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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor 

ALABASTER – In one of their final tune-ups before the postseason, local track and teams traveled to Thompson High School on Wednesday, April 14 to compete in the Shelby County Championship.

In the overall team standings, the Thompson Warriors took home the boys’ title with a score of 163, just ahead of Oak Mountain with a score of 159, while Westminster at Oak Mountain took home the girls’ title with a score of 115, finishing just ahead of Briarwood and Pelham.

Thompson’s boys had 17 podium finishers to lead the event with Jackson Hamlin, Bradley Franklin, the boys 4X100-meter relay team, Nick Blackmon, Blake Ellis and Parker Mitchell all picking up wins in their respective competition.

The Westminster at Oak Mountain girls had eight podium finishers with Hallie Porterfield and Emily White picking up wins to lead the way for the Knights.

In the boys’ events, starting with the 100-meter dash, Chelsea’s Matt Gray led the way with a time of 11.18 seconds. He was followed by Thompson freshman A’mon Lane with a time of 11.48 seconds, while Briarwood’s Andrew Hill was just behind in third.

Gray also took home first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.72 seconds, while Calera’s Braylyn Farrington finished second with a time of 22.84 seconds just ahead of Thompson’s Omari Thomas in third with a tie of 23.06 seconds.

Farrington went on to claim first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.25 seconds, while teammate Christopher Thomas finished third with a time of 51.84 seconds. Pelham’s Devon Adams claimed second with a time of 51.16 seconds.

Oak Mountain struck in the 800-meter run with the top two finishers. Michael Marvin finished first with a time of 1:58.46, while Josh Stidfole took second with a time of 2:02.45. Briarwood’s Luke Baldwin finished third with a time of 2:09.13.

The Eagles did the same thing in the 1,600-meter run with Walker Cole and Hunter Wright taking the top two spots with times of 4:28.41 and 4:29.30, respectively.

Thompson’s Jacob Cofield finished just behind in third with a time of 4:36.58.

The Warriors had the top two finishers in the 3,200-meter run, while Oak Mountain finished third. Jackson and Matthew Hamlin finished in the top two spots with times of 10:08.31 and 10:15.55, respectively. Noah Arrington finished third with a time of 10:21.17.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Calera’s Brayden Harden, Pelham’s Brayden Marlow and Thompson’s Bradley Franklin finished in the top three spots. Harden finished with a time of 15.79 seconds, Marlowe with a time of 16.47 seconds and Franklin with a time of 16.56 seconds.

Franklin came back to win the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.98 seconds, while Harden finished second and Marlowe third.

In the boys’ relay races, Thompson won the 4X100-meter race with Briarwood and Oak Mountain finishing second and third, Oak Mountain won the 4X400-meter race with Calera and Pelham finishing second and third, and Oak Mountain won the 4X800-meter race ahead of Thompson and Westminster.

Oak Mountain’s Ethan Hammett and Briarwood’s Tyler Smith and Charlie Thompson all cleared 5 feet, 10 inches in the high jump, while Hammett won the long jump with a distance of 22 feet, 5 inches.

Pelham’s Cameron Perkins and Helena’s Damian Hines finished second and third, respectively, in the long jump.

In the triple jump, Thompson took the top two spots with Blackmon and Eli Sutton taking first and second, respectively. Blackmon finished with a distance of 45 feet, 8 inches, while Sutton finished with a distance of 45 feet, 1 inch.

Oak Mountain’s Mitch Allen finished in third with a distance of 41 feet, 7 inches.

In the pole vault event, Ellis continued an impressive senior season with a win after clearing 14 feet. Briarwood’s Riley Margene finished second, while Thompson’s Gavin Horton finished third.

Thompson also picked up another first place finish in the discus throw thanks to Mitchell totaling 136 feet, 8 inches. Hines finished second for Helena, while Devin McNeill finished third for the Warriors.

Ellis grabbed his second first-place finish in the javelin throw with a distance of 147 feet, 5.5 inches, while Oak Mountain’s Walker Hughes and Ellis’ teammate Dallas Takemori finished second and third.

Alex Mathis picked up another top finish for Oak Mountain in the shot put when Alex Mathis totaled 45 feet, 4 inches, while Pelham’s Caleb Newell and Chelsea’s Emmanuel Waller finished second and third, respectively.

In the girls’ events starting with the 100-meter dash, Pelham’s Jordan Williams took home first with a time of 12.98 seconds, while Calera’s Jordon Bray finished second with a time of 13.14 seconds and Thompson’s Alayah King finished third with a time of 13.25 seconds.

Bray went on to win the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.18 seconds, while Williams finished third with a time of 27.25 seconds. Helena’s Brooklynn Kirksey claimed second with a time of 26.24 seconds.

Bray continued an impressive day with a win in the 400-meter dash and a second-place finish in the 800-meter run. In the 400-meter race, she finished with a time of 58.83 seconds, which beat out Chelsea’s Lexi Redd in second with a time of 1:02.24 and Thompson’s Skye Smith with a time of 1:02.97.

Chelsea’s Cady McPhail picked up the first of her two wins on the day in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.36. Oak Mountain’s Lauren Cole finished third behind Bray with a time of 2:28.35.

Westminster got its championship day started when Hallie Porterfield won the 1,600-meter run behind a time of 5:20.37. Chelsea’s Avery Thompson finished just behind in second with a time of 5:29.35, while Briarwood’s Bella Doss came in third thanks to a time of 5:43.06.

McPhail then won the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:53.09 seconds, while Porterfield finished second with a time of 11:07.28 to beat out teammate Hannah Adams in third.

In the 100-meter hurdles, Briarwood’s Reese Rasmussen took the top spot with a time of 17.31 seconds, while Westminster’s Lillian Reynolds and Oak Mountain’s Mary Spina finished second and third.

Thompson’s Skye Smith won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 49.74 seconds, while Rasmussen finished a second behind and Chelsea’s Lily Rigor two seconds behind.

In the girls’ relay races, Pelham won the 4X100-meter race with Thompson and Briarwood finishing second and third, Pelham won the 4X400-meter race with Oak Mountain and Briarwood finishing second and third, and Oak Mountain won the 4X800-meter race with Pelham and Thompson finishing second and third.

Westminster got another win in the high jump with Emily White finishing in the top spot after clearing 5 feet. Pelham’s Maggie Lowe and Thompson’s Natlie French finished just behind in second and third.

King finished first for Thompson in the triple jump with a distance of 35 feet, 3 inches, while Briarwood’s Sallie Montgomery finished second just ahead of White in third for Westminster.

Ansley Murphy claimed the top spot in the pole vault event for Briarwood after clearing a height of 10 feet, 9 inches. She finished ahead of Westminster Reave Metcalf, who cleared 10 feet, and Oak Mountain Gracie Hollington, who cleared 9 feet.

Briarwood’s Kate Saunders finished first in the discus throw with a distance of 90 feet, 8 inches, which beat out Pelham’s Adia Hasty and Helena’s Brooklyn Kelley, who totaled 78 feet and 75 feet, 8 inches, respectively.

In the javelin throw, Pelham’s Elizabeth Hayhurst finished in the top spot with a distance of 98 feet, 4 inches, while Westminster got another podium finish from Maggie MacCallum, who finished with a distance of 93 feet, 7 inches. Briarwood’s Alden Denard finished in third.

Hasty highlighted the final girls’ event, finishing first in the shot put with a distance of 33 feet, 9 inches. She finished ahead of Helena’s Sydney Mason and Kelley.