Spartans girls collect 2nd straight indoor state title
The Mountain Brook High School girls indoor track and field team continued the overall program’s dominance in recent years, capping off the Class 6A state indoor meet with a second straight state title Friday evening at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
That brings the girls cross-country/track and field program state championship count to seven total titles since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year (three cross-country, two indoor, two outdoor).
Mountain Brook’s girls won the state meet convincingly, posting 94 total points, 20 points clear of runner-up St. Paul’s. Homewood, Fort Payne and Briarwood rounded out the top five in 6A.
“Our mindset was if we did what we did to get to the state meet, we didn’t need to do anything spectacular and we were going to be okay,” Mountain Brook coach Michael McGovern said. “That’s what we did today. We had a bunch of people step up and even exceed our expectations, and that was a key part of how we ended up with such a big victory.”
McGovern credited Lucy Benton and Mary Katherine Malone with helping the Spartans get off to a great start Friday, as the duo finished first and second in the 800-meter run. Benton won the race with a time of 2 minutes, 14 seconds, with Malone going 2:17.
Annie Kerr’s state record of 13 feet in the pole vault, along with Livy Holt’s fourth-place finish in the same competition was another key catalyst for the Spartans.
“That really propelled us into a great performance for the rest of the day,” McGovern said.
Malone and Benton reached the podium together once more, as Malone won the 1,600 in 5:01, and Benton finished third in 5:02.
The girls 4x800-meter relay was victorious in 9:48, while the 4x400 relay finished second.
Benton finished second in the 400, while Malone and Kennedy Hamilton went second and third in the 3,200. Anne Lawson Finch finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles, Ella Trotter was 10th in the 400, Kerr was eighth in high jump and Eva Worthen was 11th, Lea McCauley placed 11th in long jump and Ruth Ann Kearley was 14th in shot put.
Mountain Brook’s boys had a notable day as well, finishing in a tie for third with Oxford, as each team grabbed 45 points. Northridge won going away, with Homewood finishing second.
“The boys were amazing,” McGovern said. “We thought we could get maybe fifth today, and at one point, we were in the hunt for second. To finish third was a lot more than we could’ve expected.”
Jack Chapman was the individual winner in the 800, posting a time of 1:56. The boys 4x800 relay team also won with a time of 8:08. The 4x400 team reached the podium with a second-place finish as well.
Tate Hoffman was fourth in the 800, as was Max Baltz in the high jump. Caleb Epstein was seventh in the 400, Hudson Rukstalis-Williams was fifth in the 1,600 and John Roberts was eighth, while Brooks Bazemore and Branum Lloyd also ran in the 3,200.
Now, the Spartans turn their focus to the outdoor season. The girls will be looking to add an eighth title to the collection over the last three years.
“This was a fun one,” McGovern said. “This group of seniors has won a lot of state championships in a row. We hope we can get one more in outdoor for them.”