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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Homewood’s Slate Rohrer, center, competes in the boys 60-meter hurdles during the Class 6A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Feb. 2.
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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Mountain Brook’s Mary Katherine Malone and Homewood’s Emma Brooke Levering compete in the girls 1,600-meter run.
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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
The Patriots walk up to receive the Class 6A state runner-up trophy for indoor track and field.
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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
John Carroll’s Arthur Langley finishes first in the boys 1,600-meter run.
The Homewood and John Carroll high school indoor track and field teams will be adding hardware to their respective trophy cases following the state meet.
Homewood’s boys posted a Class 6A runner-up finish on Feb. 2, while John Carroll’s boys earned their own runner-up finish in Class 4A-5A on Feb. 3. Homewood’s girls also had a strong state meet, finishing third.
Northridge ran away with the 6A boys competition, while Homewood edged out the likes of Mountain Brook, Oxford and UMS-Wright for second. Scottsboro’s boys won 4A-5A with 80 points, with John Carroll posting 61 points to earn second. Mountain Brook’s girls dominated 6A, with St. Paul’s finishing second. Fort Payne and Briarwood finished behind Homewood to round out the top five.
It was by no means an easy day for the Patriots, as the boys rebounded from a tough start and roared up the leaderboard to their second-place finish.
“Our guys responded really well and had a great meet,” first-year coach Logan Cornutt said following the meet. “We had a lot of guys step up and respond to some adversity and do well.”
Slate Rohrer grabbed a critical second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, as he posted a time of 8.19 seconds to reach the podium. Zaire White finished fifth in 8.38 seconds to add points for the Patriots as well.
Isaiah Davis had a strong run in the 800-meter, finishing in under two minutes to place fifth. Foster Laird was also fifth in the 3,200, all in support of the 4x400-meter relay squad, which won the event in 3:26.
Cornutt also highlighted John Esslinger, who posted personal bests in the long jump and triple jump. John Martin and Elliott Allen reached the podium in their events as well, with Martin finishing third in the high jump and Allen grabbing third in the pole vault.
Matthew Floyd, Colvin Bussey, Muhammad Camara, Will Doughty, Gabriel Dent and Tomon Felton also competed in individual events.
Emma Brooke Levering was her typical stellar self in the girls competition. Levering, the reigning state champ in cross-country, won the 3,200 in 10:50. She also placed second in the 1,600 and fourth in the 800.
Madeline Alford had a strong day, reaching the podium by crossing the line third in the 400. She was eighth in the 60-meter hurdles as well. Ada McElroy, Caroline Wilder, Bailey Zinn, Sadie Busbee, Eloise Delk and Layla Essalah also contributed for the Patriots. The 4x400 team gained points by finishing fifth.
Cornutt also gave plenty of credit to his assistant coaches for the work of both teams.
John Carroll’s boys came so close to a trophy in 2023, finishing 3.5 points out of second place. The Cavs didn’t miss the opportunity this time around.
“We had a chip on our shoulder going in,” coach Angela Napolitano said.
Arthur Langley won the 1,600, posting a state record time of 4:18. He also ran the 3,200 and finished second.
Sebastian Guerrero was a force, finishing second in the 800 and third in the 400. Carson McFadden took home second in the 60-meter hurdles as well. Braydon Lowery competed in the shot put as well.
Napolitano said injuries and a small roster were a factor for the Cavs this year, but neither was ever used as an excuse for a determined team.
“I’m super proud of them,” she said. “We have six guys that really executed, so the fact that we’re still a small team and put up big numbers is really exciting for them.”
