GULF SHORES, ALABAMA , May 4—Records are made to be broken—and so are some streaks.

In the midst of 14 state meet records being broken, Hoover’s girls proved why they are the dominant team in Alabama, getting double victories from freshman Brittley Humphrey in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles as well as wins in several other events to win the 6A girls’ title for the second straight year.

Humphrey won the 100H in 14.60 seconds, and the 300H in 44.19 as the Buccaneers defeated Mountain Brook, 120 to 96.50, with Mobile’s McGill-Toolen Catholic, led by distance ace Carmen Carlos, third with 59.50 points. Rounding out the top five were Auburn (50) and Pelham (43.50).

Carlos won three events, setting records in two of them. She set records in the 1,600-meter run, running a state-meet record (and US#4) 4:48.23, as well as the 3,200 (10:32.02). She also won the 800 in 2:12.18.

Carlos’ teammate, Margaret Ollinger, set a new 6A state record in the pole vault, clearing 11-9 to eclipse the old record of 11-7 ¼ set by Auburn’s Maryashton Nall in 2009.

While Carlos was breaking records in distance events, Hoover’s Marlon Humphrey—Brittley’s big brother—was breaking records over the hurdles. After winning Friday’s 6A boys’ 400-meter race in 47.91, the junior set records in the 110-meter high hurdles, running a 13.53 prelim and a 13.86 final (into a -3.4 mps headwind, the likes of which slowed nearly all of Saturday’s affected sprints and hurdles) and then following it up later with a record 36.33 in the 300 hurdles. The “records” are for state-meet only; Humphrey has run 13.38 and 35.60 for these events earlier in the season, both national leaders.

Humphrey’s teammates were not as fortunate, as they saw their four-year domination in the 6A boys’ division come to an end at the hands of Auburn, led by TCU-bound Cameron Luper. Luper won the 200 (21.81) and the long jump (24-3 ¾), and the Tigers got firsts in the javelin, triple jump, and the 4x100 meter relay to defeat the Bucs 126 to 89.50. Rounding out the top five were Mountain Brook (72), Vestavia Hills (65) and Huntsville (44).

Auburn coach Danny Norton said that team balance was the secret to the win.

“We were able to get a lot of points in different events,” he said.

Once again, St. Paul’s girls proved to be the queens of 5A as they racked up eight first-place finishes—three by Anna Braswell—en route to a 151-77 thrashing of Scottsboro. Homewood was third with 68 points, and Central-Tuscaloosa and Birmingham’s John Carroll Catholic rounded out the top five with 51 and 49 points, respectively.

Braswell won the 800 (2:23.19), the 1,600 (5:19.01) and the 3,200 (12:00.64). Teammate Shelly Spires won the 400 (57.88) and the high jump (5-2), and added a third-place finish in the long jump (18-1/2) along with a leg on the victorious 4x400 meter relay team. Nanette Weitzman won the discus—an event she dominated all season—with a throw of 117-2.

In addition, St. Paul’s Chanel Krause set a record for all classifications in the pole vault when she cleared 12-8 ¼, and just barely missed clearing 13-1 ¼--which would have ranked her sixth in the nation.

“I was planning for it (the all classifications record) all along,” she said. “Today, the wind made the poles too small. I was hoping to clear 13-1, because I’ve been planning on it since I was a freshman. We scrambled to get every point, and I’m glad that the team could pull through.”

“Our girls had an excellent performance on Friday,” said St. Paul’s head coach Jim Tate. “I figured if we had 150 points, we would have had a heck of a meet. “I don’t think we had a major disappointment, and the girls scored better than I thought.”

Tuscaloosa ’s Paul W. Bryant certainly wasn’t disappointed—the Stampede won its first ever state championship in track and field, coming out on top in a very competitive 5A boys’ field. Bryant scored 57.33 points, just ahead of Fort Payne (52), Homewood (44.33), Scottsboro (43), and Muscle Shoals (38).

While Paul W. Bryant got firsts in only two events—the 4x400-meter relay (3:26.09) and from Ryan Richardson in the 300-meter hurdles (40.26), the Stampede had more than enough seconds, thirds, and fourths to push them towards first place.

Mobile’s UMS-Wright proved that even when you are a small private school, you can make a lot of noise in the world of high school track and field.

For the fifth straight year, the Bulldogs won the 4A boys and girls titles. The boys had only one first place finish—the 4x800 meter relay—but they had enough seconds, thirds, fourths, and fifths to withstand a threat from Oneonta, which had three first-place finishes from Alex Gilliland.

Gilliland won the 800 in 1:57.52; and broke meet records in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs, running 4:20.44 and 9:49.91 respectively. In addition, he also ran a leg on the winning 4x400 meter relay team, which ran 3:29.17.

Despite all of that, UMS-Wright prevailed, winning 102-90. Alabama Christian was third with 56 points, while St. Clair County and Childersburg rounded out the top five with 54 and 44 points respectively.

“It was quite a battle today,” said UMS-Wright coach Pat Galle. “We had only one first place, but we fought for every point we could get.

UMS-Wright’s girls didn’t have to worry about a close meet—senior Kathryn Lazarchick saw to that.

Lazarchick, as with Carlos and Braswell, also won the 800, 1,600, and 3,200. She set a new record in the 1,600 (5:11.75) and also won the 800 (2:18.80) and 3,200 (11:34.27). Individually, UMS-Wright also got first places from Rose Brutkiewicz in the pole vault (10-3), as well as a meet-record performance in the 4x800-meter relay (10:04.40) as the Bulldogs defeated Beauregard 144.50 to 98.

Beauregard got first places from Kylee Carter in the high jump (5-6) and javelin (113-6).

Rounding out the top five were Lincoln—which got three wins from Shelbi White, who started the meet with a record-setting 56.55 in the 4A girls’ 400, and then followed it up with victories in the 100 (13.09 into a -6.0w) and 200 (25.48); Wilson (56) and Brewbaker Tech (52.50). 

Individually, Pelham’s Caitland Smith showed why she would be a force to be reckoned with in the 6A sprint world. After winning the 400 in 55.97, Smith came back the next day and won the 100 (12.35, -4.4w) as well as the 200 (25.49m, -2.4w).

One of the biggest surprises of the meet came in the 6A boys’ 100—an event that Luper was favored to win. It was not to be however, as McGill-Toolen Catholic’s Tony Bridges overcame a leg injury in the 200-meter prelims and stunned the rest of the field, winning in 11.10—not bad considering that he was running into 4.8 wind.

“My coach (Drew Bentley) asked me about it (the injury) at the hotel (the night before the race),” said Bridges. “He asked me if I was able to run. Today, I ran for about 15 minutes and stretched. After we ran the 4x100, I felt great.”

The most exciting race of the day came in the 6A boys’ 800 meters, an event which had the two best two-lappers in the state—Tuscaloosa County’s Donnie Lee, Jr. and Mountain Brook’s Peyton Ballard.

True to form, and to prediction, the two battled it out for 600 meters. But with less than 200 meters to go, another runner—Fairhope’s Thomas Grace—came out of nowhere to make it a three-man race. Grace made a surge around the curve and led coming into the homestretch, but both Lee and Ballard stepped it up a notch and passed Grace in the final few steps of the race.

Lee won in 1:55.14, Ballard ran 1:55.80, and Grace finished third in 1:56.02.

“I’ve always prided myself on starting from the back,” said Grace. “With 300 meters to go, I made a move. I knew they were going to catch me, but I was going to give it all I could.”

The battle between Lee and Ballard could very well continue. Both signed with Southeastern Conference schools—Lee with Florida, Ballard with Alabama.

“I had flashbacks of Bryan Propst (former Hoover runner),” said Lee. “It was an exciting finish.”

“This rivalry has been going on (between us) for years,” Ballard added. “It’s a friendly rivalry, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Other performers of note were as follows:

• Guntersville’s Raven Stewart, who set two records—one in the 100-meter hurdle prelims (14.40) and in the triple jump (39-1 ¾). In addition, she also won the long jump (18-4 ½) and the 300-meter hurdles (47.25).
• Spain Park ’s Simone Charley, who won the 6A girls’ long jump on Friday (18-9 ½), and then came back on Saturday to destroy the triple jump meet record of 40-3 ¼ she set two years ago, jumping 42-3 ½ (+1.1w).  The mark is the second best in the country this year.
• Hartselle’s Quanesha Burks won three events in 5A girls’ competition—the 100 (12.74), long jump (19-2) and triple jump (39-10). She also finished third in the 200 (25.69).
• Huntsville ’s Grant Hill won the 6A boys shot and discus with tosses of 54-3 ½ and 176-1 respectively.
• John Carroll Catholic’s Griffin Lee won the 5A boys 1,600 and 3,200 with times of 4:24.27 and 9:52.54, and was third in the 800 (2:01.27).
• Vestavia Hills’ Mac Mccoy won the 6A boys 1,600 and 3,200 in 4:15.98 and 9:20.45 respectively.