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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s Collin Pate reacts after clearing 16.02-feet in the pole vault competition during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s Taylor Canada competes in the preliminary section of the girls 60-meter dash AHSAA Class 5A-7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s boys celebrate with the AHSAA Class 7A state championship trophy following the state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s girls celebrate with the AHSAA Class 7A state championship trophy following the state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s McKenzie Blackledge and Vestavia Hills’ Riley Zeanah cross the finish line in the girls 800-meter run during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover and Chelsea compete in the girls 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s Collin Pate clears 16.02-feet in the pole vault competition during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover competes in the girls 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover competes in the girls 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover competes in the girls 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover and Chelsea compete in the girls 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s girls place first in the 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Vestavia Hills and Hoover compete in the boys 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover competes in the boys 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover competes in the boys 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s Catherine Wallace competes in the girls 800-meter run during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
in the preliminary section of the boys 60-meter hurdles during the AHSAA Class 5A-7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover’s Abby King participates in the preliminary section of the girls 60-meter hurdles during the AHSAA Class 5A-7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover and Vestavia Hills compete in the boys 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover competes in the boys 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hoover and Vestavia Hills compete in the boys 4x400-meter relay during the AHSAA Class 7A state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
For the past three years, everyone else has been competing for second place at the Class 7A state indoor track and field meet.
Hoover High School’s boys and girls took care of business again last Saturday, dominating and sweeping the state titles for the third consecutive time.
The boys accumulated an eye-popping 133.5 points, well ahead of runner-up Vestavia Hills, which posted 79 points. James Clemens, Hewitt-Trussville and Oak Mountain rounded out the top five.
Hoover’s girls scored 90 points, well clear of Hewitt-Trussville’s 59 points in second. Vestavia Hills, Auburn and Thompson made up the rest of the top five.
Hoover coach Chris Schmidt wanted his team to stay within itself during the state competition. The results the Bucs’ athletes had posted throughout the season were good enough to clinch another set of state championships.
“If we did our job and had good performances like we’ve been doing all year, I felt like great things were going to happen,” he said.
Hoover’s boys scored points in every event, with the girls scoring in all but three events as well.
Dallas Beck won the 400-meter run with a time of 48.64 seconds. Collin Pate won the pole vault competition, clearing 16 feet, 2 inches. Bradley Shaw won shot put, reaching 51-4 on his throw. The boys 4x200- and 4x400-meter relay teams also took home top prize.
Denver Cash was second in 60-meter hurdles, Cannon Peters was second in the 800, Jordan Woolen finished second in high jump, RJ Torbor was third in long jump, Charles Crowder was second in triple jump and the 4x400 relay team was third.
For the girls, Taylor Canada won the 60-meter dash in 7.67 seconds. Daisy Luna took the top prize in the 400, running the race in 55.81 seconds. D’Asya Harold won the triple jump, reaching 36-9.25. The girls 4x400 relay team set a state record with a time of 3:53, while the 4x200 team won in 1:42.
McKenzie Blackledge reached the podium twice by finishing second in the 800 and third in the 400. Tamsyn Gibbs was third in the 3,200, as was the 4x800 relay.
Jameson Coleman, Benny Schmidt, Zander Dakis, Norman Settles, Michael Nixon, Abby King, Catherine Wallace, Nyel Settles, Isabella Maple and Lucy Benoit scored points for the Bucs in the meet as well.
For Spain Park, Delaney Vickers had a strong meet. She was third in the 1,600 and finished sixth in the 800. Remy Richards, Sydney Baker and Isaac Battles were among the Jags to score points as well.
