Local track and field teams compete at Hump Day Octameet

Published 10:28 am Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

BIRMINGHAM – It was a special day at the Hump Day Octameet on Wednesday, Jan. 12, as four local track and field teams combined to total 24 podium finishes and eight wins at the Birmingham Crossplex.

It was a big day for the Thompson Warriors, who had four wins between the boys and girls as well as seven total podium finishes.

Eli Sutton and the 4X200-meter relay team each finished each picked up wins for the boys.

Sutton won the triple jump behind a distance of 43 feet, 4 inches, while the relay team put together a speedy time of 1:34.17.

Gavin Horton added a finish of second in the pole vault after clearing 13 feet, 9 inches, while Bradley Franklin took third in the 60-meter hurdles thanks to a time of 8.99 seconds.

The boys also got top-five finishes from A’Mon Lane in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.21 seconds and the 4X400-meter relay team with a time of 3:41.53.

For the girls, it was Serenity Thomas and Akasha Dudley who put together wins.

Thomas won the triple jump with a distance of 31 feet, 3.5 inches, while Dudley won the shot put behind a distance of 36 feet, 0.5 inches.

The 4X200-meter relay team also had a good day for the girls, finishing second with a time of 1:49.80.

The Oak Mountain Eagles were the other Class 7A team in attendance, totaling six podium finishes and two wins.

The 400-meter dash was a big highlight for the Eagles, as Cade George won the event and teammate Quest Agee finished second with times of 50.35 seconds and 50.79 seconds, respectively

Mitch Allen also had a big day for the Eagles, winning the long jump after reaching 21 feet, 3 inches. In addition to that, he finished second in the triple jump with a total distance of 42 feet, 4.5 inches and third in the high jump after clearing a height of 5 feet, 11 inches.

Sara Cothran finished fourth in the 60-meter dash for the girls thanks to a time of 8.35 seconds. She also finished sixth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.50.

Two relay teams also had strong showing with the girls 4X200-meter relay team finishing third behind a time of 1:50.90 and the boys 4X200-meter relay team finishing fourth with a time of 1:34.43.

The Pelham Panthers had a big day at the event with 10 athletes finishing on the podium.

Six of those podium finishers came from the boys, including a win from William McGough in the 60-meter dash. He finished the event with a time of 7.10 seconds to claim the top spot as the Panthers’ only winner of the day.

Behind that, the 4X200-meter relay team took home second at the event with a time of 1:34.25.

Caleb Newell also claimed second in the shot put after a distance of 48 feet, 4.75 inches.

Pelham also had finishes of third from Jackson Davenport, Devon Adams and Gabe Gamble.

Davenport finished one spot behind Newell in the shot put thanks to a distance of 44 feet, 4 inches, while Adams and Gamble claimed third in the 400-meter dash and triple jump, respectively.

Adams finished his race with a time of 51.68 seconds, while Gamble totaled 39 feet, 5.5 inches in the triple jump.

The girls also had four finish on the podium, led by Kennedy Lyles in the long jump. She finished with a distance of 15 feet, 6 inches.

Jordan Williams also had a big day with a pair of third-place finishes. She took the final podium spot in both the 60-meter dash and 400-meter dash behind times of 8.32 seconds and 1:02.16, respectively.

Elizabeth Hayhurst also grabbed a podium finish of third in the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 9 inches.

Brooklyn Kirksey had a big day for the Helena girls, winning the long jump with a distance of 15 feet, 10.24 inches and also claiming fourth in the 60-meter hurdles thanks to finishing the race in 10.12 seconds.

Sydney Risch and Lamaria Bennett finished in the top five of their respective events as well. Risch finished fourth in the pole vault after clearing a height of 8 feet, 3 inches, while Bennett finished fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.38 seconds.

For the boys, three athletes finished in the top five.

Kenney Spears was the highest of the three, finishing fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.24 seconds.

Behind that, Derrick Wilson Jr. finished fifth in the shot put with a distance of 41 feet, 0.5 inches, while Walter Womack finished fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.23 seconds.