11 State Meet Records Fall at Gulf Shore as 92nd AHSAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Begin

AHSAA State 4A-7A
Tim Loreman


GULF SHORES -- Senior Margaret Ollinger shattered her own AHSAA outdoor girls' pole vault record Thursday clearing 13 feet, 6¼ inches to win the Class 7A state title at Gul Shores Sports Complex.
Ollinger set the record last year with leaping 12 feet, and set the indoor state record last February with a winning 13-foot,1¼ height.
Eleven classification state meet records fell Thursday, including one that was wind aided, as the 92nd annual AHSAA State Outdoor Track and Field Championships got underway at Gulf Shores for Classes 7A, 6A, 5A and 4A. Classes 1A, 2A and 3A commence at Cullman Friday. The meets will conclude Saturday.
Ollinger's performance helped McGill-Toolen take a three-point Class 7A girls' lead over defending champion Hoover, 31-28, after day one of the girls' competition, now in its 45th year. Mountain Brook was a close third at 27 points.
Pelham and Opelika were 1-2 in Class 6A, with 14 and 14 points, respectively, defending 5A girls' champion Beauregard had 25 points and a three-point lead over St. Paul's Episcopal (22). In Class 4A, defending champion UMS-Wright led Wilson 30-25.
Hewitt-Trussville long jumper Noah Igbinoghene shattered the 7A outdoor state record set last year with a winning leap of 24-07.50. Alex Evans of Auburn set the mark last year with a 22-10.25 leap. The Huskies also totaled 21 points Thursday and held a three-point lead over Auburn (18) heading into Friday's second day of competition.
Homewood was the 6A leader with 20 points with Scottsboro (13) second. Anniston and defending champ St., Paul's were tied at 16 points each in Class 5A, and UMS-Wright's 27 points gave the defending 4A state champions an eight-point lead over Northside, which piled up 19 points Thursday.
Vestavia Hills shot putter Walter Thomas set a new 7A state record in that event with a 59-00.50 toss. Damon Wright of Spain Park (54-08.00) and Robert Moore of Auburn 54-04.00) also broke old record of 52-10 set last year.
St. Clair County's Tristan Hawkins also set a new Class 5A record with a 55-09.50 distance. First-day event winners at Gulf Shores are listed below.

CLASS 4A
1,600-Meter Run: Ryan Ford of Westminster Christian ran 4:17.67 (new record) and runner-up James Patrick Brinyard of Northside (4:17.88) was a close second also breaking the old record (4:20.44) held by Alex Gilliland of Oneonta since 2010.
Pole Vault: Patrick Howze, UMS-Wright,13-01.50.
Discus: Cade Finley, Wilson, 165-05 (new record); old record, Heath Batchelor, Haleyille, 160-06 (2006.
Javelin: Lazarius Decatur, Brooks, 164-00.
Shot Put (Para Athlete): Logan Langley, Hokes Bluff, 29-10.00
Shot Put (Para Athlete): Nick Walls, Crossville, 14-10.


CLASS 5A
1,600-Meter Run: Micah Sheldon Britton, Alabama Christian, 4:25.03.
Javelin: Zach Gaines, Calera, 172-03.
Shot Put: Tristan Hawkins, St. Clair County, 55-09.50 (new record); old record, Devon Lockhart, Central-Tuscaloosa, 55-0, 2012.
Long Jump: DaMonta Miller, Anniston, 22-06.00.
 
CLASS 6A
1,600-Meter Run: Andy Smith, Homewood, 4:20.07.
Discus: Seth Gipson, Northridge, 153-02.
High Jump: Tashawn Green, Scottsboro, 6-08.
 
CLASS 7A
1,600-Meter Run: Benjamin Knox, Hewitt-Trussville, clocked 4:17.82 to set a new 7A record. Tommy McDonough of Hoover was second (4:18.84), also beating the old mark (4:20.74) set last year by Auburn's Paul Barlow, who finished fifth Thursday.
Shot Put: Walter Thomas, Vestavia Hills, 59-00.05 (new record); Damon Wright, Spain Park, 54-08.00 - also broke old record; Robert Moore, Auburn, 54-04.00, also broke old record of 52-10.
Long jump: Noah Igbinoghene, Hewitt-Trussville, 24-07.50 (new record); old record, Alex Evans, Auburn, 22-10.25, 2015.
Shot Put (Wheelchair): Colen LaFon, Hewitt-Trussville, 13-06.
4x100 Relay (prelims): Auburn broke the 7A record (41.66)it set last year clocking a 40.74 in the Tigers' prelim heat.
 
 
GIRLS
CLASS 4A
1600-Meter Run: Eighth grader Amaris Tynnismaa, Montgomery Catholic, 5:04.90.
High Jump: Gracie Hunt, UMS-Wright, 5-02.00.
Shot Put: Aryn McDowell, UMS-Wright, 36-08.00.
Shot Put (Para Athlete): Emily Frederick, Hokes Bluff, 19-03.00.
 
CLASS 5A
Long Jump: Carsheuna Curry, Anniston, 17-08.50.
Shop Put: Sam Dailey, Beauregard, 36-09.50.


CLASS 6A
1,600-Meter Run: Savanah McMillon, Walker, 5:12.32.
Long Jump: Savannah Lee, Spanish Fort, 38-04.00.
High Jump: Caroline Lawrence, Homewood, 5-06.00.
Javelin: Ty'tiana Lockhart, Opelika, 127-11.


CLASS 7A
1,600-Meter Run: Presley Weems, Hoover, clocked 4:52.35 to set a new 7A state record, beating runner-up Frances Patrick, Mountain Brook (4:58.05), who also beat the old record (4:49.76) set by Abbey Weitenbeck of Huntsville last year. Weitenbeck was seventhThursday.
Pole Vault: Margaret Ollinger, McGill-Toolen, 13-06.25 (new state record); old record, Ollinger, 12-0, 2015.
Triple Jump: Alonie Sutton, Smiths Station, 39-06.00 (wind aided).
Discus: Alana White, Huntsville, 117-07.
4x100 Relay (prelims): Auburn and Hoover bettered the 7A state record (48.03, Hoover) running 47.91 and 47.96 seconds, respectively, to qualify 1-2 for the finals.1,600-Meter Run: Isabel Valenzuela, St. Paul's Episcopal, 5:15.78.