From left: 200-meters medalists Gracie Loyd, St. Bernard, Kaitlyn Hill, Loachapoka and Tyroneisha Charleston, Linden

 

Falkville Sweeps 1A Boys’ and Girls’ Championships  Loachapoka’s Kaitlyn Hills Captures her 16th Gold  to Close her Prep Career

 

CULLMAN – Falkville High School’s boys and girls captured Class 1A state

championships Saturday and Loachapoka track phenom Kaitlyn Hill captured

the 16th championship of her storied prep track career as the 2019 AHSAA

State Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded at Cullman High

School’s Oliver Woodard Stadium.

 

Coach JACE WILEMON’S Blue Devils out-pointed St. Bernard of Cullman 91.60

to 74 in the Class 1A girls’ final standings and the boys also beat

runner-up St. Bernard for the Class 1A boys’ title, 126-74. Falkville’s

boys won the 2A state crown in 2018.

 

Westminster of Oak Mountain won its first girls’ state championship since

2014 posting 134 points to win the Class 2A girls’ title over Whitesburg

Christian by three points. Whitesburg, the 2018 Class 1A girls’ champ,

finished with 131 points.

 

Coach DALE CARRELL’S Eagles went into the final race of the meet Saturday

clinging to a one-point lead but won the 4×400-meter relay outright to

clinch the state crown. The Warriors finished second in that race. Both

schools competed in 1A last season.

 

Altamont won the 2019 2A boys’ state championship with 89 points and

LaFayette finished a close second with 80. In the Class 3A competition,

Coach STEVE REAVES’ Winfield Pirates, the 2018 Class 4A state champs, won

the boys’ title with 124.50 points. Bayside Academy was runner-up with 87

points. Saint James captured the 3A girls’ crown in dominating fashion

with 151.50 points. The battle for runner-up came down to the 4×400 relay final

race with Providence Christian edging out T.R. Miller for second place

79.50 points to 79. PCA trailed the Tigers 76 to 69.5 heading into the

finale and won the relay while T.R. Miller finished sixth.

 

Loachapoka’s HILL, closed out her track career for Loachapoka by winning

four events at the 2019 championships. She won the Class 1A long jump and

triple jump on Friday and captured the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash

championships on Saturday.

 

The University of West Alabama track signee began competing in the AHSAA

State Track Championships as a seventh grader – finishing fourth in the

100, third in the 200, eighth in the long jump and running a leg on the

Indians’ winning 4×100-meter relay team.

 

She finished her six-year career winning 16 state outdoor Class 1A state

championships with four golds in the 100 meters, five golds in the 200,

four golds in the long jump and two golds in the triple jump. Her 16th

gold medal came in the 4×100 relay won in her first year in 2014.

 

Hill also had on second-place finish in the 4×100 relay, one in the long

jump and a third in the 100 (as a seventh grader) – to finish with 19

total medals to make her one of the most celebrated track athletes in Class 1A

state history.

 

She won the 100-meter dash in 12.12 seconds Saturday, just 5/100ths of a

second off the state 1A record (12.07) set by Belgreen’s KATELIN BARBER at

the 2009 state meet. HILL won the 200 in 25.51 seconds.

 

 In other top performances Saturday:

 

CLASS 3A BOYS

4X400-METER RELAY: The Dadeville Tigers won the final race of the meet in

3:29.92 and also won the 4×100 relay earlier Saturday with a 44.59-second

time.

300-METER INTERMEDIATE HURDLES: Westminster Christian basketball phenom

AUSTON LESLIE won the hurdles in 39.62 seconds.

 

CLASS 2A BOYS

200-METER DASH: Vincent junior TAE MCGREGOR set a 2A state record (21.74)

in the 200-meter dash prelims Friday and followed by winning the sprint in

21.81 seconds Saturday. He also clocked 10:67 to claim the 100-meter dash.

 

800-METER RUN: Altamont’s JAMES DIXON helped the Knights win the state

title by capturing the 800 race with a state-record time of 1:57.98. He

was pushed, however, by Westbrook Christian’s MITCHELL COOK, who clocked

1:58.15 to also beat the old record (1:58.31) established by Falkville’s

SHANE EDGE in 2007. DIXON also won the 1,600 on Friday.

110-METER HURDLES: Reeltown junior ERIC SHAW won both the 110 and 300

hurdles finals with solid times of 15.68 and 40.70, respectively.

 

CLASS 1A BOYS

100-METER DASH: Senior PARKER DRIGGERS of Brantley won the 100-meter dash

Saturday with a winning time of 11.06 seconds. He also finished second in

the 200-meter dash finals clocking 23.30. Winner TYRELL PIERCE of

Loachapoka won with a 23.08 time.

800-METER RUN: St. Bernard junior CALEB GUTHERY won the 800 and 3,200

Races Saturday with times of 2:02.78 and 10:44.58, respectively.

 

110-METER HURDLES: Junior JOEL PHILLIPS of Red Level won the final

Saturday

with a 15.07 time, improving almost a full second over his prelim

qualifying time.

 

CLASS 3A GIRLS

3,200-METER RUN: Saint James sophomore running sensation PRESLEY MILES

accounted for 40 her team’s 151.50 points by closing out the competition

by winning the 3,200-meter race in 11:07.85 seconds. She also won the 800

Saturday in 2:18.75 and captured the 1,600 and 400-meter races Friday to

score the most points of any participant at Cullman.

100-METER DASH: Greene County sophomore JOURNEE COLEMAN won the 100 and

200 sprints Saturday clocking 25.97 seconds in the 200 and 12.76 seconds in

The 100.

 

CLASS 2A GIRLS

100-METER HURDLES: Cleveland senior TARA RANDOLPH, who was named the

Bryant-Jordan Ken and Betty Joy Blankenship Achievement Award state

co-recipient in April, broke her own Class 2A state record with a 15.23

time in the finals. BRYNN HOLBROOK of Whitesburg Christian clocked 15.38

and surpassed the old mark (15:63) set by RANDOLPH in 2018.

100-METER DASH: Senior RAYNE DUHART-ABRAMS of Luverne won the 100-meter

dash with a time of 12.29 over runner-up JAIDA HATCH, a senior from Fyffe.

HATCH returned the favor in the 200-meter dash with winning time of 25.61

as DUHART-ABRAMS finished second.

3,200-METER RUN: Sophomore HALLIE PORTERFIELD captured the 3,200 with a

winning time of 2:26.34 to help Westminster of Oak Mountain win the 2A

state crown.

 

CLASS 1A GIRLS

800-METER RUN: Falkville senior KARI WATTS was a big reason the Lady Blue

Devils won the 1A title. She won the 800 Saturday with a 2:25.58 time and

won the 400-meter dash on Friday.

3,200-METER RUN: Holy Spirit Catholic’s ANAELYSE PEREZ-RUIZ won with a

time of 12:26.81 to become a double winner. She captured the 1,600 Friday.

100-METER HURDLES: Ellwood Christian freshman RASHNI WALKER won both the

100 and 300-meter hurdles Saturday with times of 15.05 and 44.86 seconds.