Patriots finish strong at state indoor meet
The Homewood High School indoor track and field teams capped off successful seasons at the state meet Feb. 6 at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The Patriots boys finished second in Class 6A, while the girls came home third. The boys scored 66 points, finishing behind only Opelika, which won the meet with 81 points. Northridge and Mountain Brook dominated the girls meet, but Homewood finished a solid third with 59 points.
“Really a great day overall,” Homewood track and field coach Josh Donaldson said.
There were plenty of standouts on the day for Homewood. On the girls side, Brooke Walden set a new state meet record in the pole vault competition. She cleared the bar at 12 feet, 1.25 inches, breaking the previous record of 12-1.
Naeemah Gamble was able to earn all-state designation by placing third in shot put, with a throw of 33-2.5.
The girls 4x200- and 4x400-meter relay teams posted all-state performances as well, with the 4x200 team finishing third and the 4x400 team grabbing the runner-up spot.
On the boys team, Crawford Hope ran three distance events, winning the 1,600, being all-state in the 3,200 and finishing fourth in the 800. His time of 4:20.96 was the top 1,600 performance. He finished third in the 3,200 with a time of 9:22.34. His fourth-place finish in the 800 came in a time of 1:57.65.
“Doing those distance events in that short amount of time is remarkable,” Donaldson said.
Cross Derriso gave the Patriots a sweep of the pole vault competitions, as he set a personal best of 15-6. Spenser Lamb set a personal best as well in the 60-meter hurdles, placing second in 8.34 seconds. Sam Dill was all-state in the high jump, finishing third with a leap of 6 feet. The boys 4x800 relay team placed third as well.
“As a team, both the boys and girls stepped up, and those that competed did their job,” Donaldson said. “They were able to capitalize on what other teams were not able to do, and it put us in a good position at the end of the meet to land where we did overall as a team.”
Coming into this year, Homewood’s girls were the four-time reigning state champions, and the boys had won the last three indoor titles. But Opelika and Northridge boasted strong teams on the boys and girls sides, respectively, and the addition of Scottsboro and Mountain Brook to Class 6A made the field more competitive than ever this winter.
There were also plenty of unique circumstances this season due to COVID-19. There were no team scores compiled in any event Homewood competed in, and the state meet was the first time anyone had run a 4x800 or 4x400 all season.
The state meet had a different format as well, with the whole competition for each classification coming over a half-day period.
Nonetheless, Donaldson was pleased with his team’s performance and perseverance with the challenges presented to them.
“I’m really proud of how our kids stepped up into that,” he said.
Many other competitors scored points for Homewood on the day as well. For the girls, Alyssa Langford and Sarah Derriso were fourth and sixth in the 60 hurdles, Mary Siena McBride was eighth in the 400, Sydney Dobbins placed seventh in the 1,600, Reid Catherine Bunn and Chandler Binkley were fourth and sixth in the high jump, Langford and Phoebe Reed were seventh and eighth in the long jump, Jordan Reaves finished sixth in the pole vault, and the 4x800 relay was fifth.
On the boys side, Ivan Pichardo-Njenga placed eighth in the 800, Grayton Murray finished fifth in the 1,600 and Dill was sixth in the long jump. The 4x200 team was fifth and the 4x400 team finished sixth.
Other competitors for Homewood included David Huynh, Jack Harchelroad, Emma Brooke levering, Caroline Wilder, Selah LeDuc, Tiye Jamison and Hunter Drake.
The outdoor track and field season is just around the corner as well, with the season set to begin at the end of February.
“We hope that we’re up there and vying for a state championship come May, but all I can ask of these athletes is to give me their best every time they’re out there,” Donaldson said.