National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

A sunny, mild Saturday at the outstanding St. Paul’s Episcopal School complex produced another great meet at the 2016 Mobile Challenge of Champions, another one of the NSAF’s Select Meets.  Six meet records, two national leaders and a huge handful of national top-5 efforts highlighted the action, with the winners coming from seven different states (11 states total represented).  Ja’Mari Ward and Brittley Humphrey won two events each (see below), each claiming one meet record and just missing another, to earn Most Outstanding Performer awards.

Perhaps best of all, meet director Steve Schoenwald, his assistants and volunteers rallied to effectively compress two days of action into one, after heavy, day-long showers washed out Friday’s Open Division and forced a postponement to Saturday morning. Photos courtesy of Walter Pinion.

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Arthur Mack Story and Walter Pinion Photos at DyeStat.com

Boys’ Most Outstanding Performer: Ja’Mari Ward

Ja’Mari Ward, with his jumps double that included one meet record and a near-miss of another, won the DyeStat/John Dye Male Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet award.  Ward – a Cahokia, IL senior bound for U. of Missouri – first triple jumped a US#1 (all-conditions) 50-11.5(nwi) to eclipse the 50-4.5 by Phelon Jones (McGill-Toolen, AL) in 2006.  He won by more than 3 feet over Michael Wiggins (Huntsville, AL senior) at 47-4. 

Then in the long jump, he fended off a tough challenge from Infinite Tucker (Huntington, NY senior).  Both jumped US#4 24-6(nwi), but Ward had the better 2nd-best leap.  They missed the meet record of Cameron Luper (Auburn, AL) by a scant half-inch.  Ward, who was just coming off an individual state indoor meet triple the previous week, is an NSAF 2015 Caribbean Scholastic Invite alum and was the 2015 NBNI long and triple jump champ, plus the two-time Great Southwest defending long jump champ (among many honors).
 

Girls’ Most Outstanding Performer: Brittley Humphrey

Brittley Humphrey, with her hurdles double that also included one meet record and a near-miss, captured the DyeStat/Donna Dye Female Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet award.  Humphrey, a Hoover, AL senior headed to LSU, first blasted a US#6 13.62(+1.6) 100m hurdles, just .02 off Char Foster’s 1995 standard of 13.60 – the oldest Mobile record on the books.  She won by a solid third-of-a-second over Cortney Jones (Rockdale Co, GA junior) at 13.95.  NOTE: While Humphrey’s 13.62 would have been US#3 based on marks prior to this weekend, three other girls in the Texas and Florida Relays ran even faster in what’s become a most extraordinary year for girls’ sprint hurdling.

Then in the 300m hurdles, Humphrey rolled to a US#3 41.63 (would have been #1 going into weekend), taking down the 42.11 run by Bianca Blair (Austin East, TN) in 2007 and winning by more than 2-1/2 seconds.  She also ran on Hoover’s runner-up 4x100 relay.  Humphrey was the 2015 World Youth Championships bronze medalist in the 100H and, at the 2016 NBNI three weeks ago, led Hoover to the 4x55m shuttle hurdle relay title (2nd in 3 years) and was 4th in the epic 60H.
 

2 mind-blowing races: Georgia stars Moore, Godwin prevail

US#2 13.85(-1.6w) boys’ 110m hurdles by Matthew Moore (Union Grove, GA junior), narrowly beating Alabama rivals Emmanuel Tait (Thompson, AL senior) at US#3 13.88 and Trey Cunningham (Winfield City, AL junior) at US#4 13.91, with Infinite Tucker (Huntington, NY senior) 4th at US#7 14.04.  The hurdlers achieved this remarkable collection of performances into a 1.6 headwind in what was arguably the best race of the day.  Tait was runner-up for the 2nd straight year, having been beaten by .02 in 2015, while Cunningham was 5th last year.  Also, Cunningham and Moore were 4th and 8th in last month’s NBNI 60H final.

US#4 46.82 boys’ 400m dash by Elija Godwin (Newton County, GA soph, beating his previous PR by more than half a second and pulling a big upset over sub-47 foes Deonte Tolbert (Auburn, AL junior) at 47.04 and Terry Conwell (SW Dekalb, GA junior) at 47.67.  Tolbert and Conwell, came in with PRs of US#3 46.77 and #4 46.87, respectively, and were expected to battle for the win.  But Godwin surged ahead late while Tolbert stumbled and fell across the finish line.  The top 5 400 runners in the nation now are all non-seniors.

4 more meet records: SW Dekalb takes 2; Hurley, Mtn. Brook boys dominate

3:14.24 boys’ 4x400m relay by SW Dekalb, GA, taking down the 3:15.74 standard set by California school J.W. North in 2007.  The time was less than a quarter-second off their 3:14.02 best that led the nation coming into the weekend (now US#4).  They dominated a race that was expected to be much closer as Terry Conwell took a 4-second lead on the first leg to blow the race open.  NBNI 4x4 champ Huntington, NY was 2nd at 3:19.99, while Cahokia, IL took 3rd at 3:20.21.

40.96 boys’ 4x100m relay by SW Dekalb, GA, beating Edna Karr, LA’s meet record 41.15 from 2013.  The winning time was just .47 off of SW Dekalb’s US#1 40.49 from three weeks earlier.  Also tying the old meet record in 2nd place was Auburn, AL at US#9 41.13, while Newton, GA and Pine Forest, FL were very close in 3rd and 4th at 41.19 and 41.20.

US#1 10:22.58 girls 2-mile by Emma Grace Hurley (Fellowship Christian, GA senior), surpassing the 10:23.05 mark set by Laura Zeigle (Bingham, UT) in 2002.  Hurley powered into the lead at 800m or so and was never headed.  Her time also is superior to conversions of the top outdoor 3,200m performances in the nation so far this year.  Sara Platek (Ragsdale, NC junior), who was 6th in last month’s NBNI 2M, was 2nd in 10:39.66 and Nicole Fegans (Landmark Christian, GA junior) 3rd in 10:43.45.

US#4 7:52.57 boys’ 4x800m relay by Mountain Brook, AL, eclipsing the 7:53.45 produced by Catholic-Baton Rouge, LA in 2009.  Mountain Brook was coming off its stunning runner-up performance at NBNI, where they ran 7:45.58 from the penultimate heat for a near-upset win.  Here, they pulled away late to beat Cahokia, IL at 8:04.11 and Hoover, AL at 8:06.49.

More boys’ sprints/hurdles:  Tucker impresses, Tolbert comes back

• US#5 37.16 boys’ 300m hurdles by Infinite Tucker, highlighting an outstanding day by the Huntington, NY senior.  In the 300H, he charged away from 110H runner-up Emmanuel Tait (Thompson, AL senior) at 38.36 and Brent Carroll (Phillip O’ Berry, NC) at 38.45. Tucker also long-jumped US#4 (all-conditions) 24-6, matching winner Ja’Mari Ward, but taking 2nd due to Ward’s better 2nd-best jump; took 4th in the 110H with a fine US#7 14.04; and ran anchor on Huntington’s runner-up 4x400 relay (which won NBNI three weeks ago).
• 10.66(-0.9w) boys’ 100m dash by Marcus Reaves (Pine Forest, FL senior), nipping Terryon Conwell (SW Dekalb, GA junior) at 10.69 and Jailen Bell (Edna Karr, LA senior) at 10.73.
• 21.51(-0.3w) boys’ 200m dash by Deonte Tolbert (Auburn, AL junior), bouncing back after a finish-line tumble in the 400 earlier.  Tolbert finished just ahead of Alex Sands (Newton, GA senior) at 21.60, while Jailen Bell (Edna Karr, LA senior) had another 3rd-place finish at 22.05.

Girls’ sprints: Powell defends; Kirkland, O’Connor triumph

• 55.74 girls’ 400m dash by Victoria Powell (Lovett, GA senior), defending her 2015 title here and running .69 faster than last year.  She was more than a second ahead of Charla Ward (Ragsdale, NC junior) at 56.79 and Tahja Mitchell (West Jefferson, LA soph) at 56.89.
• 11.78(+0.2w) girls’ 100m dash by Jayla Kirkland (Woodlawn, AL junior), the defending NBNO 100 and 200 champ.  She improved from 3rd place here last year, turning back a tough challenge from Janie O’Conner (Zachary, LA junior) at 11.85 (who herself would go on to win the 200).  Brooke Raglin (Bryan Station, KY junior) was 3rd at 12.03.  Kirkland later scratched out of the 200 due to nagging injury concerns.
• 24.31(-0.6w) girls’ 200m dash by Janie O’Conner (Zachary, LA junior), moving up from 2nd in 2015, and adding to her 100 runner-up finish and victory as part of Zachary’s 4x100 relay.  She was more than a half-second up on Destiny Davis (Baker, AL senior) at 25.07, while Brooke Raglin had another bronze with 25.50.

More distances: Weems, Karr impressive; kicker’s win for Keith

• 2:12.64 girls’ 800m run by Presley Weems (Hoover, AL senior), pulling away from defending champ Marielle Lewis (Campbell, GA senior) at 2:14.54.  Amaris Tyynismaa (Catholic-Montgomery, AL frosh) – last year’s 2-mile champ – was 3rd at 2:15.23, with two others less than a second back.
• 1:54.36 boys’ 800m run by Noah Karr (American Christian, AL senior), winning an intense homestretch battle with Geoffrey McCullough (Campbell, GA senior) at 1:54.51.  Paul Barlow (Auburn, AL senior) wasn’t far behind in 3rd at 1:55.35.  Karr was 5th in 2015.
• 4:21.36 boys’ 1-mile run by Devyn Keith (John Curtis, LA sr), taking a kicker’s race with a big negative split.  He was followed by Jack Rogers (Auburn, AL junior) at 4:21.94 and Drew Williams (Mountain Brook, AL senior) at 4:21.97.  Keith was the 2015 runner-up in the mile, and 2nd in 2014 in the 2-mile.  He also has great range, having anchored (1:53.95) Curtis’s 3rd-place (3:28.88) sprint medley last month at NBNI, then also having taken 7th at last June’s NBNO 5,000 in 14:55.74.
• 9:16.32 boys’ 2-mile run by Andrew Kent (Lakeside Dekalb, GA senior), finishing strong in the last lap-plus to prevail over Tommy McDonough (Hoover, AL junior) at 9:20.55 and Ryan Ford (Westminster, AL senior) at 9:22.47.
• 5:06.73 girls’ 1-mile run by Alicia Stamey (Episcopal, LA junior), more than five seconds up on Rebecca Buteau (Madison Central, MS senior) at 5:11.88 and Kathryn Foreman (Landmark Christian, GA senior) at 5:14.19.

More field events: Zeldon defends; Thompson sweeps

• 140-9 girls’ javelin throw by standing meet-record holder Samantha Zeldon (St. Scholastica, LA senior), defending her 2015 title and beating a field that included Sarah Morris (UMS-Wright, AL senior) at 135-5 and Callie Jones (Cottage Hill Christian, AL junior) at 128-6.  Zeldon’s Louisiana rival Alexis Rigmaiden, 2nd here in 2015 and with a 157-foot PR, was registered but did not attend.
• 133-6 discus and 42-9.75 shot put girls’ throws double by Rhea Thompson (St. Louis, LA senior), defending her 2015 discus crown and improving from 4th in the shot last year.  In the disc, Thompson was nearly 13 feet ahead of Logan Louis (Baton Rouge, LA) at 120-8 and Sam Dailey (Beauregard, AL junior) at 120-7, but in the shot she was pushed harder by runner-up Loren James (Baton Rouge, LA senior) at 42-5.5 and Kristian Jackson (Zachary, LA soph) at 41-5.
• 18-6.25 girls’ long jump by Rikianne Patterson (Edna Karr, LA junior), defending her 2015 title and defeating Elysa Griffin (Homewood, AL senior) at 18-2 and Raleshia Gee (Starkville, MS senior) at 17-10.5 (nwi for all).
• 38-0.5 girls’ triple jump by Alonie Sutton (Smiths Station, AL soph), nipping Callie Jones (Cottage Hill Christian, AL junior) at 37-11.75 as she progressed all the way from 7th in 2015.  Sutton’s teammate Kennedy Brown was 3rd at 37-4.
• 15-3 boys’ pole vault for Nick South (Muscle Shoals, AL senior), triumphing over Joseph Popek (Ragsdale, NC senior) at 15-0 and Adriano Theriot (South Cameron, LA senior) at 14-6.
• 6-6 boys’ high jump for Melvin Hill (Baker, AL junior), beating two others who cleared 6-4.  JuVaughn Blake (Columbia, AL junior) was 2nd on misses, with Trae Berry (Spanish Fort, AL junior) taking 3rd.
• 12-0 girls’ pole vault for Parish Kitto (Episcopal, LA senior), winning on misses over Tessa Sheets (Northwood, NC junior), who also cleared 12-0.  Tying for 3rd at 11-6 were Tally Wilson (Cullman, AL senior), Brooke Brunet (Vandebilt Catholic, LA) and 13-footer Chesney Ward (Ragsdale, NC senior).  2015 champ Margaret Ollinger, a local favorite (McGill-Toolen senior) and US#2 at 13-7.5, missed the meet due to a mission trip.  Kitto was 3rd in 2015.
• 5-4 girls’ high jump for Grace Campbell (Murray, KY junior), beating five others who cleared 5-2.  Tying for 2nd at that height were Gracie Hunt (UMS-Wright, AL junior) and Cortney Jones (Rockdale Co., GA junior).
• 53-4.5 boys’ shot put for defending champ Nigel Despinasse (Catholic-Baton Rouge, LA senior), winning a close battle with Robert Moore (Auburn, AL senior) at 52-8.5, while Devin Savwoir (John Curtis, LA senior) was 3rd at 51-6.
• 165-10 boys’ discus throw by Walker Long (Shades Mtn Christian, AL senior), winning by nearly nine feet over shot put winner Nigel Despinasse (Catholic-Baton Rouge, LA senior) at 157-0 and Cade Finley (Wilson, AL soph) at 156-10.

Girls’ relays: Winners split across three states

• 48.07 4x100m by Zachary, LA, moving up from 2nd in 2015 as they outsprinted Hoover, AL at 48.27 and Rockdale County, GA at 48.94.
• 9:49.92 4x800m by Huntsville, AL, with a homestretch kick making the difference in a close fight with Walker, AL at 9:51.19; St. Joseph Academy, LA at 9:51.67; and defending champion Hoover, AL at 9:54.27.  Huntsville rose from 5th last year.
• 3:56.33 4x400m by Campbell, GA, winning a terrific 4-lap battle with Hoover, AL at 3:57.33.  Smiths Station, AL captured the bronze at 4:01.29.