High School Girls Field Events

In the high school girls' field events, Shacora Jurden of Clarksdale High School dominated the jumps with victories in both the triple jump and the long jump. She hit marks of 17-07 and 36-10, earning almost an entire foot personal best in the triple. She also tied for second place in the high jump with Mackaly Brown of Pontotoc High School, as both girls hit a mark of 5-00. Ashlyn Hill claimed the win, however, clearing 5-02.

In the discus, Kema Roberts of Brookhaven came away with a comfortable win with her throw of 105-04, winning by over ten feet. Laurel High School athletes Morgan Evans and Yazmine Mix rounded out the top three with their marks of 94-08 and 90-02. For the shot put, Ajah Davis of Holmes County Central High School threw 31-11 to earn her first state title. 

For pole vault, Ava Robbins of Pontotoc High School secured her second state title with a vault of 9-0. Her teammate Aubrey Robbins and Allie Drewery of Lafayette High School tied for second place with their jumps of 8-06.

High School Girls Track Events

In the high school girls' track events, we saw the same few athletes dominate the sprinting sections. In the 100-meter race, Carmen Owens of Pontotoc High School won the day with her new personal best of 12.23. Owens came back for the 200m race and grabbed a second-place finish in 25.99, beaten by Brookhaven High School's Chrisiyona Quarles. Quarles ran a time of 25.21 for a new personal best. In third place, Qiana Pierce of Laurel High School snagged a podium finish with a time of 26.06. Pierce wasn't just done yet though, as she also won the 400m race with her split of 59.39. This time makes her the only MHSAA 5A girl to break the 1-minute barrier this season. Right behind her, Carmen Owens was right back at it with a second-place finish.

Over in the distance events, we saw Lyla Cox of Pontotoc High School grab the 800m state title in what appears to be her first-ever season of track and field. Upping the distance to the 1600m race, there was a close battle between freshman Isabella Iles of Brookhaven and Elsie Wilbanks from Corinth High School. Iles won the day in a sprint finish with her time of 5:43, beating out Wilbanks' time of 5:44. At last year's state competition, she crossed the line in 5th place, making this victory even more special. In the 3200m race, Elsie Wilbanks came back for vengeance and secured a dominant win with her time of 12:39. She won the race by 20 seconds with Iles finishing second at 12:59.

With the Brookhaven duo of Sierra Edwards and Chrisiyona Quarles, the hurdle events were one of the most exciting races of the day. Sierra Edwards came away with victory in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles, coming through in 14.23 and 44.83. In the 100-meter hurdles, Edwards destroyed the MHSAA 5A state record by over 0.2 seconds, forever etching her name in the state history books. Not only that, but she now stands as the 4th fastest 100-meter hurdler to ever run in Mississippi. Even though Edwards won both events, Chrisiyona Quarles was right behind her every step of the way. Quarles claimed second in both events and narrowly lost the 300-meter hurdles by 0.02 seconds.

Into the relays, Brookhaven snatched three podium finishes, two of those being first place. In the 4x800m relay, the top two fastest times ever for the MHSAA 5A division were run at this year's state championships. Both Brookhaven High School and Corinth High School broke the state record, with Brookhaven securing the record for themselves in 10:20.

High School Girls Team Race

With almost no competition around them, Brookhaven High School dominated the girl's team scores and won the day with 153 points. This team had very few weaknesses all sides of the track and field events and earned points in nearly every single event. Their standout distance runners, hurdlers, and relays were some of the key factors in their victory.

Behind them, Pontotoc High School claimed second place with 106 points to their name. 

MHSAA 5A BOYS

High School Boys Field Events

In the high school boys' field events, Markeith Thompson of Natchez High School and Waltrelle Smith of Brookhaven clashed in the long jump event. Both boys hit a mark of 22-03.5, meaning they tied for the farthest jump that day. Waltrelle Smith came back for the triple jump and grabbed another podium with his mark of 43-03. Winning the event was Cedric McGhee of North Pike High School with a jump of 44-06.5. This was a two-foot personal best for McGhee and a significant win for him as well, as he did not even make it past the division round at last year's MHSAA championships.

The high jump saw an unprecedented three-way tie for first place between Xavier Gayten of Brookhaven and teammates Cameron Warren and Jayden Cration of Canton High School. All three boys jumped 6-02, but no one was able to clear the allusive 6-04 mark. 

Over in the throws, Ryder Wiles of Pontotoc High School won the discus event with a throw of 142-0. This new personal best allowed him to finish of his season undefeated in the discus event. Last year, Wiles was stumped at the regional meet with a throw of 123-3, but came back this year with 20 more feet of power to secure his first state title. For the shot-put, Coderro McDaniel of Brookhaven sealed the victory with his throw of 44-11. According to Milesplit's database, this is his first year ever competing in track and field and he has ended it with a victory on the state's biggest stage. Not only that, but he is also only a freshman.

Last but not least, the pole vaulters showcased a battle between Watson Williamson of Lafayette High School and John Labas from Corinth. Williamson won the day with his vault of 12-06, while Labas finished second with his performance of 12-00.

High School Boys Track Events

In the high school boys' track events, we saw sprinting sensation Antoine Spillman of Canton High School lay the hammer down in the 100, 200, and 400-meter races. Spillman won all three events with times of 10.75, 21.44, and 49.88. What makes these wins even crazier is the fact that his biggest competitor was his own teammate, La'Javeon Griffin. In the same events as Spillman, Griffis claimed 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd, only barely losing the 400-meter race by 0.09 seconds. These two athletes have had a spectacular season and what better way to end it than earning three podiums together?

Hopping up to the distance events, Pontotoc High School swarmed the middle-distance events with runners Andrew Chrestman and Samuel Aguilar. Andrew Chrestman dominated the 800m race with a winning time of 2:01. In the 1600m, Samuel Aguilar beat out Chrestman with a time of 4:40. Chrestman was close behind with a time of 4:41. Close behind those two athletes was Corinth's duo Ricardo Venegas and Braxton Stevens, both of whom were within 4-seconds of the winning time.

In the 8-lap event, Zachary Josiah Nobles of South Jones High School crushed the competition with his time of 10:06. Corinth runner Braxton Stevens finished in second with a time of 10:25.

For the hurdlers, Markeith Thompson glided to a dominant victory in the 300-meter hurdles, claiming a time of 38.23. Thompson currently stands as the 3rd fastest hurdler in MHSAA 5A history. 

High School Boys Team Race

In an unexpected result, Brookhaven High School and Canton High School tied for first place with both teams earning 110 points. Brookhaven cleaned house in the field events and had success in the relays and several other events. Canton High School crushed the sprinting events, relays, and field events. One thing to note is that 52 of Canton High School's points were made up by the sprint duo Antoine Spillman and La'Javeon Griffin.