MHSAA 7A GIRLS
High School Girls Field Events
In the high school girls' field events, Sahara Cooper of Gulfport High School pulled off the double and won both long jump and triple jump. With her marks of 18-04.50 and 37-06, she was practically untouchable. She was the only athlete to clear 18 feet not just at this meet, but for the entire 7A classification this year. Although they didn't win the triple jump, Kaylee Spencer of Southaven High School and Serenity Reed of Meridian High School were right behind her. Both girls were within 0.75 inches of Cooper's jump.
In the high jump event, Carmela Coulter of Ocean Springs High School successfully cleared 5-04 and earned her a state title. Last year, Coulter fell just short of being named the event winner, but this year she came back with a vengeance and won it all.
For our throwers, it was an Aryn Eady highlight reel as she dominated both events effortlessly. Eady won both the shot put and discus with throws of 39-08 and 149-06, respectively. Her monstrous discus throw now ranks her as the second best discus thrower to ever step on a Mississippi field.
In the pole vault, it was once again a one-woman show with Julie Segroves of Biloxi High School doing what she does best. Segroves has battled injury throughout the season and despite all of that she still came on top with an insane vault of 13-4. This ties her season best and ranks her as the 15th-best pole vaulter in the country.
High School Girls Track Events
In the high school girls' field events, we started off with an early battle between Ashlyn Robinson of Germantown and Tacherria Lawson of Clinton High School. Both girls dueled for the 100-meter state title, with Robinson coming out on top with a time of 11.95. This was her first time ever going below 12 and makes her one of the few girls in the state to do so. Both girls weren't done though, as they both doubled back in the 200-meter to face Pearl's Ja Saria Harris. Harris is a freshman who has been taking names all season long, and the state championship race was no different. She beat out both seniors by a mere 0.02 seconds to claim victory in 24.58.
In maybe one of the fastest 400-meter races ever in the state of Mississippi, Jordyn Moody of Oak Grove High School took the race by storm and won handily. She split a 55.93, winning by almost two seconds. Moody is a freshman as well, landing herself as the 2nd fastest 9th grader ever race in the Magnolia state. Don't let the winning time overshadow the other competitors though, as three other girls ran 58 or faster and all one but competitor went below 1-minute. A quick look at the stats will show you that this race was a personal best for almost every single girl that competed in the event.
Up in the 800-meter race, we had an insanely gutsy race between three of the fastest-distance runners in the state. On the line was Alex Lee of Madison Central, Emerson Yelverton of Biloxi, and Madeline Moore of Pearl. These three girls finished all within 0.5 seconds of each other and showcased a riveting photo finish. Alex Lee came on top with a time of 2:19.33, with Yelverton finishing second and Moore claiming third. One thing to point out from this race is the fact that the top four finishers are all sophomores or younger. Even crazier than that, only one girl, Aurora Latimer of Brandon High School, is graduating this year.
For the 1600m and 3200m race, it was Kaitlyn Burge of Hernando High School from start to finish. Burge races like she is the only one on the entire track and this year's state championship race was no different. Burge dominated both events and won them with times of 5:00.43 and 11:08. She nearly grabbed her first-ever sub-5 mile performance, but fell just short. Despite this fact, she still reigned supreme in both events not just at the state championships, but for the entire season. Behind her in the 1600m was Alex Lee again with a blazing 5:05.
In the hurdles, Clinton High School put on a show and dominated both events. In the 100-meter hurdles, Clinton teammates Kaitlyn Jones, Jenesis Williams, and Andraeia Cavett swept the entire podium. Jones won the day with her time of 14.90, while her teammates were both within 0.08 seconds of her. Upping the distance to the 300-meter hurdles, we saw a similar trend. Jones was back again and came away with another victory.
In the relay events, it was no shocker to see Clinton dominate almost every single one. Clinton won the 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400. Not only did they win these events, but they also broke the Mississippi state record for the 4x400m relay with their time of 3:54.62. The depth of this Clinton squad is almost unbelievable and these relay performances are just another example of that fact.
High School Girls Team Race
To no surprise to anyone, Clinton High School won the team standings with a total of 143 points. You could write a million things that this Clinton team had going for them, they are just that good. Whether it was relays, field events, sprints, or distance. They had an athlete in almost every single race and that athlete tended to be the best on the track or field. To put this win into perspective, you could double Pearl's second-place score of 73 points, and only then would Clinton lose, by 3 points.
MHSAA 7A BOYS
High School Boys Field Events
In the high school boys' field events, Kingi McNair of Pearl High School soared to victory in the long jump. Winning by a foot and a half, McNair landed a jump of 24-02 for a new personal best. Despite not making it in the triple jump, McNair still made the most out of his opportunity in the long jump and showed the state why he's one of the best jumpers out there. In the triple, Darrion Perkins of Biloxi High School comfortably won the day with his jump of 45-10. Despite a solid day from second-place finisher Skylan Hunter, no one was able to stop Perkins on his way to a new state title.
The high jump event was a showcase between Cornelius Bennett from Desoto Central and Skylan Hunter from Ocean Springs. Both boys podiumed in the triple jump but had yet to snag a first-place medal. In the end, they tied for the victory after they both hit a mark of 6-04. Behind these two was a three-way tie at second with the athletes holding out at 6-02.
In the discus and shot-put events, it was a battle of inches, feet, and last names starting with "M". Myles Miller from Madison Central came out on top of a close battle in the discus event. His throw of 161-01 landed him the victory, beating out Adrian Miles' and Jadan Miller's throws of 160-04 and 159-08, respectively. These athletes weren't done yet, as they came back to fight it out in the shout put event. This time it was Jadan Miller of Harrison Central who won the event with his beastly throw of 51-11.75. Jadan Miller was seeded third and upset the field with his fierce performance. Behind him was Madison Central's Tyrone Richardson and Clinton's Cayden Wilson.
In the pole vault, Ocean Spring's teammates Grady Westbrook and Korbin Lewis fought for the state title. After all of their vaults, they ended up tying for first with both boys hitting a height of 13-06. Second place was another tie between Clinton teammates Creston Garlington and David Peabody, both of whom hit 13-00.
High School Boys Track Events
In the high school boys' track events, we got started hot with a photo-finish 100-meter race. Omari Hampton of Clinton and Floyd Sinegal from Horn Lake High School duked it out to the line, ending with a tumble and a tie. Both boys came through the line in 10.43, but Hampton was given the win based off of the video replay. Clearly, one win wasn't enough for the Clinton junior, as he doubled back in the 200-meter race for another blazing race. Hampton won the 200-meter race with a split of 21.18, winning the race by 0.3 seconds and securing his place as the best 7A sprinter this year.
Upping the distance to the 400-meter race, it was once again Clinton who came out on top. Howard Banks has been on a tear all season and finished the year with another personal best. Banks clocked a time of 47.61, beating out Ocean Spring's Jax Coleman and Northwest Rankin's Dylan Harley. Both second and third place went below 49 to secure their podium spot.
In the 800-meter race, Pearl took the track by storm and claimed yet another 800-state title for their team. Jon Haralson took the victory with his time of 1:56.89, beating out last year's champion Tanner Moore. This race saw 7 boys break the two-minute barrier, and four of them went below 1:58. What's scary about this? Only two of these athletes are graduating this year.
For the 1600-meter race, we witnessed one of the hardest-fought wins you'll ever see on a track. From the start, it was between Bailey Kosko of Oxford High School and Luke Skinner of Oak Grove. Both boys had one single goal in mind: win. Skinner took the race out hard and Kosko was the only one bold enough to hold on. As the race neared its end, Kosko unleashed a kick that seemed impossible to hold, but hold he did. Kosko won the day with a time of 4:18.55, narrowly holding off Skinner who finished second in 4:19.68. This race has earned Bailey Kosko and Luke Skinner rankings as the 4th and 6th fastest 1600-meter runners to ever step foot in Mississippi.
In the final distance event, Colin Brannon showcased his unbeatable kick for the 3200-meter race. The race was tightly knit until the last 400 when Brannon decided to ramp up the pace and leave the pack behind. Brannon won in a time of 9:53.70, closing in the final lap with a split somewhere between 53-56 seconds.
In the hurdles, Josiah Rayford of D'Iberville High School won the 300-meter hurdles with a split of 39.35, beating out Murrah High School's Da'Jarian Leonard. Before this win, he had claimed second place in the 110-meter hurdles, getting beat out only by Kevin Jones. This junior from Meridian High School smashed a new personal best to claim his first-ever state title.
High School Boys Team Race
For the first-ever 7A state title, it was none other than Clinton High School who came out on top with 90 points. Despite a close battle all day between Pearl and Madison Central, Clinton managed to come away with the win after a powerful back half of the meet.
Pearl High School claimed second with 80 points.