It will be the first time ever that any state outdoor championship meet has been held in Southwest Alabama, and it could be a memorable affair. The 6A division alone could produce some very fast times and marks, based on sectional competition.

On the girls’ side, Mountain Brook has to be the favorite. The Lady Spartans are loaded in the middle distance and distance events, with Catherine Diethelm and Marie Demedicis running blazing times of 2 minutes, 12.19 seconds and 2:12.78 respectively in the 800 at the sectional qualifying meet, and Madeline Morgan in the 3200.

Diethelm also ran 4:57.28 in the 1,600 at the sectional meet, and Morgan ran 4;57.04. Both could face a strong challenge by Oak Mountain’s Marissa Brokaw, who has strong times in both the 800 (2:12.36) and 1,600 (4:59.34).

The girls’ 3,200 could shape up to be a battle between Sparkman’s Katie Huston (10:52.25) and Decatur Austin’s Jennifer Dunn, who ran a 10:54.21 in their sectional.

The sprints and hurdles could be very competitive, too. In the 100 and 200, keep an eye on Smiths Stations’ Shan Crawford and Carver-Montgomery’s Chasity Riggien. The 400 should be just as competitive, with Demedicis and Smiths Stations’ Miriam Cobb expected to go head to head. Erica Akins of Bob Jones has the fastest time of all of the sectional qualifiers in the 100-meter hurdles (14.95), while Auburn’s Tiffany Moore has the best 300-meter hurdle time (45.38).

The 6A boys’ competition is just as intense. Hoover, Opelika, Mountain Brook and Smiths Station are expected to be in a dogfight, with the headline event being the 800 meters. Smiths Station’s Chris Bilbrew will be a favorite, but will face a very strong challenge from Mountain Brook’s Jake Stephens, Homewood’s Mike Niezgoda, and Oak Mountain’s Ross Laporte.

The 400 will be just as competitive, with Bilbrew, Stephens, Central-Phenix City’s Bernard Spivey and Jeff Davis-Montgomery’s Oliver Wells battling it out for top honors.

In the field events, Foley’s Julio Jones should give the hometown crowd a treat as he competes in three events—the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Jones, the Mobile Challenge of Champions winner in the long jump (24feet, 2 inches) has the state’s best mark event, and has also high-jumped 6-8 and triple jumped 47-5.

Look for a competitive javelin competition, as several throwers, including Vestavia Hills’ Tom Oliver (174-5), Foley’s Glen Odom (174-1) and Dothan’s Jermaine Potter (175-4) expected to battle for top honors.

On paper, Mobile’s St. Paul’s Episcopal appears to be the team to beat in the 5A girls’ and boys’ division, as they make a bid to defend the outdoor titles they won last year in impressive fashion.

The Lady Saints are loaded from top to bottom, from distance ace Mary Carleton Johnston to pole vaulter Neal Tisher, who comes into the meet with a personal best of 12-0. However, St. Paul’s will likely be without the services of sprinter Angel Watson, who injured a hamstring in last week’s sectional meet. Without her services, the pressure will not only be on Johnston and Tisher, but also on shot putter Angelica Howard, hurdler/thrower Johnnie Borries, and javelin thrower Meghan Austin to have career performances.

It’s especially crucial, because 5A archrival Scottsboro comes into the meet with a very strong distance crew led by Emily Thompson and Lacey Wright, and Mobile’s UMS-Wright, who has a strong distance crew of its own led by the Gilmore twins—Sarah and Leigh.

As far as the 5A boys’ competition is concerned, St. Paul’s controls its own destiny. Coach Paul Brueske’s bunch is coming off a strong performance in sectionals, thanks to sprinter Louis Watson, distance runner Lee Gilmer, and do-everything man Mark Barron. Barron’s best event is the shot, where he has a mark of over 54 feet.

Scottsboro, though, will not roll over and play dead. The Wildcats, in fact, has the state’s best javelin thrower in any classification, Tyler Hamlet, who won the Challenge of Champions Meet in that event and threw a state-leading 195-11 in his sectional meet.

Look for a competitive pole vault competition, as Mobile rivals Conrad Blunck and St. Paul’s Whit Gruenewald—who both cleared 13-0 in their sectional meet—expected to be among the favorites.

Brewton’s T.R. Miller, last year’s 3A boys’ outdoor champions, hopes to repeat its magic as one of the favorites in the 4A division. It won’t be easy, as the Tigers face a stiff challenge from Fayette County and Beauregard, led by javelin thrower John Ware (154-1) and pole vaulter Mike McConnell (13-6).

On the 4A girls side, Dadeville, Alabama Christian, and Central-Tuscaloosa could challenge for team honors. Look for Madison County’s Rebecca Hilt to make a big impression, as she has cleared 5-2 in the high jump and run 58.57 in the 400—and will also compete in the 100 and 200.

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