The 2023 calendar year started off with a bang at the Icebreaker Invitational at the Birmingham Crossplex. Below are five headlines from the meet.
Cady McPhail: US #1 in the 1600m
In the Girls 1600m, Cady McPhail ran a new High School Crossplex record in 4:44.93. The previous record was 4:49.17 held by Carmen Carlos in 2012. From the jump it was Mountain Brook's Reagan Riley leading with Chelsea's Cady McPhail right behind her. They came through the 800m in 2:23. With 350m to go, Cady made a huge surge and hammered it the last 400m to break one of the oldest Crossplex records.
Cady said this about her record breaking run: "Leading up to the race I had hit pretty big workouts that gave me confidence and showed that I was ready to rip a 1600m. I was going for a PR and my coach and I thought I could run mid to low 4:50sas a very solid first 1600m back. I kept telling myself before and during the race that the fast pace is nothing I can't handle and I'm ready for it. We went through around 2:23 at the 800m and I didn't even panic. I was just excited that this race was a perfect setup for a PR. Scott and I talked about when I needed to make my move if I felt good and what kind of phrases or words to think of when I needed to change gears and go. The phrase this weekend was "send it". I saw the clock with 400m to go and knew I could do something special so at that point I was just hammering and trying to see how fast I could stop the clock. I can't even describe the emotions I felt when I saw the clock."
Meagan Womack: Winning by nearly four feet
Coming over from Mississippi, Clinton High School's Meagan Womack dominated the field throwing 42-05. The Mississippi State commit beat the entire field by almost 4 feet. Her throw leaves her as Mississippi #1 and #10 in the United States.
Hoover Girls: Sweeping the 400m
In the Girls 400m, Hoover brought out the brooms for the 1, 2, 3 finish. Gabrielle Washington won in 56.44, Daisy Luna was second in 56.87, and McKenzie Blackledge was third in 57.48. Gabrielle's time was a lifetime best after she won and PR'd in the 60m in 7.65. Coach Schmidt said this about his girl sprinters: "I was very pleased with the entire team. We set 2 new school records, one US #1 performance, two US #2's, one US #3, and a whole bunch of personal records. Our 400m girls did an amazing job. It was great to see all three of them drop the hammer and run really well. I can't wait to see what they run next. Our spring coach, Mark Ruffin, is doing an incredible job with our kids and they will only get faster." For the cherry on top, the girls came back and ran 3:53 in the 4x400m for a meet record.
Charles Perry: US #1 in the 1600m
In the Boys 1600m, Charles Perry from UMS Wright led from start to finish in a dominating effort of 4:09.92. He came through 800m in 4:05 and was evenly paced to the finish. He'll look to continue to improve over the rest of the season. The best part? He's only a junior. He described his race in his own words. "I went into the race with the goal of running 4:12 or better and the plan was to go out in 2:05 Thankfully, the race had great competition that took us out in 2:04-2:05. The last 800m was tough but I closed well. I was very happy with the results and excited to break the 1600m Indoor State record. I'm excited for the future races coming up and to improve on that mark!" Charles came back in the 800m and ran a personal best of 1:55.51.
Shonedra Richardson & Ethan Edgeworth: Small School, Big Dominance
Shonedra Richardson from Demopolis put together one of the most complete performances of the weekend. She won the long jump in 18-01.75, won the triple jump in 36-05.25, and got second in the 60m in 7.67. Describing her weekend, she said, "I feel pretty satisfied. I had some trial and error, but that comes with the sport. I have a lot to work on but this is just the beginning of things I am capable of this year." The Auburn commit has been dominant and has yet to get anything less than second place this Indoor season. It's safe to say she's the favorite to defend her State titles come February.
Ethan ran a US #1 time of 9:08.29 in the 3200m. In a start to finish effort, he led St. Paul's Mac Conwell through the mile in 4:30 and kept the pace relatively even through the finish. Ethan is the defending 1A/2A State Champion in cross country and the defending 1A-3A Indoor State Champion in the 800m and 3200m. He'll look to defend his title in a month.