State track and field: Bucs, Jags post solid performances on Day 1
GULF SHORES -- Hoover High School head coach Devon Hind stood next to a waist-high fence Thursday evening as he watched one of his long jumpers, Jarvis Goodwin, take his final attempts of the competition.
Between the senior's leaps, Hind offered his analysis of the day's events.
"I'm real happy," he said. "We've got two guys in the finals of the 100, two girls in the finals. Both 4-by-1s got through. Those are never guaranteed."
Few things were guaranteed on the first day of the Class 4A-7A state outdoor track and field meet, held Thursday through Saturday at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.
Storms delayed the start of the meet by three hours -- from 9 a.m. to noon -- and a band of afternoon showers forced another hour-long reprieve. Strong gusts of wind whipped through all sections of the facility.
Still, Hoover made the most of its opportunities. The Buccaneer boys are second in the team standings through four events, trailing McGill-Toolen 27-21. The Buccaneer girls are seventh with 13.5 points through seven events.
"We just try to tell them, 'Hey, everybody's on the same boat. Whoever's mentally toughest is going to do well, so just block it out of your mind and don't worry about it,'" Hind said of his advice to the team in unfavorable weather.
The Hoover sprint corps exhibited that mental poise. Caitlyn Little and Jairyn Russell qualified for Saturday's 7A girls 100-meter dash final, while R.J. Nelson and Hakim Ruffin qualified for the boys final.
Little clocked the fastest 7A girls preliminary time in 12.22 seconds. Both Buccaneer 4x100-meter relay squads, as Hind said, advanced to the finals.
Hoover also performed well in the field events.
James Courson and Jacob Doak took second and fifth in the boys pole vault. Courson cleared the bar at 14 feet, 6 inches. Natalie Tashman (fourth) and Riley White (eighth) contributed points in the girls pole vault.
Ayana Eason placed fifth in the girls triple jump, while Goodwin placed eighth in the boys long jump.
Amber Bury took fifth in the girls discus.
"That made up for some points we didn't get in the mile," Hind said of Bury's finish.
Tommy McDonough was the lone Buccaneer scorer in Thursday's 1,600-meter run. He kicked hard down the homestretch to secure a runner-up finish in 4:21.27, a couple of paces behind Auburn's Jack Rogers.
McDonough won the state cross-country championship this past fall and added a pair of indoor titles in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at February's state meet.
"I think I took a little too much time. I was in a bad position the last lap," McDonough said. "Jack's a great runner, and he's got a really good kick. I just didn't have enough to catch him."
McDonough will return to the track Friday morning for the boys 3,200-meter run.
Spain Park
Spain Park senior Damon Wright placed third in the 7A boys shot put. Last year's state runner-up, he registered a personal-best throw of 55-0.75.
"It's just a great feeling to help out the school, help out the team in points," Wright said. "Every single time I step on the track, that's all I want to do, is make sure that I can propel our team to a higher place."
Wright's third-place finish earned Spain Park its only six points on the first day of competition. The Jags on Thursday guaranteed themselves at least one more point by grabbing the final qualifying spot in the boys 4x100-meter relay.
The Hoover Sun is in Gulf Shores for this week's Class 4A-7A state meet to bring you up-to-the minute coverage of the Hoover and Spain Park track and field teams. For live updates, follow @sam5k on Twitter and visit hooversun.com