Local Schools Shine At State Track Meet- 11 Gold Medals Won By Local Athletes
MADISON- The trophy cases at each of the four local high schools received some additional hardware after the recent Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Track and Field State Meet with each school taking home individual gold medal first place awards while one school took home the Blue Map Trophy as Team State Champion.
Overall count for first place finishes had Bob Jones taking home five, Madison Academy three, James Clemens two and the Sparkman Senators one. Individually, Jordan Urrutia of Bob Jones, an Ole Miss signee, was the star of the event winning four gold medals taking the Class 7A 100, 200 and 400-meter races and being the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay team, which placed a gold medal winning performance in the history books. His younger sister, freshman Alivia, also turned the tables on the competition winning the 400-meter. As for a team performance, Madison Academy’s boys rallied with 24 points over the final three events to capture the Class 3A title for the second consecutive year with a final tally of 96 points edging out W.S. Neal which posted 84.
“This team did something twice that is hard to do once,” said Dante Dorsey head coach of the Madison Academy track. “With all the pressure from last year on their shoulders, they all stayed hungry and humble. They continued to work hard and trust their coaches and the process. It is an honor to be their coach and I cannot wait to see what each of these athletes goes on to do.”
The Mustangs won three state individual event titles. Reese Baker won the javelin with a new Class 3A state record of 184-08 and was second in the shot put. The Mustangs also won two relay championships with the 4×400 setting a new Class 3A mark at 3:24.67 and the 4×800 race at 8:19.66.
James Clemens took third place in Class 7A boy’s division claiming 10 medals at the State Meet held in Gulf Shores. The Jets were led by the stunning performance of the 4×800 relay team of Luke Alverson, Cole Robinson, John Luke Stovall and Dylan Dryer who broke the all-classification state record with a winning time of 7:41.07 averaging 1:56 per runner. The posted time ranks the relay team No. 3 in the nation.
For Sparkman in the 100th State Meet, the Senators were led by sophomore Charity Collier who won the state title in the shot put and was second in the discus among the Class 7A girls competition.
The final team scores from the Class 7A State Meet held in Gulf Shores were Boys- 1. Hoover 156.5, 3. James Clemens 71, 4. Bob Jones 55, 12. Sparkman 18; Girls- 1. Hoover 90.5, 7. Bob Jones 50, 10. Sparkman 27.5, 15. James Clemens 23; Class 3A State Meet held in Cullman were: Boys- 1. Madison Academy 96, 2. W.S. Neal 84.
Here are the medal winning (top three) performances:
Class 7A Boys- pole vault, 3. Austin Abney, 12, James Clemens 14-0; 1,600meter, 2. Luke Alverson, 11, James Clemens 4:12.47; 3,200meter, 2. Luke Alverson, 11, James Clemens 9:10.21; 400meter, 1. Jordan Urrutia, 12, Bob Jones 47.96, 3. Joe Quez Keith, 11, Sparkman 48.87; 4×800, 1. James Clemens (Luke Alverson, Cole Robinson, John Luke Stovall, Dylan Dryer) 7:41.07; 100meter, 1. Jordan Urrutia, 12, Bob Jones 10.62; 300meter hurdles, 3. Joe Quez Keith, 11, Sparkman 45.29; 200meter, 1. Jordan Urrutia, 12, Bob Jones 20.85; 800meter, 2. Dylan Dryer, 12, James Clemens 1:54.51; 4×400 relay, 1. Bob Jones (Zathian Webster, Elijah Wells, Caleb Johnson, Jordan Urrutia) 3:16.70.
Class 7A Girls- discus, 2. Charity Collier, 10, Sparkman 121-10; long jump, 2. Kalah Christopher, 10, Bob Jones 18-1.75; 400meter, 1. Alivia Urrutia, 9, Bob Jones 56.47; shot put, 1. Charity Collier, 10, Sparkman 40-0.50; high jump, 3. Jasmyne Rochelle, 9, Bob Jones 5-4; 100meter, 3. Zaria Parker, 11, James Clemens 11.94; 300meter hurdles, 2. Jolissa Coe, 12, Bob Jones 45.29, 3. Kalah Christopher, 10, Bob Jones 45.32; 200meter, 1. Zaria Parker, 11, James Clemens 24.20; 4×400 relay, 3. Bob Jones (Alaya Obianozie, Alivia Urrutia, Jolissa Coe, Molly Halter) 3:58.29.
Class 3A Boys- 800meter, 2. Jackson Reese, 12, Madison Academy 2:00.29, 3. Jr. Howard, 11, Madison Academy 2:01.12; javelin, 1. Reese Baker, 12, Madison Academy 184-08; shot put, 2. Reese Baker, 12, Madison Academy 47-05.50; 4×100 relay, 3. Madison Academy 43.31; 4×400 relay, 1. Madison Academy (Selano Thomas, Joshua Williams, John Randell, Howard, Jackson Reese) 3:24.67; 4×800 relay, 1.Madison Academy (Sam Hall, Caleb Williams, John Randel Howard, Jackson Reese) 8:19.66.
