County counters
- Updated: May 4, 2019
Alexandria’s Johnson, Saks’ Bin-Yamin, Saks’ relay team, Weaver’s Gaines win state titles on final day of the two AHSAA Track Championships
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
GULF SHORES – Alexandria’s Kalee Johnson won the Class 5A girls discus title Saturday and this time the drama for the championship was more internal in the making.
Johnson won the event with a throw of 109-4, one of eight state champions Calhoun County produced at the state championship meets here and in Cullman over the weekend.
A year ago she won the shot put on her do-or-die final throw of the day after one of her friends in the sport passed her on the throw before.
On Saturday, this time in the discus, Johnson was driven by not winning the event at the Calhoun County meet. The pressure mounted as she scratched on her first throw and made a second attempt that wouldn’t have landed her in the final.
“I was in full panic mode, trying to get my head right and psych myself up,” Johnson said. “I tried to pull myself back into it, get that game face on and get down to business. My dad said I needed to calm down and just throw like you know how. I had to get back to that from my breakdown.”
Pulling herself off the ledge, she got back in the game with a throw of 104-1 that would have been good enough to win the event. She made her winning throw on her next attempt and won by nine feet.
Johnson finished second in the event at the county meet to Saks’ Halimah Bin-Yamin and it pushed her to do better. Bin-Yamin won the 3A shot put in Cullman.
“Pretty much throughout the last two or three weeks since it’s like I was beating myself up because I didn’t do my best at the county and I wanted to show up and out at the sectional and state,” she said. “I’ve been doing a lot of extra practice working on footwork drills and going back to basics.”
It paid off. She won the sectional with a throw of 96 feet and won the state.
The Lady Cubs finished fifth as a team with a school-record 46 points.
Oxford’s girls finished fifth in the 6A meet. Shania Vincent finished second in the 200 and 400 and was third in the 100.
In the 1A/2A-3A meet in Cullman, Weaver’s boys were sixth in Class 3A, Saks’ girls were fourth in 3A, Ohatchee’s boys finished third in 2A and its girls were fifth.
Weaver senior Robert Gaines added a 110 hurdles title to the high jump crown he claimed the day before. Saks’ girls 4×100 relay team (Sa’Nya Fleming, Teanna Williams, Zion Dansby and Amya Carlisle) turned in a 51.63 to join Bin-Yamin in bringing the Lady Wildcats’ state winners on Saturday. Fleming also was second in the long jump and triple.
Gaines excelled despite still being under the weather.
“Everyone told me to push through it,” Gaines said. “It was my last meet so I gave it my everything.”
Another courageous performance was turned in by Ohatchee’s Grayson Alward. The senior scored points for the Indians in the 2A 100 and 200, but with times that would not impress. The times were immaterial; the fact he compete and completed the events were everything.
Alward pulled a hammy running in the 4×100 relay, but he was determined to run in his events for the team. Indians coach Casey Howell gave him the option of withdrawing, but Alward was more determined than ever after a meet official told him he’d seen other runners in similar situations walk to complete their race. He was the eighth qualifier in the 100 (11.58), but the fourth qualifier in the 200 (23.02).
No one will remember Alward’s 27.42 in the 100 and 46.50 in 200, but they will remember how he bravely ran the race and scored one point in each event for the Indians.
Cover photo: Saks’ state champion 3A girls 4×100 relay team.
Class 1A-3A, Cullman
CLASS 1A
Boys
Team scores: 1. Falkville 126; 24. Donoho 7.
4×800: 8. Donoho 9:56.34.
Shot put: 3. Tyler Rigsby, Donoho 44-3
CLASS 2A
Boys
Team scores: 1. Altamont 89, 3. Ohatchee 74.
100: 8. Grayson Alward, Ohatchee 27.42
200: 3. Ryker Lambright, Ohatchee 23.06; 8. Grayson Alward, Ohatchee 46.50.
800: 6. Blake Noah, Ohatchee 2:04.15; 7. Luke Fair, Ohatchee 2:06.18
3200: 5. Gabe Hammonds, Ohatchee 10:35.68; 8. Luke Fair, Ohatchee 10:43.01
4×100: 5. Ohatchee 44.97.
4×400: 8. Ohatchee 3:44.08.
4×800: 1. Ohatchee 8:28.12 (Luke Fair, Gabe Huff, Gabe Hammonds, Blake Noah).
110 hurdles: 6. Tyler Hester, Ohatchee 17.37.
High jump: 3. Austin Wyatt, Ohatchee 5-10; 5. Cameron Foushee, Ohatchee 5-8; 7. Grayson Alward, Ohatchee 5-8
Long jump: 4. Ryker Lambright, Ohatchee 20-2.
Pole vault: 2. Tyler Hester, Ohatchee 11-0; 3. Troy Galloway, Ohatchee 11-0; T-5 Chris Ferguson, Ohatchee 10-0.
Javelin: 6. Cameron Foushee, Ohatchee 128-10.
Girls
Team scores: 1. Westminster-Oak Mountain 134; 5. Ohatchee 50.
800: 6. Jayda Fair, Ohatchee 2:36.60.
1600: 5. Jayda Fair, Ohatchee 5:40.24.
3200: 3. Jayda Fair, Ohatchee 12:11.47.
4×800: 3. Ohatchee 10:49.45.
Pole vault: 5. Bella Hammonds, Ohatchee 8-0; 6. Madeline Crider, Ohatchee 7-6.
Shot put: 4. Gracie George, Ohatchee 30-2.
Discus: 1. Marli Hanks, Ohatchee 100-11; 8. Gracie George, Ohatchee 82-3.
Javelin: 2. Laura Hurst, Ohatchee 105-3.
CLASS 3A
Boys
Team scores: 1. Winfield 124.5; 6. Weaver 57; 10. Pleasant Valley 13; T-20. Piedmont 6; T-24. Saks 5.
400: 7. Connor Wolfe, Pleasant Valley 52.57
4×100: 3. Weaver 45.35.
4×400: 4. Pleasant Valley 3:35.92; 8. Weaver 3:42.33.
4×800: 3. Pleasant Valley 8:40.84.
110 hurdles: 1. Robert Gaines, Weaver 15.04; 3. Gary Wallace, Weaver 15.52.
300 hurdles: 5. Gary Wallace, Weaver 42.72.
High jump: 1. Robert Gaines, Weaver 6-6; 6. Jadon Calhoun, Weaver 5-10.
Long jump: 3. Amardric Elston, Weaver 20-9.5; 4. Jadon Calhoun, Weaver 20-8.25
Triple jump: 3. Robert Gaines, Weaver 44-7.
Pole vault: 3. Matthew Pfledderer, Piedmont 13-0.
Shot put: 4. Marreo Thomas, Saks 44-7
Girls
Team scores: 1. St. James 151.50; 4. Saks 50, 10. Wellborn 16; 14. Pleasant Valley 14; 18. Weaver 9; 24. Piedmont 5.
100: 5. Layla Carter, Weaver 13.24; 8. Teanna Williams, Saks 13.56.
200: 7. Layla Carter, Weaver 27.59; 8. Teanna Williams, Saks 28.84.
400: 4. Mikayla Osborne, Wellborn 1:01.75
4×100: 1. Saks 51.63 (Sa’Nya Fleming, Teanna Williams, Zion Dansby, Amya Carlisle); 3. Wellborn 52.32; 6. Weaver 54.05.
100 hurdles: 8. Georgina Furhmann, Saks 17.98.
300 hurdles: 4. Jade Mignott, Saks 50.03
High jump: 2. Brenna Harris, Pleasant Valley 5-2.
Long jump: 2. Sa’Nya Fleming, Saks 16-9.5.
Triple jump: 2. Sa’Nya Fleming, Saks 35-2.75; 7. Ashlyn Adderhold, Piedmont 31-7.
Pole vault: 3. Brenna Harris, Pleasant Valley 9-6; 6. Ashlyn Adderhold, Piedmont 7-0.
Shot put: 1. Halimah Bin-Yamin, Saks 35-4; 4. Itiania Weatherly, Wellborn 32-5.
Discus: 3. Halimah Bin-Yamin, Saks 92-8.
Class 4A-7A, Gulf Shores
CLASS 4A
Boys
Team scores: 1. Greensboro 66.5; 7. Anniston 33; 18. Jacksonville 15.
100: 4. Ron Wiggins, Jacksonville 11.00.
200: 5. Darionta Bell, Anniston 22.80.
400: 4. Damecus Thomas, Anniston 51.19; 6. Darionta Bell, Anniston 51.80
4×400: 2. Anniston 3:31.62.
4×800: 7. Jacksonville 8:50.62.
110 hurdles: 4. Hunter Rouse, Anniston 15.78.
300 hurdles: 5. Hunter Rouse, Anniston 41.40.
High jump: 6. Hunter Rouse, Anniston 6-0; 7. Damecus Thomas, Anniston 6-0.
Triple jump: 2. Jewels Gray, Jacksonville 45-7
Girls
Team scores: 1. Catholic-Montgomery 102; 12. White Plains 22.3; 15. Anniston 13; T-18. Jacksonville 11.
200: 8. Lanecia Moore, Anniston 27.27.
400: 5. Cursia Kirksey, Anniston 1:00.55; 7. Lanecia Moore, Anniston 1:01.80.
4×400: 6. Anniston 4:24.84; 7. Jacksonville 4:26.36.
300 hurdles: 4. Amia Montgomery, Jacksonville 48.57; 6. Cornisha Huguley, Anniston 49.72.
High jump: 5. Gracie Morgan, White Plains 5-0.
Triple jump: 5. Victoria Moses, Jacksonville 32-7.25.
Pole vault: 1. Savannah Yates, White Plains 10-9; T-8. Maggie Ross, White Plains 7-0
Shot put: 2. Jocelyn Harris, White Plains 34-8.
CLASS 5A
Boys
Team scores: 1. Scottsboro 83; T-23. Alexandria 6.
4×400: 8. Alexandria 3:36.87.
4×800: 4. Alexandria 8:36.16.
Girls
Team scores: 1. Scottsboro 83.7; 5. Alexandria 46.
400: 4. Karlee Walker, Alexandria 59.12
1600: 3. Abby Nunnelly, Alexandria 5:25.08.
3200: 5. Abby Nunnelly, Alexandria 12:11.16.
4×100: 8. Alexandria 52.06.
4×400: 2. Alexandria 4:08.99.
300 hurdles: 6. Tyshica Woodgett, Alexandria 50.29
Long jump: 7. Jordyn Walker, Alexandria 16-4.5; 8. Shaylan Whaley, Alexandria 16-3.
Shot put: 3. Kalee Johnson, Alexandria 34-6.
Discus: 1. Kalee Johnson, Alexandria 109-4.
CLASS 6A
Boys
Team scores: 1. Homewood 136; T-17. Oxford 14.
110 hurdles: 6. Andrew Warhurst, Oxford 16.15.
Triple jump: 2. Devion Ball, Oxford 46-7.75; 6. Jequan Ball, Oxford 44-3.
Girls
Team scores: 1. Homewood 123; 5. Oxford 38.
100: 3. Shania Vincent, Oxford 12.04; 6. Jhanya Quinones, Oxford 12.28.
200: 2. Shania Vincent, Oxford 24.73; 3. Jhanya Quinones, Oxford 25.17.
400: 2. Shania Vincent, Oxford 57.05.
Long jump: 7. Jhanya Quinones, Oxford 16-4.5.
Javelin: 4. Haley Dempsey, Oxford 118-01.
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