Photo: Ashville’s Clayton Knight (pictured at left) hands off to Joe Stevens during the boys 4×800-meter relay event at the Class 4A/5A state track and field meets on February 5 at the Birmingham CrossPlex. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
Seven local high school athletes won state championships and several others medaled at the AHSAA track and field meets last week at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
In the Class 1A-3A meet on February 4, Westbrook Christian’s Carl Henry won the gold medal in the shot put event. Henry, the defending Class 2A outdoor state champion in both the shot put and discus, edged runner-up Aaron Peacock of Skyline, 47-07.75 feet to 46-11.75, for first place. In the Class 4A/5A meet on February 5, the Ashville boys 4×800 relay team of Ashton Vann, Joe Stevens, Wyatt Knight and Clayton Knight was awarded the gold medal after Randolph and Saint John Paul II Catholic were disqualified, the former for impeding and the latter for throwing the baton. The Bulldogs posted a winning time of 8:30.26.
Westbrook’s Sage Robertson earned the second-place silver medal in the boys 800-meter dash
(52.88) and the third-place bronze in the boys long jump (19-07.25). Also taking home the bronze was Ashville’s Emma Drinkard, who came in third in the girls 400-meter dash at 59.74.
Leading the area top 10 performances was the Ashville girls 4×800-meter relay team of Emma Drinkard, Kathleen McCarthy, Emma Thompson and Taylor Knight, which finished fourth with a time of 10:51.25. Knight also took fifth place in the girls 1600-meter run at 5:30.35.
Also in the 1600-meter run event, Southside’s Jackson Griggs finished eighth in 6A boys with a time of 4:35.55, while Stevens came in ninth (4:47.70) in 4A/5A boys.
Drinkard posted a 10th place time of 8.13 in the 4A/5A girls 60-meter dash.