James Clemens Places Third In State Indoor Track Meet
BIRMINGHAM- The James Clemens girls indoor track team finished third behind first place Hoover in the Class 7A division at the 49th Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) State Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Birmingham’s Crossplex.
“This meet was very impressive for us as both our girls and boys squads finished in the top 10,” said Drew Bell head coach of James Clemens. “The 7A division is just so tough with so many great athletes and superb teams. Our athletes gave us everything they had and I’m so proud of them.”
The lone state champion performance for James Clemens came from Vada Samuels as she was the surprise winner in the 400-meter dash with a winning time of 56.78 just ahead of Mountain Brook’s Holli Chapman (56.97).
The Lady Jets’ third place finish of 74 points to Hoover’s 113 total points was well ahead of the tenth place finish by Sparkman (16 points) and No. 14 Bob Jones (3.5 points). In boys, Hoover was also the winner in Class 7A with 135 points while James Clemens was ninth (25 points) and Sparkman No. 19 (1 point).
Sparkman’s Lauryn Hall continued her winning ways at the State Meet as she won the 60-meter dash finals with a 7.66-seconds time, a mere 1/100 of a second off her 7A record-setting time in the first day’s prelims and tying the state record she set a year ago.
“I really feel like I could have done better as I posted close to the same last year,” said Hall, a senior and University of North Carolina signee, of her record setting time. “I’ve been working on my start off the block and I went out fast as I got a quick start, but I believe I may have slowed a bit, sort of like a pause because I went out so quickly. Winning the state two years in a row is a great accomplishment and it feels great to be state champion.”
Madison Academy’s team picked up 11 points to finish No. 14 behind first place St. Paul’s (100 points). All of the Lady Mustangs’ points were earned by Sarah Elkins who finished fourth in the Class 4-5A 400-meter (1:00.69), fifth in the 60-meter (8.26) and seventh in the long jump (15-2.25).
A total of 10 boys’ state indoor records fell and 12 girls’ records were set in the two-day event.
“We did not place in the long jump and a couple other minor mistakes cost us a few points, but it was still a great meet for the Jets,” said Bell. “We’re looking forward to the outdoor track season, which gets underway next week.”
Here’s a rundown of additional medal winners. Runner-up performances included Boys 7A 400-meter- Nolan Smith, James Clemens, 49.56 (just one-tenth of a second behind the winner); Girls 7A shot put- Zuri Falkner, James Clemens, 40.65 (new state record falling just short to Hannah Daffin of McGill-Toolen with a 40-9.5); Girls 7A long jump- Ashlee Osaji, James Clemens, 18-1.5; Girls 7A 4X200- James Clemens, 1:43.16. Bronze medal winners included Girls 7A 60-meter hurdles- Shataeya Ligon, James Clemens, 9.01; Girls 7A 4X400- James Clemens, 3:57.23 (new state record).
Additional top 7 performances featured Boys 7A high jump- 6. Collier Robinson, James Clemens, 6-02; Girls 7A shot put- 5. Kennedy Reese, James Clemens, 36-5.75, 7. April Johnson, Sparkman, 34-10.25; Girls 7A high jump- Kiara Hill, Bob Jones, 5-02; Boys 7A triple jump- 6. David Batista, James Clemens, 41-11; Girls 7A 400-meter- 7. Uriah James, James Clemens, 59.86; Girls 7A 60-meter- 4. Aajiah Watkins, James Clemens, 7.94, 5. Vada Samuels, James Clemens, 7.96; Boys 7A 4X400- 6. James Clemens, 3:34.73; Boys 7A long jump- 4. Collier Robinson, 20-10.25.
