Anniston boys win 4×400 relay to clinch school’s first outdoor track state title; White Plains girls share 4A red map
By Al Muskewitz
GULF SHORES – Christian Myles has been calling Anniston track coach Lisa Howard Holland “mom” ever since he started running for the team in seventh grade. It didn’t take long for the handle to catch on with the rest of his teammates.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs gave their “mom” the greatest Mother’s Day present they could ever deliver. They brought their coach and the program the first boys outdoor track state championship in school history when they edged Bibb County for the Class 4A state crown.
The Bulldogs scored 75 points and closed it out by winning the 4×400 relay in school record time (3:25.32). They took a two-point lead on Bibb County going into the race, but still had to get through the seeded heat without incident and beat Bibb County’s 3:31 from the slower first heat to seal it.
“It was the best feeling ever,” sprinter Jayden Lewis said. “She came up and cried and hugged me and I told her it was for her. It’s a great Mother’s Day present. In my word, she’s the GOAT, for real.”
It was the fifth outdoor state title won by a Calhoun County boys team, seventh all-time, and first since Piedmont won the Class 3A crown in 2014. It was Anniston’s 14th state title in school history.
What made it even more satisfying is Bibb County was the team the Bulldogs finished second to here last year. This year, they had more weapons.
“This is extremely big,” Howard Holland said. “I think we were so hungry for it because we got so close to it (last year). We had some ups and downs, but we pulled through and that was the best thing about it. We did it together as a team. It wasn’t one individual who did something spectacular. Everybody put in the effort together to make sure we were successful.
“We had some points we counted that didn’t come through, but we got a lot of points that weren’t calculated that people stepped up. It was a team effort. Every minute they were asking what are the points, where we were, what do we need to do.”
The Bulldogs trailed the Choctaws by five points going into the 800, but Myles won the race with a personal best 1:57.30 – diving over the line at the finish – to give them the team lead. They still had to run a clean race in the relay, but were confident stepping into the blocks.
“Malachi Taylor called my phone right before the race and said, ‘Ma, it’s in the bag,’” Howard Holland said.
Then the team of JaVon Thomas, Lewis, Myles and Jaylon Cunningham ran two 50 splits and two 51s to break the school record they set the week before and start the Mother’s Day celebration early. It also was Thomas and twin sister LaZadia’s birthday.
“It’s legendary,” Lewis said. “It’s crazy to think about, but we did it. All the hard work we put in paid off.”
The White Plains girls finished tied for second in Class 4A. The Lady Wildcats held the lead going into Saturday, but were outnumbered in the remaining events and finished tied with Randolph.
“We knew it was going to be tough because we didn’t have anybody in hurdles,” White Plains coach Bradley Dawson said. “In the 100 alone five of the eight were Randolph and (eventual champion) Brooks, and the top two in the 300 were Brooks and Randolph. We just knew we had to perform in the 800 and hold serve in the 4×4.”
Anna Strickland and double winner Maddyn Conn went 1-6 in the 800 and gave the Lady Wildcats a five-point lead over Randolph going into the 4×400. All they had to do was stay ahead of the Lady Raiders in the relay to take second outright. Randolph finished fourth to pick up five points and White Plains missed the top eight by 15-hundreths of a second.
“It was a pretty fast heat,” Dawson said. “We didn’t run as fast as we needed to, but the time we ran today was the best we could.”
Calhoun County produced nine total state champions and 28 athletes on the podium at the two championship meets. [*** read more]
CALHOUN COUNTY STATE CHAMPIONS
OUTDOOR TRACK
BOYS
1972 – Cobb Avenue (3A)
2007 – Jacksonville (4A)
2013 – Piedmont (3A)
2014 – Piedmont (3A)
2022 – Anniston (4A)
GIRLS
1981 – Weaver (3A)
1994 – Jacksonville (4A)
Class 4A-7A Meet
CLASS 4A
BOYS
Team scores (Top 20): Anniston 75, Bibb County 67, Haleyville 47, Cherokee County 41, American Christian 40, Oneonta 38, Randolph 38, St. John Paul II 33, Booker T. Washington 32, Westminster Christian 26, St. James 26, Priceville 25, Vigor 21, Montgomery Academy 21, Madison Academy 20, Brooks 20, DAR 16, Jackson 15, Ashville 15, Handley 14.
Points scorers
100 – 2. Jayden Lewis, Anniston, 11.09; 4. Cherokee County, 11.22; 6. Alex Johnson, Cherokee County, 11.44
100 Ambulatory – 1. Jack Sammit, Cherokee County, 23.36
200 – 2. Jayden Lewis, Anniston, 22.04; 6. Alex Johnson, Cherokee County, 22.73
200 Ambulatory – 1. Jack Sammitt, Cherokee County, 50.68
400 – 2. C.J. Gresham, Cherokee County, 50.13; 4. JaVon Thomas, Anniston, 51.59
800 – 1. Christian Myles, Anniston, 1:57.30; 7. Dakota Frank, Munford, 2:00.72
1600 – 2. Christian Myles, Anniston, 4:28.01
3200 – 8. Christian Myles, Anniston, 10:09.84
HJ – 6. Malachi Taylor, Anniston, 6-0
LJ – 4. Malachi Taylor, Anniston, 21-2.75
SP – 8. Ryqueze McElderry, Anniston, 42-6.25
SP Ambulatory – 1. Jack Sammit, Cherokee County, 10-6
SP Ambulator – 1. Daniel Burton, Cherokee County, 14-10
TJ – 2. Malachi Taylor, Anniston, 43-6.75
4×100 – 1. Cherokee County, 42.95; 3. Anniston, 43.08
4×400 – 1. Anniston 3:25.32, 2. Cherokee County, 3:25.90
GIRLS
Team scores (Top 20): Brooks 90, White Plains 60, Randolph 60, Anniston 35, Westminster Christian 33, Ashville 32, Cherokee County 31, St. Michael Catholic 30, Good Hope 29, Hamilton 28, American Christian 28, Bibb County 27, Montgomery Academy 26, St. John Paul II 26, Handley 17, Booker T. Washington 16, Oneonta 14, DAR 12, Fultondale 11, Rogers 10, Deshler 10, Munford 10.
Points scorers
100H – 5. Naleyah Gipson, Anniston, 17.53
100 – 4. Mary Hayes Johnson, Cherokee County, 12.89; 6. Anna Grace Brock, Cherokee County, 13.31
200 – 6. Alexis Bennett, Munford 26.75
400 – 5. Kiarra Foster, Anniston, 1:01.26; 6. Mary Hayes Johnson, Cherokee County, 1:01.38; 7. Liberty Lewis, Anniston, 1:01.75; 8. Lanecia Moore, Anniston, 1:02.09
800 – 1. Anna Strickland, White Plains, 2:20.02; 6. Maddyn Conn, White Plains, 2:32.06
1600 – 1. Maddyn Conn, White Plains, 5:18.77; 3. Anna Strickland, White Plains, 5:24.66
3200 – 1. Maddyn Conn, White Plains, 11:36.29; 4. Anna Strickland, White Plains, 12:00.39; 8. Isabella Foshee, Munford, 12:41.69
HJ – 2. Angel Bozarth, White Plains, 4-10
LJ – 4. Naleyah Gipson, Anniston, 15-2.25; 7. Angel Bozarth, White Plains, 14-9.75
PV – 3. Maleah Hill, White Plains, 8-0
4×100 – 1. Cherokee County, 50.04; 3. Munford, 51.80; 4. Anniston, 52.22
4×400 – 1. Cherokee County, 4:09.13; 2. Anniston, 4:11.61
4×800 – 3. Anniston, 10:46.96
CLASS 5A
BOYS
Team scores (Top 5): UMS-Wright 177, Pike Road 53, Demopolis 44, Center Point 41, John Carroll 40. Others: 23. Lincoln 7, 29. Clay Central 5, 37. Alexandria 2.
Points scorers
800 – 8. Jose Benitez-Garcia, Clay Central, 2:05.19
1600 – 8. Jaylon Rivers, Lincoln, 4:51.84
HJ – 5. Camare Hampton, Lincoln, 6-0
TJ – 7. Elijah Carter, Lincoln, 42-0.5
Disc – 7. Connor Hall, Alexandria, 123-0
4×800 – 5. Clay Central, 8:52.90
GIRLS
Team scorers (Top 5): UMS-Wright 112, Beauregard 90.5, Lawrence County 74, Demopolis 49, Pike Road 47. Others: 12. Alexandria 21, 25. Lincoln 5.
Points scorers
800 – 5. Michaela Watts, Alexandria, 2:27.43
HJ – 8. Anna Beth Stewart, Alexandria, 4-10
LJ – 3. Jordyn Walker, Alexandria, 17-2
Jav – 4. Jaycee Woods, Lincoln, 114-6
Disc – 4. Danashia Woods, Alexandria, 103-0
4×800 – 5. Alexandria, 10:50.83
CLASS 6A
BOYS
Team scores (Top 5): Scottsboro 79, McGill-Toolen 76, St. Paul’s 53, Clay-Chalkville 35, Jackson-Olin 31. Others: T-28. Oxford 5.
Points scorers
300H – 8. Kendric Croft, Oxford, 41.07
4×800 – 5. Oxford, 8:20.43
GIRLS
Team scores (Top 5): Mountain Brook 116, Northridge 111.5, St. Paul’s 52, Homewood 48.5, Saraland 42. Others: T-22. Oxford 7.5.
Points scorers
300H – 6. Chaci Whitfield, Oxford, 47.24
1600 – 8. Katie Keur, Oxford, 5:16.07
3200 – 7. Katie Keur, Oxford, 11:46.85
HJ – 7. Chaci Whitfield, Oxford, 5-0
Class 1A-3A Meet
CLASS 1A
BOYS
Team scores (Top 5): Lindsay Lane 97, Winterboro 78.5, Marion County 58, Cedar Bluff 42, Decatur Heritage 35. Others: 19. Donoho 14.
Points scorers
400 – 7. Ethan Rogers, Donoho, 56.11
1600 – 7. Carter Stremmel, Donoho, 5:16.88
3200 – 4. Carter Stremmel, Donoho, 11:38.09
4×800 – 4. Donoho, 9:41.92
GIRLS
Team scores (Top 10): Holy Spirit 74, Decatur Heritage 68, Red Level 64, Linden 53, Marion County 44.33, RA Hubbard 41, Loachapoka 36, Donoho 35.66, Wadley 31, Lindsay Lane 27.
Points scorers
400 – 5. Gracie Perry, 1:05.78
HJ – 5. Estella Connell, Donoho, 4-6
LJ – 3. Estella Connell, Donoho, 15-0
TJ – 2. Estella Connell, Donoho, 34-0.75
PV – 2. Rory Parks, Donoho, 7-0; 2. Dena Musa, Donoho, 7-0
4×100 – 8. Donoho, 55.96
CLASS 3A
BOYS
Team scores (Top 10): Bayside Academy 132, Mobile Christian 93, Dadeville 68.5, Winfield 56, Catholic Montgomery 43, Vinemont 41.5, Ohatchee 31, Holly Pond 27, Providence Christian 24, Flomaton 22. Others: 17. Piedmont 10.5, 19. Hokes Bluff 9, 20. Weaver 8, 23. Wellborn 6, 24. Pleasant Valley 4, 26. Glencoe 2, 28. Saks 1.
Points scorers
100 – 7. Eli Ennis, Ohatchee, 11.46
200 – 7. Ish Bethel, Piedmont, 23.56
Jav – 2. Troy Galloway, Ohatchee, 159-5
HJ – 7. Ish Bethel, Piedmont, 5-8
TJ – 8. Malachi Goble, Ohatchee, 39-3.25
PV – 1. Chris Ferguson, Ohatchee, 13-6; 3. Troy Galloway, Ohatchee, 11-6
4×100 – 5. Ohatchee, 46.17
GIRLS
Team scores (Top 10): Bayside Academy 101, Mobile Christian 99, Catholic Montgomery 77.5, Providence Christian 55, Houston Academy 44, Brindlee Mountain 32, Ohatchee 30.5, TR Miller 30, Susan Moore 26, JB Pennington 24. Others: 11. Piedmont 22, T-16. Pleasant Valley 13, T-16. Glencoe 13, T-18. Weaver 10, 22. Hokes Bluff 6, 26. Saks 3.
Points scorers
Disc – 3. Gracie George, Ohatchee, 94-5
Jav – 1. Jorda Crook, Ohatchee, 127-11
SP – 1. Gracie George, Ohatchee, 35-8
PV – 1. Ashllyn Adderhold, Piedmont, 9-6; 2. Lexi Ray, Piedmont, 9-0; 6. Brooklyn Fordham, Ohatchee 7-6; 7. Coalie Easterwood, Ohatchee, 7-0
