Pelham, Helena perform well at state, Chelsea and Calera have highlights
Published 1:41 pm Sunday, February 3, 2019
By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor
BIRMINGHAM – The Class 6A AHSAA Indoor State Track and Field Championships held between Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 at the Birmingham CrossPlex featured some of the best teams from across the state, but that didn’t stop the Pelham Panthers and Helena Huskies having unbelievable showings.
The Panthers saw their boys and girls both finish inside the top four of the overall team standings, with the girls finishing second and the boys fourth, while the Huskies ended up with two top six finishes thanks to the girls taking fourth and the boys sixth.
Pelham’s run to two top four finishes was thanks in large part to several impressive individual performances, as the Panthers didn’t just have several athletes finish inside the top 10, but also pick up podium finishes.
Starting with the girls, Katie Strozier, Alex Wilkins, Erin Long, Sarah Guthrie, Adia Hasty, the 4X800-meter relay team, the 4X400-meter relay team and the 4X200-meter relay team all finished at least inside the top 10 with several podium finishes and state champions.
Strozier didn’t just finish inside the top 10, she brought home two state championships thanks to winning both the 1,600-meter race and 800-meter race. In addition to those two, she finished fourth in the 400-meter dash.
Wilkins was right on her heels in two of those events, picking up a second-place finish in the 1,600-meter run and a third-place finish in the 800-meter race. Wilkins also finished fifth in the triple jump.
Long competed in four different events and took home finishes of fifth in the high jump, fourth in the long jump, fourth in the triple jump and sixth in the 60-meter hurdles.
Guthrie competed in three of those events and was able to take home second in the long jump, while finishing sixth in pole vault and seventh in the high jump.
Hasty’s finish of eighth in the shot put finals was the last top-10 finish individually for Pelham’s girls. The 4X800-meter relay team won the state championship, while the 4X400-meter team finished second and the 4X200-meter team finished fifth.
For the boys, TJ Gennari, Adam Keller, Dorian Tolbert, the 4X800-meter relay team, the 4X400-meter relay team and the 4X200-meter relay team all had impressive showings.
While finishing 11th in the 800-meter race, Keller was able to claim second in the 3,200-meter run and fourth in the 1,600-meter run for a strong meet. Gennari was able to pick up a finish of seventh in the 800-meter race to narrowly beat out his teammate.
Tolbert also added a top-10 finish by taking home 10th in the shot put finals.
With so many good distance runners, the 4X800-meter relay team and 4X400-meter relay teams were able to both finish on the podium taking home second and third, respectively. The 4X200-meter team also finished in the top 10 with an eighth-place finish.
Helena also had several impressive individual performances leading to the strong team finishes.
For the boys, Jonah Hyde, TJ Funches, Jake Knight, Brady Barton, Christian Hill and the 4X800-meter relay team all had strong showings.
Hyde became the boys’ only state champion by winning the high jump, while Funches finished just behind in third. The win made Hyde a two-time state champion, while he also finished ninth in the long jump. Funches also had another top-10 finish by taking home ninth in the triple jump.
Barton, being one of the best distance runners in the county, was able to pick up finishes of fourth in the 3,200-meter run and seventh in the 1,600-meter run.
Knight and Hill also had top 10 finishes with Knight finishing eighth in the pole vault finals and Hill finishing fifth in the 60-meter hurdles thanks to a time of 9.30 seconds. The 4X800-meter relay team took home ninth out of 14 teams.
In the girls’ events, Allison Tanner, Brooklynn Kirksey and Kirsen Gardner all posted impressive results.
Tanner competed in three different jumping events and picked up a state championship in one. In the high jump finals, she was able to post a height of 5 feet 6 inches to take home the state championship as a junior. She also fifth in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump.
Kirksey added two finishes inside the top six taking home fourth in the 60-meter dash and sixth in the 400-meter dash. Gardner, who has won the shot put state championship in the past, was able to pick up a podium finish in the event taking home third with a distance of 35 feet 5.75 inches.
Calera and Chelsea also competed in the event with the Eagles finishing 15th in the girls standings and 15th in the boys standings, while Chelsea’s girls finished 17th in the girls standings.
Calera’s Jacobi Gaines finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles, while the Eagles’ 4X200-meter relay team finished fifth to highlight the boys.
The girls got a seventh-place finish from Nia Maye in the 60-meter dash and a fifth-place finish from her in the 400-meter dash. Syncere Henderson also had a top-10 finish by taking home seventh in the 60 meter hurdles. The girls’ 4X400-meter relay team finished sixth.
Chelsea’s biggest highlight came in the 3,200-meter race as Teanna Cason was able to finish on the podium thanks to a third-place finish with a time of 12:10.60.
Photos available at Shelbycountyphotos.com.