A wave of new state leaders swept across Mississippi this past week, reshaping rankings in nearly every event. From breakout distance performances to major marks in the field, athletes across the state are beginning to separate themselves as the postseason approaches.
Starting off with the boys, we have four new state leads.
In the 400m, Madison-Ridgeland Academy's Adam Tucker dominated the competition at the Jackson Prep Invitational, winning with a time of 48.56. That mark stands as an all-time personal best for him and gives him the state lead by 0.09 seconds over Jamarcus Garrett from Tylertown. Going into this season, Tucker was the top returner in this event from last year, and it was only a matter of time before he broke through to the top of the rankings. With his first personal best of the season out of the way, will we see him go below 48 seconds?
In the pole vault, we saw Cash So Sojourner claim a six-inch state lead. At the Centreville Academy Tiger Relays, Sojourner hit 14-6, a one-foot personal best for him. Last year, Sojourner ended the season with a best of 12-0. He clearly put the work in over the off-season, as his season opener of 13-6 was a foot and a half improvement for him. His 14-6 from last week would have tied him as the best pole vaulter in the state from last year, and actually makes him the 5th best pole vaulter from Mississippi in the last decade.
In the distance races, we saw Andrew Brown tackle the one-mile at the Nike Rocket City Showcase, winning overall with a time of 4:14.62. This converts to about 4:12, making him the state leader in both the 800m and now the 1600m. Brown already holds the 1600m state record with his 4:09.53 from last year. However, the title of the fastest miler in state history has yet to be claimed. In 2007, Matthew Cameron from Madison-Ridgeland Academy ran a 4:07.32 one-mile, which converts to about 4:05 1600m. No one has come as close to this mark as Brown did last year at the RunningLane Track Championships, meaning if anyone can break that record, it would have to be him.
The last state lead of the week for the boys came from Harrison Central's 4x100m team at the FSU Relays. They ran 41.30 to place 6th overall at FSU and claim the state lead in Mississippi by 0.08 seconds. Last year, they had the 11th-best time in the state at 42.06, but now they have dropped that by almost a second and sit ahead of big-time relay schools like Pearl and Clinton. The top four times in the MHSAA 7A 4x100 rankings are now separated by just 0.32 seconds, with Madison Central High School sitting as the fourth fastest with their time of 41.62. This 4x100m matchup at the MHSAA Championships will be one of the most intense races in May if all of these squads stay healthy.