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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

With spots in the state championship on the line, the Briarwood Christian Lions, Calera Eagles, Helena Huskies and Pelham Panthers stepped up and delivered at the sectional championships from April 26-27.

Calera, Helena and Pelham competed in the Class 6A, Section 3 championship at Northridge High School while Briarwood was in the Class 6A, Section 2 championship at Hewitt-Trussville High School.

The top five individual athletes in each event and the top three relay teams earned automatic qualifiers to the state championship in Gulf Shores. In addition, wild card spots at state were given to the top four athletes from outside the top five at all four sectionals combined.

Pelham’s Tyler Mason broke his own school record in the boys shot put with a throw of 54-06.00. Bishop Rellah will join him at the state championship after he earned a wild card in sixth place with a personal record of 44-07.00.

Mason also won the boys discus championship with a throw that went 157-08.

Pelham’s William McGough took the win in the boys 100-meter dash with a time of 11.15 seconds.

Calera’s Jordon Bray won the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 57.49, a season record for the Alabama signee.

Jaden King of Calera finished in second in the boys 200-meter dash with a time of 22.15 seconds. Pelham’s McGough also qualified with a fifth-place time of 22.57 seconds.

King also earned second place in the boys 400-meter dash with a time of 48.69 seconds.

Helena’s Aspen Warren finished in second place in the boys 1600-meter run with a time of 4:33.36.

Warren also came in third place in the boys 800-meter run with his time of 2:00.81. Calera’s Elijah McKoy earned a wild card with his seventh-place time of 2:03.27.

Helena’s Brooklyn Kelley won the girls shot put with a mark of 37-07.00, which was a new season record.

Tyler Tucker of Pelham took the boys javelin crown with a personal record of 152-08.

Pelham’s Emma Grace Howard qualified for state in four different individual events.

She finished second in the girls high jump with a personal record mark of 5-02.00, third in the girls 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.82 seconds, fourth in the girls long jump with a personal record of 16-10.50 and fifth in the girls triple jump with another personal record of 34-10.00.

Pelham’s girls 4×800-meter relay team came in second place with a time of 10:44.97.

Helena’s Abigail Parsons came in third in the girls pole vault with a mark of 9-06.00.

Michael Sestili made it two Huskies vaulters headed to state as he took third in the boys pole vault with a mark of 13-06.00, a personal record.

Pelham will have a pair of runners advancing to state in the girls 800-meter run as Janelle Ramos and Emily Wester earned personal records at sectionals. Ramos came in third with a time of 2:28.50 and Wester finished fifth with a time of 2:29.28.

Helena’s boys 4×800-meter relay team finished third with a time of 8:39.64.

Claire Schultz of Helena advanced to state in the girls javelin with a mark of 101-08.

Pelham’s Jocelyn Elliott came in fifth in the girls high jump with a personal record of 4-10.00.

Wester secured fifth for the Panthers in the girls 1600-meter run as she ran a 5:35.62. Ramos secured a wild card in the event with a sixth-place time of 5:44.89.

Pelham’s Anthony Sanders came in fifth in the boys 110-meter hurdles finals with a time of 15.83 seconds.

Other wild cards in the Northridge sectional included Pelham’s boys 4×800-meter relay team which came in fourth with a time of 8:39.98 and the Panthers’ Claire Robinson who qualified for the girls javelin with a personal-record throw of 97-03 in seventh place.

In addition, Briarwood competed in the Hewitt Sectional from April 26-27 at Hewitt-Trussville High School in the Lions’ quest for a spot at state.

Brooks Travis won the boys javelin throw with a personal-record mark of 143-11. Max Luster and Radford Andrews both set personal records as well as they qualified for state with Luster earning third place with a mark of 138-06 and Andrews taking fifth with a mark of 130-06.

Bela Doss won the girls 1600-meter run with a time of 5:16.62, just 0.05 seconds ahead of her teammate Mary Grace Parker in second place with a time of 5:16.67. Allie Hale earned a wild card in sixth place with a time of 5:36.57.

Bela Doss finished second in the girls 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.63. In addition, Lena Anne Parker secured a wild card with her sixth-place time of 2:30.13.

Mary Grace Parker won the girls 3200-meter run with a time of 11:25.38. Hale finished in fifth with a time of 12:05.71. Also, Luci Williams earned a wild card in seventh place with her time of 12:33.39.

Livi Reebals walked away with the girls 100-meter hurdles title with a season-best time of 15.71 seconds.

Emma Kerley earned the win in the girls triple jump with a mark of 36-09.50. Ava Doss finished fifth with a personal record of 34-10.00.

Kerley rounded out the day with a tie for second in the girls high jump with a mark of 4-10.00 and a fourth-place finish in the girls 400-meter hurdles with a personal record of 49.57 seconds.

A pair of girls relay teams finished in second for the Lions as the girls 4×400-meter relay team finished in 4:13.74 and the girls 4×800-meter relay team earned a time of 10:20.58.

Charlie Thompson came in third in the boys shot put with a personal-best throw of 43-08.00.

Anna Reid Frost finished in third in the girls shot put with a mark of 34-01.00, a season record.

Ansley Murphy also took third in a field event as she earned a mark of 10-06.00. Blakely Margene finished just behind her with a mark of 9-00.00 in fourth place.

Gabe Margene took fourth in both boys hurdles events as he finished the 110-meter hurdles in 15.86 seconds and the 300-meter hurdles in 43.57 seconds.

Gavin Gurtis came in fifth in the boys 400-meter dash with a personal-record time of 50.42 seconds.

Whit Thornton earned fifth place in the boys 800-meter run behind a personal record of 2:02.24.

Kolby Day secured fifth in the boys 3200-meter run with a personal record time of his own as he ran a 10:34.20.

Bela Doss came in fifth in the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.90.

In addition to those top-five finishes, more Briarwood runners secured spots at state with wild cards.

The girls 4×100-meter relay team earned fourth with a time of 49.68 to secure a wild card, Lude Solomon earned a wild card in boys discus with his mark of 123-11 and Frost had the top time of all wild card runners in the girls 100 meters with her sixth-place time of 12.72 seconds.