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Calera's Jordon Bray won two state championships at this year's Class 6A State Track and Field Championships. (Contributed)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

GULF SHORES – With three state champions and several other top-five finishes, it was a strong week for local 6A teams at this year’s state track and field championships May 4-6 in Gulf Shores.

The Calera Eagles and Helena Huskies both finished the event with at least one state championship, while the Briarwood Lions and Pelham Panthers also had several finish inside the top five.

It was the Calera Eagles who had several highlight finishers, including impressive finishes to the season for both Jordon Bray and Braylyn Farrington.

Bray was the highlight for the Eagles, walking away with two state championships for the girls. She took home first in both the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run.

In the 400-meter, she ran a speedy time of 55.58 seconds to claim the top spot by almost three seconds, while she finished with a time of 2:11.88. She also finished fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.13 seconds.

Farrington wasn’t able to walk away with a state championship this time around, but he closed out a special career with two second-place finishes. He claimed second in both the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash.

He finished with a time of 21.83 seconds in the 200-meter dash, which was 0.26 off the win, but it was the 400-meter dash that had everyone holding their breath.

In a photo finish, Farrington finished with what was determined as a time of 49.017 seconds, which was just off Marlon Miller’s time of 49.015 seconds.

Calera’s boys added another top-five finish for the Eagles, claiming fourth in the 4X400 meter relay with a time of 3:24.74.

The Helena Huskies also walked away with a state championship at this year’s Class 6A State Meet with the 4X400 meter relay team claiming the top spot in a tight race.

The group finished the race with a time of 3:23.07, which beat out second by 0.17 seconds to claim the state championship.

The Huskies also got strong finishes individually from Brooklyn Kelley, Walter Womack and Jalon Benson

Kelley finished second in the shot put with a distance of 37 feet, 7.25 inches fo finish off a strong season, while Womack and Benson finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 200-meter dash.

Womack finished third on the podium in the event with a time of 22.03 seconds, while Benson finished 0.10 seconds behind is teammate in fourth with a time of 22.13 seconds.

The boys 4X100 meter relay team finished seventh and the 4X800 meter team finished sixth to cap off a strong showing for the Huskies.

The Pelham Panthers were highlighted by three individuals at this year’s event with William McGough, Tyler Mason and Corey Perkins all performing well.

It was McGough and Mason who walked away with podium finishes as part of their strong performances.

McGough put together a strong showing in the 100-meter dash, finishing third with a time of 10.83 seconds, while Mason finished third in the shot put with a distance of 48 feet, 8.5 inches.

Mason also added a finish of fifth in the discus throw thanks to a total distance of 139 feet, 1 inch to claim two top-five finishes for the Panthers.

Perkins was close to doing the same, finishing fourth in the long jump with a distance of 22 feet, 5.5 inches, while he also finished sixth in the high jump after clearing 6 feet, 4 inches.

Livi Reebals, Emma Kerley and Bela Doss were all highlights for the Briarwood girls team with each picking up top-five finishes.

Reebals and Kerley were the two highest finishers for the Lions, as each took home a finish of fourth.

Reebals did so in the 100-meter hurdles thanks to a speedy time of 15.86 seconds, while Kerley did so in the triple jump. She totaled 36 feet, 10.5 inches to finished just outside of a podium finish.

As for Doss, she claimed two finishes of fifth at this year’s state meet. She did so in both the 800-meter run and 1,600-meter run, finishing with a time of 2:16.04 in the 800 meter and a time of 5:03.36 in the 1,600 meter.

The girls also had a strong showing from the 4X800 meter relay team, which finished fifth at this year’s event with a time of 10:05.10.

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