Top Stories from the Indoor State Meet

Paul Richardson


The 2022 AHSAA State Indoor Track and Field Championship was electric, plain and simple. The athletes rose to the occasion and delivered some unbelievable performances. Take a look at some of the high point scores, record performances, some unexpected performances, and much more.


High Point Club

  • Sha'Niya Boykin, Mobile Christian: 38 points

    • Mobile Christian's Sha'Niya Boykin was the high point scorer for all divisions scoring 38 total points. She won the 1A-3A Girls triple jump, long jump, 400m, and placed second in the 60m. In the 400m, she made an aggressive move inside with 90m to go. The move was blocked, she swung wide on the turn, and finished it in the final 50m. In the 60m, she thinks having a better jump out of the blocks would have made the difference against Altamont's Carson Hicks. For her, scoring 38 points was great, but bringing home Mobile Christian's first Indoor State Championship was the best feeling. She said, "It is definitely an amazing feeling. I am very proud of my team and how they performed. I could not have done it without them."

  • Reagan Riley, Mountain Brook: 30.5 points

    • Reagan Riley led an incredible Mountain Brook girls team on Friday scoring 30.5 points. She started off the day with a second place finish and US #8 in the 800m running 2:11.53. Later, she won the 1600m in 5:02.02. She wasn't done yet, going on to win the 3200m in 10:51.81. She capped off an incredibly long day taking the lead on the third leg in the 4x400m and the CrossPlex was easily the loudest it was all weekend. About the 4x400m, she said, "My favorite moment was definitely the 4x4 because we had a lot on the line and the four of us really stepped up to the plate! We had a great season and I couldn't be prouder of my teammates. Right now, we have four girls nationally ranked and many ranked for their age group and we are only getting better!"

  • Catherine Aaron, Montgomery-Catholic: 30 points

    • Catherine Aaron successfully completed the distance Triple winning the 1A-3A Girls 800m, 1600m, and 3200m for 30 points. She talked about her expectations entering the meet and knowing she was seeded first in all three events and knowing she had to win to give her team a chance. She acknowledged the pressure that comes with a state championship as well, but winning the 800m relieved the pressure and allowed her to more comfortably compete in the 1600m and 3200m.


A New High School CrossPlex Record

Chelsea's Cady McPhail opened up the 6A State Championship with a huge CrossPlex High School record in the 800m: 2:10.72. Her time places her at US #7. From the gun, she took the pace out hot coming through 200m in 30.06 and 400m in 1:01.7. But closely on her heels were Mountain Brook's Reagan Riley and Lucy Benton. Benton made a strong move and took the lead with one lap to go, but McPhail stayed patient and finished it off. She said the record was definitely on her mind and something she's been eager to get for a while. She said, "I went through all the possibilities in my head of how that race could go and knew no matter what, I couldn't settle at any point in the race and had to keep hammering to get that record! I made a little surge with 450m to go and I saw the clock at the 400m and was kind of shocked, not going to lie. At that point, I knew I had to just run hard and not look back and make it worth it." Cady's record toppled the previous record of McGill-Toolen's Carmen Carlos who ran 2:11.28 in 2013 and later competed for Vanderbilt University.


Youngest State Champion

Remember Daisy Luna? The 8th grader? Yeah, she's now a state champion. Seeded at 56.98, it was a start to finish victory for her. Coach Schmidt from Hoover saved the complex race strategy and simply said, "Have fun and run your race." Earlier in the day, she was scratched at the last minute in the 800m, losing possible points. But for Coach Schmidt, it was a tough decision but also about the bigger picture of winning. He said, "I feel that she may have scored between third and fifth place in that event and I wasn't sure if she would be able to come back in the 400m and then again in the 4x800. So I looked at the numbers and felt I could lose five points in the 800m and gain five points and a win in the 4x800m, while hoping she could pull off the big win in the 400m." Mission accomplished. The future is so very bright for Daisy Luna.


Ethan vs Ethan - WATCH THE RACE HERE

In the 1A-3A Division, one of the big matchups was the Boys 3200m between Ethan Edgeworth and Ethan Lemons. Edgeworth, from Cold Springs, was coming off of a big PR in the 800m running 2:01.34. Lemons, from Vinemont, was coming off a big state record and personal record in the mile, winning in 4:20.99. He said he felt his pacing was a little off with a few 34 second laps in the middle but closed well. Fast forward to the big showdown in the 3200m and it was Ethan and Ethan versus the rest of the field. They came through the mile in 4:41 with Edgeworth leading. He extended his lead from 2000m to 3000m. Lemons had a strong kick at the end but a little too late. Edgeworth won the gold in 9:21.66 and Lemons took silver in 9:25.77. Edgeworth said "I knew if I wanted to win, I would have to run under 9:25. I give God all the glory for how awesome [this weekend was] for me!" This was not the first showdown between the two and definitely will not be the last.


Best Kick of the Meet:

UMS Wright's Joseph Perry showed off one of the biggest kicks of the weekend winning the 4A-5A Boys 1600m in 4:26.96. He came through the 800m in 2:16 sitting in fourth. With 400m to go, the pace quickened and with one lap to go, he dropped a 28.8 closing lap to seal the victory. As for having closing speed, he somewhat surprised himself. Joseph said "I generally don't consider myself to have amazing speed so the kick win was a bit surprising to me." He came back hours later and won the 3200m in 9:34.94. Winning those two events was great, but he says the "most fun" is always winning the team title and taking a Blue Trophy back home to Mobile.


Death, Taxes, and Patrick Daves Winning

We've all heard the three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and __________. The third statement on Saturday was "Don't count out Bayside's Patrick Daves at a State Meet." Daves won the 4A-5A Boys 60m Hurdles and the High Jump for his 13th and 14th individual state championship. The Bama commit and AL #1 60m Hurdler reflected on his high school indoor career. "Indoor of my sophomore year, coming into it we were predicted to win the team championship. I came in predicted to win the hurdles and place or score in other events. But everything came together and I ended up getting three individual golds and a bronze in the 400m, on top of the team State Championship. I knew then and there that I could win more in other events with the talent that God had given me." The next time Patrick will be competing at the CrossPlex will look a little different. He'll be repping the Crimson and White and going over the 42" hurdles.

 

Which event was most exciting across the board?

Across the board, 1A to 7A, it was the 800m that proved to be the most exciting race of the weekend. In 6A Girls, as mentioned earlier, Cady McPhail broke a nine year old CrossPlex record with all three girls running US Top 10. Minutes later, in the 6A Boys, Mac Conwell made a strong comeback taking him and Rex Green under the state record, running 1:52.66 and 1:52.91 for US #2 and #3, respectively. 

In the 4A-5A Boys, Parker's William Shelton had not run well from the back all year long, so he took the race out hard from the start, daring others to come with him. UMS Wright's Charles Perry hung around and out-leaned Shelton by 0.01 for the gold.

The 7A 800m races were competitive simply trying to score a point. On the girls side, Mackenzie Culpepper ran US #9 and led six girls under 2:20. On the guys side, it was Alex Leath winning in 1:53.65 for US #6 but the real battle was the battle for second, third, and fourth decided by .26. 


Biggest Improvement based on Seed Time

One of the biggest performances of the weekend came in the 4A-5A Boys Triple Jump. Seeded at 37'01.50" and the last competitor entered in the event, Mae Jemison's Johnathan Jones went crazy on his second jump, catapulting himself into second place (41-09.00") where he remained the rest of the competition. The State Meet is where an athlete wants their best performance and Johnathan did just that. It's going to be super exciting to see where he can take this personal best and how he can carry this momentum through the remainder of his senior season.


Girls and Boys Team Dominance:

Two teams, Hoover High School and UMS-Wright, were the only two schools to win both the Boys and Girls Indoor Title for their divisions.

HOOVER

Coach Christopher Schmidt, the former Thompson coach, and first year Hoover coach had some big shoes to fill following Coach Devon Hind. He said, "It's been an honor to be given the opportunity to coach at Hoover and of course follow the footsteps of Devon Hind and Mary Birdwell. Obviously, there is pressure following these two icons, but I have been blessed with amazing athletes, coaches, support staff, and facilities here at Hoover."

On the girls' side, Hoover was absolutely dominant, totaling 119 points. He talked about the importance of every girl doing their part and more. Examples include winning all the relays, going first in the high jump with Langley Jung clearing 5'06", Jebreiya Chapman winning the 60m in 7.76, and so many others. All 22 girls did their part in contributing. 

On the guys' side, it was a story of never giving up. They had a hard fought battle with Vestavia Hills with every point making a difference. A pivotal moment in the meet was in the 4x200m and Hoover dropped the baton. In the 3200m, they were seeded first and finished with zero points. According to Schmidt, this boys team never stopped believing in each other and encouraged each other to finish the season the way they had envisioned it. Jay Avery was huge in the field going first in the Triple Jump, first in the Long Jump, and second in the High Jump. In the Shot Put, Bradley Shaw and Toshi Yamamoto were big, placing third and fifth. Elijah Joseph got second in the mile and anchored the 4x800m relay to a first place finish.

UMS WRIGHT

UMS-Wright's Boys beat out Bayside Academy 116-65. To put it simply, they were dominant in all aspects of the 4A-5A Classification. Jaiden Rollins won the 60m in 6.95 and won the Triple Jump with a 46'06.25" jump. The Perry Brothers went 1-4 in the 800m, and 1-2 in the 1600m with Joseph winning the 3200m. Joshua Holston won the Pole Vault with a jump of 13'03". Luke Stringer was big in the throws getting silver medal in the Shot Put. 

On the girls side, it was the closest team battle of the entire meet with UMS defeating Bayside 50-49.5. It was one of those battles where every single point first through eighth mattered. Hannah McConnell won the Pole Vault with a jump of 10'0". The 4x800m team placed third in 10:35.07. Even the small performances made big impacts. Carlen Cook was seeded 9th in the 800m but stepped up and snagged 8th place running 2:35.39. At the State Meet, every point makes a difference. Senior Dorsey Parker, winner of the High Jump talked about the close battle going all the way down to the 4x400m. "At the end of the meet around the [4x400m] relay, we were 2.5 points away from first behind Bayside." Bayside was in the second heat and UMS Wright was in the third heat. Bayside ran 4:27.77. UMS knew exactly what they had to do. They ended up running 4:25.51 which was good for fifth and the team victory. Parker said, "Out of the six years I've done track, this was my first year doing indoor. I have to say this was the best experience. Being with all the girls celebrating and cheering on that 4x4 relay was a great experience!"


Record Performances

  • Eleven different State Records were set from Friday to Saturday across all divisions. Below are the new State Records.