Photo courtesy of Tom Esslinger
Homewood Track and Field
The 2016 Homewood outdoor track and field teams.
Trailing Pelham High School by six points before the final event at the Class 4A-7A state meet, the Homewood High School girls track and field team needed a clutch performance.
It got one.
Composed of Elysa Griffin, Ann Mosely Whitsett, Caroline Lawrence and Madison Kirkwood, the Patriots 4x400-meter relay team ran away from the field to secure a first-place finish and gain 10 points. The late addition pushed the team’s point total past Pelham and lifted the Patriot girls to the 6A state title—their third straight state outdoor championship.
Homewood tallied 102.5 points to Pelham’s 98.5.
“Words can’t express how happy we are with the entire girls team and how everyone did their job,” Homewood head track and field coach Tom Esslinger said. “We did not lead one time until the conclusion of the last event, so that shows you how our girls never gave up.”
The title-clinching quartet notched a time of 3 minutes, 59.86 seconds, outpacing the competition by nearly five seconds.
Their individual achievements proved equally as impactful.
Griffin, a South Alabama signee, won the long jump—with a leap of 19 feet, 1 inch—and placed third in the 100 meters and 200 meters. Likewise, Lawrence sealed an individual championship in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5-6.
Whitsett captured a runner-up finish in the 800 meters with a school-record time of 2:15.65 and posted a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 300-meter hurdles and 400 meters. Kirkwood earned a spot in the 100-meter hurdles final, placing seventh.
Griffin’s younger sister, sophomore Jasmine Griffin, helped position the team for its late heroics.
She won the 300 hurdles (43.79) and 400 (56.81) while also placing fifth and sixth in the 100 and 200.
Led by their distance squad, the Patriot boys scored 70 points to secure a runner-up team finish. They beat out third-place finisher Spanish Fort High School by three-and-a-half points; Opelika High School won with 113 points.
“The boys really fought hard to hang on to second place,” Esslinger said. “We knew the boys would have a hard time winning. Opelika had such an outstanding team, so we really feel like we accomplished our goals and had a successful season.”
Homewood senior Andy Smith led the charge, capping a decorated prep career with his ninth individual state championship. He ran 4:20.07 in the 1,600 meters to notch a first-place finish. He also placed fourth in the 800 and 3,200 meters.
Smith’s fellow senior, Sean Conboy, put an exclamation point on a strong high school career by capturing his first individual state title. Conboy motored to a gold medal in the 800, crossing the line in 1:55.59.
Pierce Jackson, Paul Selden, Will Stone and Tucker Wilson won the 4x800-meter relay in 8:19.02.
“I am so thankful for our staff, and our staff feels fortunate to be able to coach such an amazing group of student-athletes,” Esslinger said.
