2022 MAIS T&F State Meet Recap: High School Boys

Rivers Godwin and Cam Covey score 56 points

You read that correctly... the Madison Ridgeland Academy sprints/hurdles duo of Rivers Godwin and Cam Covey scored 56 points combined between the pair at the 2022 MAIS 6A Track and Field State Championships. And, that is excluding any relays. 

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In our 2022 MAIS State Meet Preview, we called Godwin and Covey the deadliest duo in the entire MAIS. And with the way that it all played out, they proved us right in a big way. 

Going into the MAIS State Meet, Covey led the entire MAIS in both the 110mH and 300mH, as well as the 200m. Teammate Godwin was right with him, also a triple threat in the 200m, 300mH, and 400m. The pair were each entered in their specialty events, and were either the number one or number two seeds in their entered events. 

Starting with the 300mH, Covey and Godwin blew it out of the water not only taking the top two spots, but also both finishing in under 40 seconds. Including Covey and Godwin, only seven Mississippi preps have broken the 40 second barrier in the 300mH this year, and having two from one team has not happened since Hattiesburg High School back in 2018. 

Crossing the finish line in first was Godwin, the junior, running a PR of 39.76 and earning his first-ever state title and breaking the MAIS 6A State Meet record. Just 0.21 seconds behind was teammate Covey in 39.97, making for a very exciting race to begin the day. 

In the 110mH, Covey followed his teammate and also earned his first-ever state title, running a PR of 14.98 and breaking the 15 second barrier for the first time in his career. 

Godwin was just getting started in the 300mH, and still had the 400m, which was considered his primary event, as well both Godwin and Covey in the 200m. 

In the 400m, Godwin cruised to another state title, winning by almost 1.5 seconds running 50.37, crushing the 51 second barrier for the first time in his career. 

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Finally, Godwin made it a 30-point day in the 200m as he won yet another individual state title, running his third PR of the day. Godwin's mark in the 200m was a 22.30, beating out none other than his teammate, Cam Covey, finishing second in 22.63. Godwin and Covey beat out Xavier Davis of Hartfield, the MAIS 6A 100m State Champion from earlier that day. 

The MRA duo peaked at the right time of the season and showed up when it matters, and clutched out 56 points at the 2022 MAIS 6A Track and Field State Championships to help their team in a big way to come out with a big win. 

Tucker Lobrano pulls off the sprints triple in MAIS 4A

Yet another prep who helped his team in a big way and also proved us right in the MAIS State Meet Preview was Centreville Academy's Tucker Lobrano

Lobrano scored 30 points for the Tigers in hollywood fashion at the 2022 MAIS 4A Track and Field State Championships, winning the 100m, 200m, and winning the 400m and defending his title by a mere 0.002 seconds, just barely holding off Canton Academy's Bert Goodloe.

Both Lobrano and Goodloe broke the 51 second barrier for the first time in their careers, with Goodloe having the race of his life PR'ing by a full 1.7 seconds. 

Lobrano had a little bit easier of victory in the 100m, cruising to a 11.22 into a headwind and taking the win by 0.4 seconds. 

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Finally, Lobrano polished it off in the 200m, running 23.01 to claim his third state title of the day and remain undefeated for his senior season. 

Sidney Stegall pulls off distance triple crown, breaks MAIS Records

Perhaps one of the most impressive individual performances that we saw at the 2022 MAIS Track and Field State Championships was the series that the Heritage Academy junior Sidney Stegall put together in the distance events, pulling off the distance triple crown on the same day against some stellar competition. 

Stegall started the day off with the 1600m, possibly his strongest event. Stegall came into the field with the #1 seed mark of 4:26, which was a 20+ second win at the 2022 Bianca Knight Invitational against some prominent MHSAA 6A figures such as Clinton talents Miguel Bankston and Christian Parks, as well as 4:43 miler Hunter Havens. 

Although it was hot and he could be running solo in some events, we knew Stegall had a solid shot at giving the MAIS records a scare at the 2022 MAIS Track and Field State Championships... And that is exactly what he did. 

Setting the tone for the day, Stegall crossed the line in first place in the 1600m, 20 seconds ahead of the next finisher with a new PR of 4:23.41. According to MileSplit Mississippi and MAIS records, this makes Stegall the third fastest 1600m runner in MAIS history. 

Next up for Stegall was the 800m, in which he won by 11 seconds in 2:00.21. 

Stegall's third event of the day was his longest, the 3200m, in which he would run in possibly the hardest part of the day. He would also be facing off against Madison St. Joseph's William Fugate, the 2021 MAIS 5A Cross Country State Champion who has gone 10:06 and 16:00 in the 3200m and 5k in his sophomore campaign. 

However all of these factors did not stop Stegall from winning his third state title of the day and sixth title of his career, running 9:58 to Fugate's 10:12 in non-ideal conditions, as well as coming off of two previous races. 

Finally, Stegall's day did not end with the 3200m. He suited up for the 4x400m just half an hour later to anchor Heritage Academy to a podium finish, running 3:40.38. 

Through the 2022 track and field season, Stegall has stayed undefeated in every event from 800-3200 meters, securing some very fast times in process. 

Next up for Stegall is the 2022 Mississippi Track and Field Meet of Champions, where he will try and continue that undefeated streak in the 800m. 

Roury McCloyen smashes MAIS State Meet records in throws

St. Joseph Catholic's Roury McCloyen took Raider Park by storm with his monster throws done at the 2022 MAIS 4A Track and Field State Championships. 

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McCloyen had a lot of momentum going into the championships with a bomb in the Discus of 189-2 at the MAIS 5A-1 District Championships. According to our records, this makes McCloyen the second farthest discus thrower in Mississippi High School Track and Field history. 

With that being said, you can say he was the favorite to the MAIS 4A Shot Put and Discus State Titles. 

McCloyen exceeded expectations in both throwing events, winning the Shot Put with a throw and PR of 60-6 cracking the 60-foot barrier for the first time in his career, and winning the Discus in 183-2. 

This makes McCloyen the first prep in MAIS history to crack 60 feet in the Shot Put, and also the first to break 180 feet in the Discus. 

Finally, according to MileSplit, MAIS, and MHSAA records, there has never been a single Mississippi prep to crack both the 60-feet Shot Put barrier as well as the 180 feet Discus barrier. That is, until Roury McCloyen. 

And he did it all in one outing. 

There may never be another Mississippi thrower like McCloyen. The crazy thing is, he is a junior, so he has an entire year to come back and chase even more records next year. 

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Conerly upset in the High Jump, Thomas and Alexander prevail

The MAIS High School Boys High Jump has indeed looked very strong and deep this season with multiple national-caliber performers, and at the 2022 MAIS Track and Field State Championships, it got even deeper. 

Clinton Christian's Joe Thomas was the heavy favorite going into the MAIS 4A Track and Field State Championships with multiple 6-6 performances going into the Championships. 

In the end, Thomas repeated yet another 6-6 to secure to defend his MAIS 4A State Title in the high jump, as well as adding another podium finish in the 300mH the next day. 

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Next up is Harrison Alexander of MRA, the 6A title favorite thanks to his PR of 6-7.25. Like Thomas, Alexander defended his High Jump state title, jumping 6-4 and going 1-2 with teammate Will Gallaspy to tack on 18 more points to the winning total of 230. 

Finally, the top high jumper in the MAIS this year, 6-8 high jumper Brandon Conerly of Oak Forest, was upset by Simpson Academy freshman Chanse Funchess, who jumped an outstanding freshman mark of 6-6 to take the MAIS 5A High School Boys High Jump State Title. 

Funchess is now the number one ranked high freshman high jumper in Mississippi, and number three ranked freshman high jumper in the nation. 

The MAIS is indeed showing a lot of promise and potential in the high school boys high jump, and we could possibly see one, or more, of these preps break break the seven foot barrier in the event in the near future. 

Kameron Willson runs 2:01 800m as an 8th-grader

Last but certainly not least, MileSplit Mississippi future star Kameron Willson of Centreville Academy made our jaws drop with his 800m performance at the 2022 MAIS 4A Track and Field Championships. 

READ: Future Stars: Centreville Academy's Kameron Willson

Winning by 11 seconds, Willson ran an astounding middle school 800m time of 2:01.92, hitting a new PR and asserting himself as one of the top middle-distance runners in the MAIS, as well as one of the top middle school 800m runners in the nation. 

This was Willson's first state title of his career, and if he stays healthy, it will probably be his first of many. 

With Willson's shiny, new 800m PR, he now ranks number two nationally in 8th-grade 800m rankings. 

One is thing certain - The MAIS 4A State record of 1:58.97 held by Centreville's Austen Addington, who is the previous 8th-grade 800m state record holder until Willson, is surely in trouble. 

Honorable mentions

We unfortunately can't talk about everybody that competed at the 2022 MAIS Track and Field Championships, but there were still several performances that caught our attention. 

- Will Triplett of MRA snagged not just one, but two state titles in his last ever high school track meet, securing a big PR of 4:37 in the 1600m in the process. 

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- Elliot Davis, the Jackson Prep freshman, ran a phenomenal freshman time of 4:39 for the 1600m in a thrilling battle with Triplett. 

- Grady Brasher of Claiborne Academy threw a Discus PR of 161-3 to win the MAIS 3A State Title. Brasher's mark hit the MileSplit USA Second-Team Standard and is a mere four feet and five inches off of the MAIS 3A High School Boys Discus State Record. 

- Connor Purvis of Clinton Christian ran a phenomenal freshman 400m time of 51.91 to place third at the 2022 MAIS 4A Track and Field State Championships. 

- The MAIS 5A High School Boys 1600m was historically deep, with nearly every runner in the field cracking five minutes. In that field, 8th-grader Denver Carter of Simpson ran 5:01. 

- Silliman Institute ran the top MAIS 4x400m time of 3:31.