Class 1A, 2A, 3A opens Friday at Cullman

     GULF SHORES – Speed was the order of the day as the 101^st AHSAA State Outdoor Track and Field Championships got underway for Classes 4A, 5A and 6A Thursday at the Gulf Shores Sports Complex.
    Ironically, the photo finish of the came in the Class 4A boys’ 1,600 meters competition.
    DAR junior Bailey Kendrick crossed the finish line in 4:25.10 to edge Good Hope sophomore Drake Nickles, who crossed at 4:25.64. And right on his heels was Hamilton junior Joshua Webb with a 4:26.14 time to earn third place.
    Classes 1A, 2A, and 3A open the small-school state championships at Cullman High School’s Oliver Woodard Stadium  Friday morning. The two meets will continue Friday and then conclude on Saturday afternoon. The NFHS Network is live video streaming the state championships at each meet over its subscriber-based platform found at www.nfhsnetwork.com.
    Opelika and Vestavia Hills took the lead after Thursday’s events in Class 7A. The Bulldogs had 17 points in the girls’ competition with defending state champion Hoover (15), Auburn (13) and Oak Mountain (11) close behind. The Rebels totaled 36 points Thursday to lead the 7A boys’ competition. Defending champion Hoover (21) was in second place with Hewitt-Trussville (20) and Oak Mountain (18) rounding out the top four.
     Other team leaders heading into Friday’s second day of the three-day meet were, in the boys’ race: Hokes Bluff (20) led in Class 4A with Westminster Christian (14) close behind; Jacksonville (18) and Fairview (17) were 1-2 in Class 5A with defending champ Scottsboro (15) tied with Central, Clay County (15) in third place; and McAdory (15) had a one-point lead over Spain Park (14) in Class 6A.
    In the other girls’ team races, Mountain Brook posted 24 points to lead Class 6A with Chelsea (15) in second place. Scottsboro (23.50) leads Class 5A with Guntersville (20) and Bayside Academy (19) right behind. Brooks (17) leads Class 4A, followed by Ashville (14.5) and Hatton (14).
   Back in Gulf Shores Thursday, the Class 4A boys’ 1,600 wasn’t the only race that ended in a photo finish. Some state records also fell.
    The Class 6A 4×100 boys’ relay prelim race did not set a record, but four schools three schools, Woodlawn (41.67), Oxford (41.72), and Jackson-Olin (41.93) finished 1-2-3 in the qualifying with all less than 8/100ths of a second off the class record (41.10) set by Davidson in 1986. That mark, set 39 years ago, was one oldest records still standing heading into this year’s state championships.
    The 100-meter dash prelim races also provided some exciting finishes – with promise of even more excitement the finals Saturday. Birmingham-Carver senior Dimitri Howard clocked 10.40 in his Class 5A prelim race – turning in the fastest time in the AHSAA of the 2025 outdoor season. Fellow Birmingham City Schools sprinter Matthew Keebler, a senior at Ramsay, turned in a 10.65 time  setting up what potentially could be a record-setting finish in the 5A finals.
     The Class 5A state meet record (10.37) was set in 2010 by Birmingham-Carver sprinter Keenan Brock. The all-classes state record (10.31) was set by Homewood’s Aaron Ernest in 2011. Auburn’s Charlie Sexton was clocked a 10.15-second wind-aided time in the 2022 prelims.
    In the Class 4A boys’ prelims, juniors Keegan Chapman of Jackson and Braylin Jackson clocked 10.69 and 10.74, respectively, setting up a strong championship final Saturday.
   Speed was also at a premium in the girls’ competition Thursday with the 4×100 relay team at James Clemens taking center stage with a Class 7A record-setting 46.45 time in the prelims. That time was 7/100^th of a second faster than the state record set in 2017 by Sparkman (46.52).
  In the Class 5A girls’ 4×100 relay prelims, Central, Clay County (48.46) and B.C. Rain (48.89) did not set a new mark but it did set up a much anticipated final on Saturday.
    The Class 6A 100-meter dash prelims also two runners – Park Crossing junior Somer Rone and Athens senior J’da Williams – each came in under 12 seconds and showing a real shot at breaking the 6A state meet record (11.42) set by Park Crossing’s Jasmine Riley in 2019. Rone clocked 11.83 seconds and Williams, 11.93.
     Complete results can be found at the following link: https://live.xpresstiming.com/meets/50830
Class 1A, 2A, and 3A results beginning Friday can be found at: https://live.xpresstiming.com/meets/50829
     Other highlights from Thursday’s Class 4A, 5A, 6A, and 7A state meets at Gulf Shores Friday, are below.

THURSDAY’S RUNNING EVENTS
CLASS 6A GIRLS’ 1,600: Homewood’s Emma Brook Levering took first place for the second year in a row with a winning time of 4:58.44.
CLASS 4A GIRLS’ 1,600: White Plains senior Maddyn Conn clocked 5:20.85 to win her second Class 4A state title since 2023. She won the 2023 race and finished second in 2024.
CLASS 7A GIRLS’ 1,600: Three runners finished under the 5-minute mark with senior Ava Fields of Oak Mountain winning in a photo finish with a 4:57.31 time. Auburn sophomore Sarah Tole was second with a 4:57.80 time, and Vestavia Hills junior Riley Zeanah crossing the finish line at 4:59.02.
CLASS 7A BOYS’ 1,600: Seniors John Shoemaker of Oak Mountain and Luke Alverson of James Clemens each had their personal best times finishing under 4:09. Shoemaker won the gold with a 4:08.46 time, and Alverson took second place  at 4:08.74.

THURSDAY’S FIELD EVENTS
CLASS 4A GIRLS’ SHOT PUT: Indian Springs junior Cara Huff had a winning heave of 45 feet, seven inches to set a new Class 4A state outdoor record. Her toss beat the previous record (42-08.50) set by Munford’s Esherika Hawkins in 2016 by almost three feet.
CLASS 7A DISCUS: Sparkman junior Charity Collier won the event with s 138-foot throw – just 32 inches shy of the state record (140-08) set by James Clemens’ Zuri Falkner in 2018.
CLASS 5A GIRLS’ JAVELIN: Fort Payne senior Cooper Garrett set a new 5A state meet record with a 150-04 throw. Her toss erased the old record (145-08) set by Karmen Williams of Blount in 2019.
CLASS 5 A GIRLS’ POLE VAULT: Guntersville sophomore Madeleine Wharton and Arab senior Aubrey Elrod each cleared 10 feet, 6 inches with Wharton taking first place with fewer misses.
CLASS 5A HIGH JUMP: Mallory Dial, a senior from Hayden, won the event clearing 5-04.
CLASS 4A GIRLS’ LONG JUMP: Hatton’s Eva Armstead clears 18 feet, 2¾ inches to win the gold.
CLASS 7A BOYS’ SHOT PUT: Hoover sophomore Nigel Thomas set a new 7A state-meet record with a winning throw of 59 feet, 5 inches. The old 7A mark (50-04.75) was set by Tanveer Raza of Hewitt-Trussville in 2022.
CLASS 7A BOYS’ AMBULATORY SHOT PUT: Hewitt-Trussville’s George Merchant had a heave of 23 feet, 11½ inches.
CLASS 6A BOYS’ HIGH JUMP: A pair of juniors, Wetumpka’s Tyrone Clary, and Benjamin Russell’s Cedarion Morgan, each cleared 6 feet, 8 inches. Clary got the gold with fewer misses.
CLASS 5A BOYS’ JAVELIN: Springville junior Jackson Gatgens topped the competition with a person best 171-03 throw.
CLASS 4A BOYS’ LONG JUMP: Fultondale’s Brandon Woodall cleared 22-08 to take first place.