Falkville brings home the hardware
By Staff
Staff Reports, Hartselle Enquirer
PELHAM – One school brought two trophies home from the state championships. The Falkville boys and girls track team each took home the red runner-up trophy at the 2A State Track &Field Championships held at Oak Mountain High School.
For the Lady Blue Devils it was their highest finish at the state meet since 2001 when they captured the title. For the boys it was a history making meet, their second place finish was their highest ever and it marked the first time in any boy's sport that Falkville earned a state runners-up trophy. Both teams finished runners-up to Altamont High.
The Blue Devils took home one individual gold medal and one relay gold medal, in addition to two silver and four bronze medals. On the girls side, the Lady Blue Devils took home one gold, three silver and three bronze medals.
The Priceville girls brought home the most gold medals of any Morgan County school with three, while the Priceville boy's brought home one gold and one silver medal.
At the 5A meet in Tuscaloosa, Brewer's Markus Greenleaf won two silver medals. At the same venue, Danville's Patrick Pinchon took the 3A gold medal in the shot put.
Falkville's Cody Sewell cleared 6-04 in the high jump to capture the gold, while teammate Shane Edge won bronze at 400 meters and silver at 800 meters. Justin Blanchard took bronze in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs, while Josh Henderson took silver in the pole vault.
The Blue Devils' 1,600-meter relay of Dustin Jump, Sewell, Jonathan McNutt and Shane Edge team took gold in 3:36.13.
Meanwhile the 3,200-meter relay team of Edge, McNutt, Jace Wilemon and Blanchard grabbed the silver.
Priceville's Brad Helton, who is in his first year on the Bulldog track team, won the shot put with a heave of 43-09.25, while Justin Lawson took bronze in the javelin. Lawson was the defending javelin champion.
Falkville's Krystal Gibb won the gold at 800 meters with a time of 2:30.11 and then she took the bronze at 1,600 meters. Lauren Estes took the silver in the 300-meter hurdles, while Angela Harrison took bronze at 3,200 meters.
The Falkville girl's 1,600-meter relay team of Nichole Lee, Estes, Tara Tucker and Alesia Smith won the silver. In addition, the Lady Blue Devil 3,200-meter relay team of Gibbs, Harrison, Crystal Carver and Tucker took silver, while the 400-meter relay team of Estes, Kaylor Sewell, Alana Mayfield and Lee took bronze.
Priceville's Kristy Barker repeated as the javelin champion and broke the state record for the fourth time with a throw of 119-04.50. Barker also won the long jump with a leap of 16-00.
For Barker it was a new state record breaking her own mark of 113-00, which she set last season.
It was the fourth time Barker had set the state mark in the event.
Kathryn Kirby won the discus with a throw of 90-08 and later took bronze in the javelin.
Greenleaf ran a virtual dead heat with Homewood's Laderius Woods, as they both were clocked at 10.94. But the photo finish showed Woods was the winner. Greenleaf later took silver at 200 meters bringing his career total to five silver medals at state championship meets.
Pinchon, who has signed to play football for Troy State, ended his high school track career with a throw of 44-4 to win the event by one-foot over his nearest competitor.
