Photo Credit: Mark Ullom
Article by: Logan Stoves
After two great days of track and field competition, State Champions were crowned individually and as a team. On Day 1, Hoover High swept the Boys' and Girls' 7A titles. They also obtained a few State Records and CrossPlex Records in both 4x4. The Boys finished with a time of 3:16.71, a new 2025 US #4 in the nation. Sparkman High finished second at 3:24.15, a new 2025 US #30 in the country. Huntsville High rounded out the top three with a 3:26.
On the Girls' side, Hoover's girls finished with a 3:52.98. A new 2025 US #6. Opelika
(4:02.28) and Vestavia Hill (4:04.62) finished second and third. Hoover also won the 7A Girls
4x200 with a time of 1:40.98. Opelika (1:43.95) and Huntsville (1:44.68) rounded out the top
three. While being a part of both the 4x2 and 4x4, Daisy Luna finished first in the 7A Girls 400
with a time of 55.55. It was a new personal best for her as she set a new US#24. Opelika's Alieah
Nelms (55.78) and Bob Jones' Alivia Urrutia (56.02) also ran US top 50 as they finished second
and third. Nyel Settles, also on Hoover's 4x2, gained ten extra points by winning the 7A Girls
High Jump. Bob Jones' Jasmyne Rochelle and Vestavia Hills' Barclay Brown finished second
and third. In the 3200, Ava Sparks took home gold at 11:10.23. Hewitt Trussville's Hadley
Turner finished second, and Sparks' teammate, Amelia Vann, finished third. Sparks also brought
home bronze in the 7A Girls 1600 as Vestavia Hill's Anna James Litty won the event at 5:08.38.
Hoover's Catherine Wallace finished second with a 5:08.61. Hoover swept both 7A Girls and
Boys' Pole Vault. Isabella Maple cleared a height of 11-06.00 to win the Girls, while Omari
Bryant cleared a height of 14-06.00 to win the Boys. Christopher Lawley (7A Boys 60 Meter
Finals - 8.09), Damian Resse (7A Boys Triple Jump - 46 '01.50), and Nigel Thomas (7A Boys
Shot Put -57' 08.00) all claimed State Champion in their respective events.
One of the most anticipated events of Day 1 was the 7A Boys 400. Sparkman's Joe Quez
Keith was victorious as he ran 47.81. A new 7A State Record and new 2025 US #14. He also
came home with a third-place finish in the 7A Boys 60 Meter Hurdles. Hoover's Gideon Newton
(48.44) and Jameson Coleman (48.53) were second and third. Chase Webb (48.88) from Vestavia
Hills and Devin Kouanvih (49.01) from Hewitt finished fourth and fifth. All five guys ran US top
50 times.
Oak Mountain's John Shoemaker scored the most points in the 7A Boys thanks to his two
victories in the Boys 7A 1600, a time of 4:16.99, and the Boys 7A 3200, a time of 9:20.92.
Shoemaker also scored three points in the Boys 7A 800 with his sixth-place finish. His
teammate, Cooper Jeffcoat, won the race with a time of 1:53.06. A new 2025 US #6.
On the girls' side, St. Paul's Janie Ford scored 38 points for her team. She took home
three first-place medals in the 7A Girls Triple Jump, a jump of 40-11.25; 7A 60 Meter Hurdles, a
time of 8.69; and the 7A Girls Long Jump, a jump of 18-10.75. She sets the 7A State Record in
both the long and triple jump. She also finished second in the 7A Girls 60 Meter Finals. James
Clemens' Erihana Johnson finished first with a time of 7.45. A new 7A State Record and a new
2025 US #16.
Another State Record that happened to be broken was the 7A Boys 4x800. Vestavia Hills
HS set the new 7A State and CrossPlex Record with a time of 7:55.69, a new 2025 US #4 in the
nation. Hoover (8:01.30) and Huntsville HS (8:02.30) rounded out the top three.
In Boys 4A-5A, the Hamilton's Boys were able to secure the State title. Hayden Ables
ran a time of 50.15 and took home first place--a new personal best. Haleyville's Malachi Carroll
and Center Point's Jeremiah Franklin rounded out the top three. A couple of second-place
finishes (Joshua Webb - 1600m - 4:29.91, Mason Holloway - Long Jump - 20-10.75, and Elijah
Robinson - Boys Pole Vault - 13.06.00) added to Hamilton's points.
Scottsboro finished second in the 4A-5A Boys scores thanks to 16 points scored in the
Pole Vault. Craft Sanders won the event as he cleared a height of 14-00.00. His teammate, Jacob
Lovett, finished third with a clear height of 13 '00.00. With the late points scored in pole vault,
Scottsboro knocked Ramsay out of second. Ramsay dominated the sprints with wins in the 60-
Meter Dash Finals, Matthew Keebler, a time of 6.92-, and 60-Meter Hurdles Finals, Kameron
Keenan, a time of 8.48. Ramsay was also able to win the 4x4.
After finishing second in the 4A-5A Boys 400, Malachi Carroll secured a win in the 4A-
5A Boys 800 with a time of 1:56.23. It was a new Season Best for Carroll and a new 2025 US
#71. Scottsboro's Ryder Linville finished second with a time of 1:58.55. Elberta's Charlie
Woerner finished third with a time of 1:58.56.
DAR's Bailey Kendrick scored 20 points for his team, winning 4A-5A Boys 3200
(9:51.97) and 4A-5A Boys 1600 (4:28.15). Fayette County's Clark Vandiver secured first place
in the 4A-5A Boys High Jump with a height of 6'04.00. With a jump of 22-02.50, Ashford's E-
Mon Oliver claimed first in the 4A-5A Boys Long Jump. With a throw of 49-11.25, Satsuma's
Sanjay Polk took home first.
On the 4A-5A Girls' side, Bayside Academy scored the most points en route to winning
the State Championship. Wins in the 4x4 (4:13.06) and the 4x8 (9:58.95) gave them 20 points,
while points in the 800, 1600, 3200, 60-meter hurdles, and high jump totaled 61 points.
Whitesburg Christian Academy secured 4A-5A Girls' Runner-up with 45 points.
Brewer's Rose Betts took home two first-place individual medals in the 1600 (5:12.61)
and the 3200 (11:12.31). Whitesburg Christian Academy's Lillie Meeks (5:17.38) and Lawrence
County's Katie Mae Coan (5:17.78) rounded out the top three in the 4A-5A Girls 1600, while
Coan (11:28.83) and Bayside Academy's Shelby Fargason (11:32.78) rounded out the top three
in the 4A-5A Girls' 3200.
Central Clay County's Zykeria Heflin grabbed first in the 4A-5A Girls 60 Meters Dash
Finals, time of 7.83, and 4A-5A Girls Long Jump, a jump of 17-03.50. In the 4A-5A Girls 60
Meter Finals, Charles Henderson's Payton Ousley finished second, clocking a time of 7.87,
followed by Houston Academy's Macauley Flanagan, who grabbed third with an 8.01. Kyra
Casey from Hamilton finished fourth with an 8.02. She also finished second in the 4A-5A Girls'
Long Jump and the 4A-5A Girls' Triple Jump. Guntersville's Amiyah Hampton won that event
with a jump of 35-06.25. It was Hampton's third jump of six that helped her win the event.