Rebels’ girls basketball team ready to make a state championship run Page 26
SPORTS
Thursday, February 11, 2021 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Mountain Brook Gymnastics’ Caroline Leonard earns scholarship to Auburn Page 26
State Indoor Track Meet Recap Homewood’s Title Streaks Come to an End
Vestavia Hills’ Strand, West Turn in Memorable Performances
By Rubin E. Grant
By Rubin E. Grant
‘I was not expecting to win all three, but I was happy how it went.’ VESTAVIA HILLS JUNIOR CRAWFORD WEST
(2:11.28) was established by McGill-Toolen Catholic’s Carmen Carlos competing in the Class 6A indoor state meet in 2013. West also won the 1,600 with the state meet’s only sub-5 minute time of the weekend (4:59.58), to set a new 7A state record, eclipsing the 4:59.96 set by Anna Grace Morgan of Mountain Brook at the 2017 championships. West closed her day by setting a new 7A 3,200-meter record with her winning time of 10:58.27, eclipsing the 7A standard (10:58.97)
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
Ethan Strand made sure his final state indoor track meet would be memorable. Vestavia Hills’ senior distance runner began the Class 7A session Saturday with a bang, winning the 800-meter race in a state-record time of 1:51.07 during the 51st AHSAA State Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Strand needed the record-breaking finish because Rebels teammate Alex Leath (1:52.72) was right behind him and also broke the previous AHSAA overall indoor state-meet record (1:53.45), set by Chris Patrick of Smiths Station in 2004 at Priceville. Afterward, Strand and Leath shared a warm embrace. Huntsville’s Gabe Scales (1:54.25) took third place. His time also surpassed the Class 7A indoor state meet record (1:54.69) established by Hoover’s Trent Hammer at the 2017 state meet. Strand also held the overall CrossPlex and state mark with his time of 1:52.91, which he ran in a regular season meet on Jan. 21. Strand, a North Carolina signee, also won the 1,600 meters with a 4:17.47 time, just ahead of Scales at 4:19.30 and just shy of the Class 7A state indoor meet record of 4:17.06, set by Hoover’s Drew Williams at the 2016 championships. In the girls’ competition, Vestavia Hills junior Crawford West swept the distance races, setting 7A indoor state-meet records in two of her victories. She set a new 7A state-meet mark in the 800 meters with a winning time of 2:12.93. Spain Park’s MacKenzie Culpepper finished second with a 2:13.45 time, falling just short of the previous record (2:13.19) set by Hoover’s Presley Weems in 2016. The overall record
Homewood’s stranglehold on the Class 6A indoor track titles was broken Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The Patriots had swept the boys and girls state championships the past three years, but the boys finished second and the girls third in the 51st Alabama High School Association State Indoor Track and Field Championships. Opelika won the boys title with 81 points, followed by Homewood with 66 points,
Vestiavia’s Ethan Strand, above, won the 1,600 meters with a 4:17.47 time, just ahead of Scales at 4:19.30 and just shy of the Class 7A state indoor meet record. In the girls’ competition, Vestavia Hills junior Crawford West, left, swept the distance races, setting 7A indoor state-meet records in two of her victories
also established by Morgan in 2017. “I just really wanted it and went after it,” West said. “I was getting my recovery in behind races, resting my legs, drinking lots of water and eating crackers and peanut butter. “I was not expecting to win all three, but I was happy how it went. My teammates were really excited but not only for me but how we performed as a team. We got third place with only seven people competing. I think that was pretty cool.”
Hoover-Hewitt Showdown
Hewitt-Trussville, in coach Tom Esslinger’s first season with the Huskies, swept the Class 7A team titles, ending Hoover’s reign in both. Essingler was the coach at Homewood before taking the job at Hewitt. Hoover’s boys had won four consecutive championships and six of the past eight while the girls were the defending Class 7A champs
See CLASS 7A, page 27
Homewood senior Crawford Hope won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:20.96. Hope also anchored the Patriots 4x400 relay team.
Scottsboro with 52, Mountain Brook with 35 and St. Paul’s Episcopal with 32. Northridge edged Mountain Brook for the girls title by 97 to 86 points. Homewood was third with 59 points, followed by McGill-Toolen Catholic with 45 and Fort Payne with 38. “It had to come to an end at some point,” Homewood coach Josh Donaldson said reluctantly. “With Northridge in the girls and Opelika in the boys, we ran into two dominant teams. And with Mountain Brook and McGill-Toolen dropping down (from Class 7A), we didn’t have it all matched up. “But I am really proud of both of our teams. We still came up with a runner-up trophy in the
See CLASS 6A, page 27
