6A-3 meet recap: Patriot girls roll, gain steam for state meet
MOUNTAIN BROOK -- Opponents beware: The Homewood High School girls track and field team is a force to be reckoned with.
Better yet, the Lady Patriots should probably be left alone. They're too good.
At the Class 6A, Section 3 meet -- held Friday and Saturday at Mountain Brook High School -- the Homewood girls sailed to a commanding 90-point triumph over runner-up Opelika, 224-134.
The wide margin of victory didn't come as a surprise. The Lady Patriots simply took care of business.
"Our main objective at sectionals is just to get everybody qualified that we think can score points at state, and then hopefully even more than that," Homewood head coach Tom Esslinger said. "We feel like we're in a good spot with that for the most part."
The team had no issue advancing its key contributors to the Class 4A-7A state meet, which will be held May 4-6 in Gulf Shores.
Freshman Lainey Phelps and junior Jasmine Griffin each won three events. Phelps captured first-place finishes in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. Griffin claimed first in the 100 meters, 400 meters and 300-meter hurdles.
The pair also contributed to Homewood's champion 4x400-meter relay team, which was comprised of Phelps, Griffin, Caroline Lawrence and Ann Mosely Whitsett.
Lawrence and Whitsett, both seniors, made individual impacts of their own. Lawrence took first in the high jump, third in the 800 and fifth in the long jump. Whitsett finished fourth in the 400 and second in the 800.
"I think they're really that nucleus," Esslinger said of Lawrence and Whitsett. "They hold everybody together from a leadership standpoint."
Celie Jackson provided reinforcement for Phelps in the distance events. The freshman earned a runner-up finish in the 1,600 and a third-place finish in the 3,200.
Makiyah Sills and Madison Kirkwood bolstered the Lady Patriots' showing in the sprints. Sills placed fourth in the 100 meters and third in both the 200 meters and 300 hurdles. Kirkwood finished third in the 100-meter hurdles.
Christian Hill and Aiya Finch tacked on additional points in the field events. Hill took second in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump, while Finch took fourth in the long jump and third in the triple jump.
Maggie Smith came in third in the javelin. Hanna Brook Gibbons, Alex Brooks and Mary Elizabeth Harrison swept the pole vault competition, which consisted solely of those three athletes.
"It's just an exciting group of girls," Esslinger said of his team. "It's the best group we've ever had from top to bottom. These are really, really exciting times for us."
Exciting times, indeed.
Homewood will enter next week's state meet with a head of steam. The Lady Patriots will be vying for their fourth consecutive state outdoor track and field championship.
But that's not all that will be on the line.
A win in Gulf Shores would complete a yearlong championship sweep. The Homewood girls won the state cross-country title in November and the state indoor track and field title in February.
Esslinger likes his team's chances of finishing what it started.
"We feel really confident heading into state," he said. "On the girls side, we're right where we need to be hopefully to bring home a fourth win a row. We've just got to do what we're capable of."
That imperative also applies to the Homewood boys, who registered a runner-up finish at the sectional meet. The Patriots fell to perennial foe Opelika, 170-129.
It wasn't for lack of effort.
Jackson White, a senior, won the pole vault and javelin competitions. Sophomore Will Stone and senior Paul Selden paved the way in the distance events. The duo finished second and third in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
"That's the strength of our team this year, is definitely field events -- and Jackson was leading the way, no question, in that -- and the distance side," Esslinger said.
White paced a Patriot sweep in the pole vault. Eli Brooks and Walker Smith finished second and third.
Stephon May and Jaden Alexander provided a boost in the jumps. May placed second in the high jump, and Alexander placed fourth in the long jump.
John Michael Hurry and Patrick Domingo finished fourth and fifth in the javelin.
The top five finishers in each event at the sectional meet sealed a bid to state.
"We're really excited for the kids that qualified, and we're looking forward to seeing them compete," Esslinger said.
The Homewood Star will be in Gulf Shores for next week's state meet to bring you up-to-the minute coverage of the Patriot track and field teams. For live updates, follow @sam5k on Twitter and visit thehomewoodstar.com