Falkville tops in 2A track again

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Falkville’s depth paid off with a state championship Saturday at the Class 2A state track and field championships at Troy University.
The Blue Devils claimed their second straight boys’ track championship by earning five first places and seven seconds.
Falkville finished with 134 points, 68 points ahead of runner-up Bayside Academy.
And the Blue Devils felt right at home winning the title in Troy. Falkville also won the 2007 Class 2A state championship last year on the same track at Troy University.
Jace Wilemon won two of the three individual events he entered, while Steven Lindsey and Michael Dekich claimed top honors in one event each.
Wilemon won the two hurdle events to score 20 points for the Blue Devils. He took the 110 hurdles title with a time of 16.28, while teammate Anthony Stidham was second at 16.64.
Wilemon and Stidham finished first and second in the 300 hurdles, while Lindsey was fifth as the Blue Devils gained 23 points in the event.
Wilemon was second in the 400 meters and Evan Burgess was eighth.
Aaron Williams recorded a distance of 125-08 to finish second in the discus.
Lindsey won the high jump competition with a height of 6-04. He was second in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump.
Stidham was seventh in the triple jump and 13th in the shot put. Bo Leeth was 19th in the shot put.
In the javelin, Michael Dekich won with a mark of 172-07. Jordan Tyler was 10th.
Justin Blanchard was second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:02.41, while Heath Blanchard was eighth.
Justin Blanchard also finished second in the 1,600 meters with a 4:43.07. Cory Hill was fifth overall.
Falkville had three of the top eight finishers in the 3,200 meters. Justin Blanchard was fourth, while Cory Hill and Heath Blanchard were sixth and eighth respectively.
Falkville won the 4×400 relay, finishing nearly a second ahead of J.B. Pennington.
The Blue Devils were fifth in the 4×800
In the Class 3A standings, Danville’s Levi George brought home a third place in the 200 meters.
Falkville’s girls finished second with 87 points, almost 64 points behind champion American Christian.
Paige McCarley had three top 10 finishes for Falkville in the field events, winning the triple jump with a distance of 34-06.50. She was eighth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump.
Krystal Gibbs and Emily Robbins finished second and third respectively in the 800
Emily Robbins was also fifth in the 400. She finished fourth in the 1,600, while teammate Crystal Carver was seventh.
Carver also finished seventh in the 3,200 for the Lady Devils.
Lauren Estes and Alesia Smith were fourth and fifth respectively in the 100 hurdles.
Falkville picked up eight points in the 300 hurdles with three of the top eight finishers. Estes was fourth, while Myka McCarley and Grace Wilhite were seventh and eighth.
In the relay events, Falkville was second in the 4×400 and fourth in the 4×800. The Lady Devils were seventh in the 4×100.
Heather Smith claimed a fourth place for the Lady Devils in the pole vault.
In other field events, Amelia Wills was eighth in the discus, while Alisha Sparkman picked up a seventh-place finish in the javelin.
Ashley Nance of Danville was second in the girls’ shot put, while McKensie Alred was 13th in the triple jump.
Danville was fifth in the 4×100 and eighth in the 4×400 relays.