagan Riley won the Class 6A girls 3,200-meter with a time of 10:33.71, less than two seconds from breaking the 6A state meet record and about 30 seconds faster than her fastest time of the season. Riley also won the girls 1,600-meter title on Thursday.

Huntsville’s Ava McIntosh edged ahead at the finish line to win the Class 7A girls 3,200-meter title. She clocked 10:38.80, followed by Auburn’s Abby Merner (10:39.38) in second and Auburn’s Sarah Tole (10:39.76) in third.

Scottsboro’s Emma Bradford won the Class 5A girls’ 3,200-meter title in 11:11.96. Lawrence’s County’s Savannah Williams and Katie Mae Coan finished second and third, respectively. Bradford also won the 1,600-meter title on Thursday.

Calera’s Jordan Bray won the Class 6A girls’ 400 meters in 55.58 seconds, nearly three seconds ahead of Northridge’s Harley McNeal.

Hoover’s Gabrielle Washington won the Class 7A girls 400 meters in 56.15 seconds, and Bob Jones Alivia Urrutia was second in 57.04.

St. Paul’s Episcopal’s Janie Ford ran the fastest time in the Class 6A girls’ 100-meter hurdles preliminaries, clocking 14.45 seconds. She was a half-second ahead of Shades Valley’s Reah DeGraffenried.

Athens’ Jayshon Ridgle clocked 14.18 seconds to run the fastest time in the Class 6A boys’110-meter hurdles preliminaries, and Homewood’s Slate Rohrer was second at 14.82.

Thompson’s Bradley Franklin ran the fastest time in the Class 7A boys’ 110-meter hurdles preliminaries, clocking 14.16 seconds. McGill-Toolen’s Anthony Eager was second at 14.33 seconds.

Sparkman’s Bobby Gray won the Class 7A discus with a heave of 171 feet, 7 inches.

Auburn’s Patrick Sweeney won the Class 4A boys’ ambulatory discus with a heave of 64 feet, 7 inches. Cherokee County’s Daniel Burton of Class 4A boys’ ambulatory shot put with a throw of 16 feet, 8 inches.

Moody’s Mathew Talan Smith won the Class 5A boys’ ambulatory 400-meter dash in 1:04.84.

The final day of the 98th State Outdoor Championships gets underway at 8 a.m., Saturday.