PREP POSTSEASON: Catholic boys win first-ever track championship; Pike Road, Holtville win baseball series
COMBINED REPORTS
CULLMAN -- Jeremiah Cobb won two events and Catholic’s distance runners accumulated points in three events to help the Knights capture the 1A-3A state outdoor track championship on Saturday at Oliver Woodard Stadium.
The championship was the first for the boy’s track team. The girls, led by Amaris Tyynismaa, won 4A state championships in 2017 and 2019.
Cobb, the starting tailback on the football team, won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.88 seconds, won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.21 and finished second in the 400-meter dash to pile up 28 points on his own.
Catholic won the championship with 119 points, followed by Bayside Academy with 110, Winfield with 61, Providence Christian with 57 and Mobile Christian with 36. Trinity finished in 24th place with four points.
Jay Tymes accounted for all of Trinity’s points with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash.
Catholic picked up more points with a fourth-place finish by E.J. Babies in the 200-meter dash; a sixth-place finish by Matthew Galvin in the 400-meter; and an eighth-place finish by Kylon Griffin in the 110-meter hurdles.
The distance trio of Sam Leslie, Hollis Johnson and Harrison Skala accumulated 38 points in three events as Leslie was third, Johnson fourth and Skala seventh in the 800-meter run; Johnson was third, Leslie fifth and Skala seventh in the 1600-meter run; and Johnson was second and Leslie fourth in the 3200-meter run.
The 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relay teams both placed second and the 4x100-meter relay team was seventh.
Shawn Sponsler was second in the high jump at 6-2 and eighth in the javelin at 132-03, while Galvin was second in the triple jump at 40-9.25 and sixth in the long jump at 19-2.25. DJ Carter was third in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 3 inches.
In the girls’ 1A-3A, Catholic finished seventh with 33 points. Providence Christian won the state championship with 124.5 points, easily outdistancing Mobile Christian (64.5) and Bayside Academy (62).
Ann Cobb accumulated 17 points on her own and Catherine Aaron had seven points for most of Catholic’s total. Cobb was second in the 400-meter run, third in the 200-meter dash and sixth in the 100-meter dash. Aaron was sixth in the 800-meter and 3200-meter events and eighth in the 1600-meter run.
Taylar Tunstall was sixth in the long jump and the Knights’ 4x100-meter relay team was sixth.
MA girls finish 3rd in 4A track
GULF SHORES -- Anaya Thomas won one event and was second in two others to help Montgomery Academy to a third-place finish in the 4A state outdoor track meet at the Gulf Shores Sports Complex this weekend.
The MA senior won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.78 seconds, placed second in the triple jump and high jump and third in long jump to accumulate 32 points, the most of any athlete in the 4A meet.
She finished her high school career with the school record in the 100-meter hurdles and tied for the record in the school jump.
Brooks won the 4A championship with 75 points, followed by Randolph (65.5), Montgomery Academy (65), St. James (53) and White Plains (45.5). Alabama Christian placed 23rd with six points, earned with a third-place finish by Kate Finch in the 3200-meter run..
Freshman Isabella Johnson also had an impressive state meet performance for Montgomery Academy, placing third in both the shot put and the discus to grab the school record in both events.
Other Eagles who accumulated points at the state meet include Avery Arden Pemberton, who placed third in pole vault, followed by Holden Habermacher’s fifth-place finish; Anna Perry, who placed sixth in the 300-meter hurdles; and Brie McClendon, who placed seventh in shot put.
In the relay events, the 4x800-meter team anchored by Perry and including Mattie Freeman, Marguerite Dillon and Elizabeth Ray finished fifth and the 4x100-meter team of Cydney Pepple, MJ Brown, Allie Fitzpatrick and Jai Ivy Raines placed seventh.
Bibb County won the boys’ state championship in 4A with 80 points, followed by Anniston (68), Randolph (51), Oneonta (48) and Etowah (42). Montgomery Academy was 16th with 14 points, St. James was 17th with 13 points, Alabama Christian was 26th with seven points and LAMP finished 36th.
For Montgomery Academy, its most impressive performance was a third-place finish by the nearly all-freshman 4x100-meter relay team of Rick McBride III, Chance Wilson, Tristan Dumas and Eli Jernigan. Also contributing to this team before his injury was Jack Garrett.
The Eagles also garnered points from a pair of fifth-place finishes by seniors Jackson Kelly (shot put) and Cooper Horn (pole vault).
St. James earned its points with a third-place finish by Connor Owens in shot put, a fourth-place effort by Lucas Huckabee in discus and a seventh-place finish by Carey Tripp Owens in the 400-meter dash.
ACA’s Demari Moore was fourth in the high jump and seventh in the 100-meter dash, while LAMP’s Agustin Lemuz was eighth in the 1600-meter run.
St. James senior Presley Miles closed out her career with three more individual championships on Saturday in the 4A state outdoor track meet, giving her 22 for her career.
The Duke University signee, as expected, finished her career with first-place finishes in the 800-meter run, 1600-meter run and 3200-meter run, accounting for 30 of the Trojans’ 53 points that allowed the program to finish fourth in the state meet at Gulf Shores Sports Complex this weekend.
Miles finished second in the three events as a freshman, but won those three events as well as the 400-meter dash in 2019 as a sophomore. The state meet wasn’t held in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, robbing her of the opportunity to add more titles to her resume.
Miles ran the 400-meter dash on Friday, finishing 14th.
Her teammates accounted for the remaining 23 points with Hannah Richardson finishing third in the 400-meter dash and eighth in the 800-meter run; Logann Dean placing second in the 110-meter hurdles, Kendall Hardaway finishing sixth in the triple jump; and the Trojans’ 4x100-meter relay team placing fourth in the state meet.
Miles closes out her high school career with six state titles in the 800-meter run, five championships in 1600 and 3200 and three titles in the 400-meter dash and cross country. Her best outdoor time in the state meet in the 800 and 1600 came this weekend at 2:17.27 and 5:12.38, respectively, while her best time in the 3200 (11:07.85) was as a sophomore in 2019.
In cross country, Miles finished second to Amaris Tyynismaa in the 4A championships as a freshman, but came back to win the 3A championship as a sophomore and junior in 2018 and 2019 and as a senior in 4A this past fall.
In indoor track, she beat Tyynismaa as a freshman in the 2018 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.83 which still ranks as her best time in the event. She went on to win the state title in the 800-meter run in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
She finished second to Tyynismaa in the 1600 and 3200, but came back to win titles in both events in 3A track in 2019 and 2020 and in 4A in 2021. Her best indoor time in the 1600-meter run (5:18.47) was as a sophomore in 2019, while her best 3200-meter time (11:09.10) came as a junior.
Miles also won the 400-meter dash in indoor track in 2019 and 2020.
BASEBALL
Pike Road 10, UMS-Wright 4
MOBILE -- Iverson Hooks had three hits and drove in three runs as the Patriots scored three runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to break a 4-4 tie and defeat UMS-Wright in the third game of the best-of-three series in the second round of the 5A state baseball playoffs on Saturday.
Pike Road (25-8) will play host to Shelby County (22-8) in a best-of-three quarterfinal series on Friday.
Parker Ceman and Clay Slagle each had two hits for Pike Road. Lucas Bagget picked up the win on the mound, striking out five in 6.2 innings.
Holtville 6, Headland 0
The Bulldogs advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals witha win in Game 3 of the series on Saturday.
Tanner Potts was the winner in the decisive third game with a complete-game shut out.
The two teams split the first two games on Friday with Headland winning the opener 1-0 and the Bulldogs winning Game 2, 5-2.
Holtville (25-11) will be at home for the next round and face St. Paul’s.
Bayside Academy 6, Trinity 5
DAPHNE -- The Admirals scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally past Trinity and take the third game in the best-of-three series in the second round of the 3A state baseball playoffs on Saturday.
Bayside Academy (23-6) will travel to Opp (24-5) for a best-of-three quarterfinal series on Friday.
William Roberson doubled, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout to give Trinity a 1-0 lead in the first, but Bayside rallied with a run in the second and three more in the third. RBI hits by Mac McClinton and Parker Patterson tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth and Roberson scored again in the fifth for a 5-4 lead before the Admirals rallied in their last at-bat.
Trinity ends the season at 23-9-1, closing the career of head coach Ken Whittle, who finishes his 40-year career with 783 wins and 1,154 games.
GIRLS SOCCER
Trinity 1, Westminster-Oak Mountain 0
Emilyn Etheredge scored the game’s only goal with an assist by Mary Davis Bricken as the Wildcats defeated Westminster-Oak Mountain in the quarterfinals of the 1A-3A state soccer playoffs at Ragsdale-Boykin Field on Friday.
The shutout was preserved by goal keeper Kaylee Peavy.
Trinity (16-4-1) will play Cottage Hill Christian (14-2-4) in the state tournament on Thursday in Huntsville. Trinity, making the school’s seventh appearance in the quarterfinals on Friday, advances to the state tournament for just the fourth time and the first appearance since winning the state championship in 2018.
Cottage Hill Christian Academy 3, Prattville Christian 1
PRATTVILLE -- The Panthers saw their playoff run come to an end as Cottage Hill won a hard-fought 3-1 victory at Panther Stadium in the 1A-3A state soccer playoffs on Friday night.
Avery Rogers scored the lone goal for the Panther. Cottage Hill (14-2-4) advanced to the state tournament and will face Trinity on Thursday, while PCA ends the season with a record of 8-4-2 just days after winning the first playoff game in school history.
BOYS SOCCER
Bayside Academy 6, Prattville Christian 0
PRATTVILLE -- The Admirals were too much for the Panthers, shutting out PCA 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the 1A-3A state soccer playoffs at Panther Stadium on Saturday.
Bayside Academy (17-0-2) will face St. Luke’s Episcopal in the state tournament on Thursday in Huntsville, while PCA ends the season with a record of 11-6.
SOFTBALL
LAMP 4, Catholic 1
Carissa Gilbert, CeCe Crawford and Jennifer Looney each had a hit for the Knights, but the Golden Tigers won the defensive battle with a 4-1 victory in the Area Warmup Tournament on Saturday at Lagoon Park.
Charles Henderson 7, Catholic 6
Carissa Gilbert and Jennifer Looney each had 2 hits, while Auburn Wilcoxson had two RBIs and McKenzie Norton scored two runs as the Knights dropped their final game in the Area Warmup Tournament at Lagoon Park on Saturday.
Catholic (20-15-1) will play Trinity in a first-round game in the 3A Area 6 Tournament at Prattville Christian on Thursday. The top two teams will advance to the regional in Tuscaloosa.
Brew Tech 9, G.W. Long 6
Grace Hunter and Mackenzie Wilson each drove in a pair of runs as the Rams scored five runs in the first and two more in the second on the way to a 9-6 win over G.W. Long in the Area Warmup Tournament at Lagoon Park on Saturday.
Romona Mcleod pitched seven innings to pick up the win for Brew Tech.
Brew Tech 9, LAMP 2
Khamiyah Brown, Tamiyah Brown and Tyra Johnson each drove in a pair of runs and Johnson and Romona Mcleod each managed a pair of hits as the Rams scored five in the second and three more in the third to win the battle of magnet schools at the Area Warmup Tournament at Lagoon Park on Saturday.
Joanna Joiner led LAMP with a pair of hits.
G.W. Long 10, Catholic 0
McKenzie Norton and Hannah Parrish each had a hit but all of the runs belonged to G.W. Long as they defeated the Knights 10-0 in the Area Warmup Tournament on Friday at Lagoon Park.
G.W. Long 7, LAMP 1
Caitlin Russell had a pair of hits for LAMP but G.W. Long scored four runs in the fifth to break open the game in the Area Warmup Tournament on Friday at Lagoon Park, which was halted in the sixth inning by time constraints. Russell took the loss in the circle, striking out six in three innings.