AHSAA State Championship Meet Preview - Thursday Running (May 1, 2025)

Gulf Shores Municipal Track | Classes 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A

Class 4A

Girls: Maddyn Conn (White Plains, 5:24) leads a tight field, with Allie Cone (Ashville) and Ellie Gehri (Oneonta) not far behind. This could come down to a final-lap kick.
Boys: Bailey Kendrick (DAR) and Drake Nichols (Good Hope) are virtually neck and neck on seed times (4:37). Kendrick does come in with the fastest time this year, so expect a fast early pace and a big move at 800m.

Class 5A

Girls: Banks Bradford (Scottsboro) is the only sub-5:00 seed (4:58), but watch for returning state champ Katie Mae Coan (Lawrence County) trying to defend her 2024 title.
Boys: Scottsboro's young trio - Linville, Price, and Allen - all seeded under 4:35 - are dangerous. Alex England (Fairview) is the top upperclassman challenger.

Class 6A

Girls: Chelsea's Ty Cason leads a deep, experienced field that includes Kennedy Hamilton and Emelia White (both from Mountain Brook). Expect tactical racing early with a blazing finish.
Boys: Bryce McCleary of Hazel Green is the favorite, but watch for Northridge's Shawn Stephenson (4:22), Chelsea's Conner Campbell and Peyton Holderer of UMS-Wright to be in the mix.

Class 7A

Girls: Ava Fields (Oak Mountain) has the top seed, but Hoover and Vestavia pack the heat - Sparks, Litty, and Zeanah could all challenge for the crown.
Boys: This is the most loaded 1600m in years. John Shoemaker of Oak Mountain looks to be the favorite with his ability to kick off a fast pace, but Luke Alverson (James Clemens), Eric Moore (Huntsville), Cooper Jeffcoat (Oak Mountain) hope to keep it interesting and Alex Leath's 2023 record (4:07.33) might not be safe.

Expect fireworks in the 4x100 prelims as sprinters from across the state battle for lane assignments in Friday's finals.

4A: Pleasant Grove and Jackson High have sub-50 girls' relays and 42-low boys' entries - both programs look ready to make a title push.
5A: Central-Clay and Ramsay bring elite speed. On the boys' side, Ramsay (42.58) and G.W. Carver (42.31) could be on record pace.
6A: Northridge (girls) and Huffman (boys) are top contenders, with deep sprint talent across the board. Woodlawn's boys (41.76) are looking like title favorites.
7A: James Clemens girls (46.42) and the boys from Enterprise (41.69) and Vestavia Hills (41.46) may light up the track with sub-42 potential. Watch Zaria Parker lead off the girls' squad for James Clemens - a name to remember.

Zaria Parker (James Clemens): Defending 100m champ, leads the state in both the 100m and 4x100m relays.
Jontavious Harris (Hazel Green): Fastest 100m seed in 6A (10.62).
Maurice Conner (Carver Montgomery): Blazing 10.48 seed in 7A 100m - state record watch is on.