1 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
2 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
3 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
4 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
5 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
6 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
7 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
8 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
9 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
10 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
11 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
12 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
13 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
14 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
15 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
16 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
17 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
18 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
19 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
20 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
21 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
22 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
23 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
24 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
25 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
26 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
27 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
28 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
29 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
30 of 30
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
GULF SHORES -- If the Class 4A-7A state track and field meet ended Friday evening, Homewood High School would sweep the team titles.
It hopes to be in the same position on Saturday.
With two days in the books, the Homewood girls and boys occupy first place in the 6A team standings. The Patriot girls lead second-place Opelika, 75-49. The Patriot boys also lead Opelika, 57-49.
Both squads will attempt to carry their momentum into Saturday's third and final day of competition. On Friday, there was plenty to celebrate.
Freshman Celie Jackson kicked things off by winning the girls 3,200-meter run. She clocked a personal-best time of 11 minutes, 24.08 seconds to claim her first state individual title.
"It feels incredible," Jackson said. "It's crazy because my freshman year I was not expecting this. It's just great to be out here and to be able to compete like this."
Jackson also anchored her team's 4x800-meter relay, which finished second. The squad ran 10:10.3 to Fort Payne's 10:04.88.
Jasmine Griffin, a junior, won the 400-meter run in a personal-best 56.63 seconds. Her teammate, Ann Mosely Whitsett, placed sixth in 58.96.
"The last stretch I just gave it all I got," Griffin said of her 400 victory, "and it got me a PR."
Griffin has a busy Saturday ahead of her. She will compete in the 100-meter dash final, 300-meter hurdles final and, most likely, run a leg on Homewood's 4x400-meter relay.
Madison Kirkwood cemented her slot in the 100-meter hurdles final. She registered the third-fastest preliminary time on Friday, running 16.24 seconds.
Christian Hill and Aiya Finch made an impact in the field events. Hill earned a runner-up finish in the long jump, leaping 18 feet, one-half inch. Finch placed seventh at 17-1.75.
Sarah Finnegan
Outdoor Track and Field State Championships 2017
Homewood competes in the AHSAA Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field championship on Friday, May 5, 2017, at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Jackson White propelled the Homewood boys in the field. He took second in the pole vault and fourth in the javelin. White cleared 14 feet (pole vault) and threw 162-7 (javelin). Eli Brooks cleared 12 feet to take fifth in the pole vault.
Joshua Thomas scored one point in the triple jump with his eighth-place finish.
In the distance events, Will Stone and Paul Selden took care of business. The distance duo finished second and third in the 3,200-meter run. Stone ran 9:42.58, and Selden ran 9:47.64.
Opelika's Ben Garner won in 9:29.17.
It was the first time that Selden, a senior, earned an individual medal at the state outdoor meet.
"It feels really good," he said. "It's a really good way to finish it off."
Stone and Selden also ran legs on the Patriots' runner-up 4x800-meter relay team. The quartet ran 8:18.01 to Dothan's 8:11.4.
Another member of that 4x800 team -- Pierce Jackson -- will join Stone and Selden in Saturday's 800-meter final.
The Homewood Star is in Gulf Shores for this week's Class 4A-7A 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.
