By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

BIRMINGHAM – It was an eventful day for several teams and standout athletes from Shelby County as they competed in the 2019 edition of the Martin Luther King Indoor Track Classic held at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Monday, Jan. 21, but for Oak Mountain’s Trey Allen, it was a little more special than the rest.

Allen, who had just set the high jump state record a couple weeks ago with a height of 6 feet 11 inches, came back to break his own record by clearing 7 feet during the MLK event.

During his record-breaking performance of 6 feet 11 inches, Allen attempted to clear 7 feet, but was unable to. This time around, that wasn’t the case, as his athleticism was put on display.

With the national record being 7 feet 5.3 inches according to the AHSAA, it’s no small feat for Allen, who continues to show he is one of the best in the country in the event.

Allen was one of several Oak Mountain athletes to find success at the event, as the Eagles put together a strong performance.

Junior Aaron Brooks was able to take ninth place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.08 seconds in a tight race. Brooks also picked up a second ninth-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.53 seconds, which was less than two seconds off the winning time.

In the girls events, Nicole Payne continued proving she is one of the fastest athletes in the state by finishing second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.70 seconds, which was .14 seconds off of the winning time.

As a team, the girls 4X200meter relay team was able to take home sixth with a time of 1:46.14 to close out a strong day of competition for Oak Mountain.

It was also a strong day for another 7A team, as the Thompson Warriors were able to put together some impressive showings as well.

In the boys 800-meter run, junior Jace Jones flashed his speed and stamina by pulling off a tight win. He finished the event in 1:58.69, which edged out Central-Phenix City’s Quandaveus Gilliam by just more than a second.

In the 60-meter hurdles, Cameron Childs also flashed some speed and was able to finish eighth with a time of 9.20 seconds, which was a second off the winning time.

The boys 4X200-meter relay team claimed a top-five finish taking home fifth with a time of 1:33.44, while the 4X400-meter team did slightly better earning a third-place podium finish in the 4X400-meter relay.

Sophomore Jared Hurst picked up a fifth-place finish in the boys high jump finals clearing 6 feet 2 inches.

The Warriors also got two strong finishes in the boys pole vault finals thanks to Blake Ellis and Dominique Hall. Both athletes posted a height of 13 feet 6 inches to tie for second in the event.

In the shot put, Steve Villegas added another podium finish by taking home second with a distance of 52 feet 1 inch.

Moving over to the girls events, Zakira Hollifield was able to finish 10th in the 60-meter dash thanks to a time of 7.89 seconds, which was less than half a second off the winning pace.

In the 60-meter hurdles, the Warriors saw similar success thanks to Briana Rapley. Rapley finished sixth in the event with a time of 9.45 seconds.

In the 4X800-meter relay, Thompson’s girls were able to finish eighth with a time of 11:11.42.

Niya Oden gave the Warriors their last podium finish of the event with a third-place finish in the triple jump thanks to a distance of 35 feet 10.25 inches.

Moving to the 6A ranks, Helena also had some impressive showings with five different athletes picking up top 10 finishes.

Brady Barton was able to grab a podium finish in the 1,600-meter run thanks to finishing third with a time of 4:33.87.

Jonah Hyde, however, ended up with Helena’s highest finish in the event thanks to a second-place finish in the high jump. He finished behind Allen’s record-setting performance, but posted a height of 6 feet 6 inches himself, making him a favorite in Class 6A moving forward.

Just a few spots behind that was TJ Funches, who finished in a tie for seventh with a distance of 6 feet.

Allison Tanner was one of two strong performances from the Helena girls thanks to finishing in fourth in the high jump. She posted a height of 5 feet 4 inches.

Kirsen Gardner closed out the strong day for the Huskies by taking seventh in the shot put finals. A contender for another state championship, she posted a distance of 33 feet 8 inches.

Nia Maye was the closest to a top-10 finish for the Calera Eagles thanks to her finish of 11th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.75 seconds.

In Class 5A, Briarwood’s Cady McPhail, an eighth grader, was able to bring home the county’s highest finish in the 1,600-meter run thanks to finishing fourth with a time of 5:26.07.

The final local athlete to finish inside the top 10 was another eighth grader as Westminster at Oak Mountain’s Hannah Adams finished sixth in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:11.72.