Calera’s Farrington wins state title with new record, other 6A runners perform well at state meet

Published 10:47 am Saturday, February 4, 2023

By Alec Etheredge

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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

BIRMINGHAM – For the second year in a row, Calera athlete Braylyn Farrington stood atop the podium following a state championship effort in the 400-meter dash, but this year, it had an added bonus.

Competing in the AHSAA Class 6A State Track and Field Championship at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Friday, Feb. 3, Farrington was a flash on the track en route to breaking a state record held by current NFL defensive back Marlon Humprhey.

After winning last year’s title with a time of 48.33 seconds, a personal record that held up going into Friday, Farrington reached a new milestone by not only beating that record but setting a new state record with a speedy time of 47.94 seconds to claim the title for the second year in a row.

The time beat the field by close to two seconds, while it beat Humphrey’s previous state record of 48.11 by close to 0.20 seconds.

It was part of a strong meet for Farrington, who also finished third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.97 seconds and helped lead two relay teams to state championships as well.

He was one of many local athletes to perform well at this year’s Class 6A state meet, but no team had more success than the Eagles.

In addition to Farrington’s individual success, Calera won both the 4X200-meter and 4X400-meter state championships featuring Farrington, Jaden King, Quatez Williams and Christopher Thomas.

The 4X200-meter team put together a speedy time of 1:30.02 to win by more than a second, while the 4X400-meter team finished with a time of 3:24.28.

As a team, Calera’s boys finished fifth overall in the final standings.

The Calera girls also had some success with Jordon Bray picking up a podium finish of second in the 400-meter dash thanks to a time of 58.33 seconds, while Keanna Hart finished sixth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.43.

Beyond the Eagles, Briarwood, Helena and Pelham all had their share of highlights at this year’s state meet as well.

Each team had at least one podium finisher, while Briarwood’s girls and Pelham’s boys finished eighth overall in the team standings.

Briarwood was led by Sallie Montgomery, who finished third in the triple jump thanks to a distance of 34 feet, 7.25 inches.

Beyond her, Livi Reebals finished fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 9.76 seconds, while the girls 4X800-meter relay team featuring Mary Grace Parker, Luci Williams, Lena Anne Parker and Bela Doss also finished fourth with a time of 10:04.68.

Doss also finished eighth in the 800-meter run and 1,600-meter run, while Parker added a finish of eighth in the 3,200-meter run. Ansley Murphy was the final highlight after finishing seventh in pole vaulting.

As for Pelham, the Panthers were led by two podium finishers.

Tyler Mason and Corey Perkins both finished third in their respective events.

Mason did so in the shot put with a distance of 45 feet, 4 inches, while Perkins did so in the high jump after clearing 6 feet, 2 inches. Perkins also finished eighth in the long jump with a total distance of 20 feet, 7.25 inches.

William McGough also had success, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind Farrington in the 60-meter dash to claim fourth and just miss out on a podium spot.

Kacee Owens added another highlight for the boys team after finishing fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 42 feet, 4.25 inches, while the boys 4X200-meter relay team featuring McGough, Jaydon Harrison, Julian Duff and Jayden Hayes picked up a finish of seventh.

The girls were led by the 4X400-meter relay team of Monica Pettway, Emily Le, Emily Wester and Ana Bravo with a finish of seventh, while Emma Grace Howard also finished seventh individually in the triple jump.

The Helena Huskies also had several top-10 finishers, including four different events with finishers inside the top five.

Brooklyn Kelley was the highest finisher for the Huskies after claiming second in the shot put with a distance of 35 feet, 9.5 inches.

For the boys, Walter Womack was able to claim a podium finish of third in the long jump after totaling 21 feet, 5.75 inches.

Aspen Warren also had success by finishing fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:58.45, while the boys’ 4X200-meter relay team of Womack, Jeremiah Benson, Jalon Benson and Brandon Williams also finished fifth.

The final top-10 finisher for Helena was Michael Sestili, who finished eighth in pole vaulting.

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