By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Reporter

BIRMINGHAM- On Jan. 29, Thompson, Berry, Oak Mountain and Riverchase middle schools competed in the Middle School Gold Standard Meet in Birmingham. Both boys and girls teams had strong showings from their top athletes.

On the girls’ side of competition, the day was highlighted by Nicole Payne who placed first overall in the 400-meter dash with a blistering time of 57.27 seconds. Payne was the only point-scorer for Oak Mountain on the day.

Katie Strozier of Riverchase placed sixth in the 400-meter and third in the 800-meter race to give her nine total points on the day. Kaylan Buye of Berry placed eight in the 60-meter sprint, and Berry placed fourth in the 200-meter relay. Angel Brown of Thompson placed eighth in the long jump and Thomspon placed seventh overall in the 200-meter relay as well.

For the boys, Dorian Austin and Dorian Tolbert, both of Riverchase Middle, placed first overall in their respective events. Austin placed first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.17 seconds, a Birmingham Crossplex record. Tolbert won the shot put for Riverchase as well. Gregory Blue placed sixth in the 400-meter dash for Riverchase and Zach Cherry placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles. Riverchase also placed sixth in the 4×200 relay, and finished in fourth overall on the day.

Shadrick Byrd of Thompson placed fourth in the 400-meter dash, and Brandon Lee placed fourth in the 800-meter race for Thompson as well.

Ja Mykel Hatcher of Berry placed sixth in the 60-meter dash, LJ Hil placed fifth in the 60-meter hurdles and Will McCrite placed sixth in the long jump for Berry as well. Berry was also third overall in the 4×200 relay.