7A-3 meet recap: Bucs coast to Coast, Spartan girls second

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MOUNTAIN BROOK -- Hoover High School swept the Class 7A indoor track and field titles at February's state meet. 

Now, it looks ready for round two. 

At the Class 7A, Section 3 outdoor championships -- held Friday and Saturday at Mountain Brook High School -- the Buccaneer boys and girls coasted to substantial victories in their pre-state tuneups. The Hoover boys outscored runner-up Vestavia Hills, 234-116; the Hoover girls pulled away from Mountain Brook, 243-163.5. 

"I've been pretty happy," Hoover head coach Devon Hind said. "We've got a couple injuries I'm concerned about. Hopefully, we can make it through next weekend."

If Hind's Bucs can duplicate their sectional performances at the Class 4A-7A state meet, which will be held May 4-6 in Gulf Shores, his worry should subside. 

Hoover scored significant points in most events and qualified the majority of its key contributors. The top five finishers in each event at the sectional meet sealed a bid to state. 

As usual, Caitlyn Little led the way. Hoover's star senior won the girls 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles. 

"She's on fire right now," Hind said. "She's running as well as she's run all year, which means as well as she's ever run in her career."

Hakim Ruffin and R.J. Nelson have also hit their strides. The Hoover sprint tandem swept the boys 100 and 200 meters, edging out Spain Park's Kameron McDaniel and Justice Canady in each race. The quartet finished first through fourth, respectively.  

Ruffin posted winning times of 10.82 seconds and 21.91 seconds. 

I was pleasantly surprised," Hind said of the sweep. 

Hoover's Trent Hamner and Mountain Brook's Anna Grace Morgan set themselves apart as the meet's only other athletes to win multiple events. Hamner captured first-place finishes in the boys 400- and 800-meter runs, while Morgan took first in the girls 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. 

Both runners won those same events earlier this year at the state indoor meet.

"This was a good tuneup for her," Mountain Brook head coach Michael McGovern said of Morgan. "We have some good competition in this section to kind of get her ready for next week."

A number of other athletes came close to claiming gold in multiple events.

Oak Mountain sophomore Nicole Payne was one of them. She won the 400 meters in 55.61 seconds and placed second to Little in the 200. 

Spain Park's Christian Strong nearly clinched two events as well. He won the boys 110-meter hurdles and finished second in the 300 hurdles. Strong's teammate, Thomas Jordan, lowered his season best by nearly three seconds to take first in 39.81 seconds. 

"I always tend to show up at the big meets, so I just figured I was going to get out hard and see what happened," Jordan said. 

In the field, Hoover's Genesis Jones scored big points in three events. She won the high jump and took second in both the long and triple jumps. In the long jump, she finished runner-up to her teammate, Adetola Koiki. 

Hoover sophomore Kyle Smith also made a significant contribution in the field. He won the triple jump and placed second in the high jump, which was won by Vestavia Hills junior Carl Nesbitt. 

Nesbitt cleared the bar at 6 feet, 6 inches on his first attempt.

"It's a really big confidence booster going into state knowing that I'm back on track and I'm getting to where I need to be to win state," Nesbitt said.

Vestavia Hills' James Sweeney and Bryce Hutchinson challenged Hoover senior Tommy McDonough -- the state indoor 1,600- and 3,200-meter champion -- in the boys distance events. 

McDonough won the 1,600 in 4:28.19, with the Rebels' tandem finishing on his heels. Sweeney placed second in 4:29.37. Hutchinson placed fourth in 4:29.8 behind Thompson's Jace Jones. 

Positions shifted in the 3,200, which Sweeney won in 9:44.99. Hutchinson crossed in second and McDonough in third.

All athletes who qualified for state have a five-day break before championship competition kicks off Thursday morning. The Hoover girls will be contending for their sixth straight state championship, while the Hoover boys will be looking for their third outdoor title in four years. 

They were knocked off last spring by Auburn. 

"Every point's going to matter at state," Hind said. 

Other local event winners

Girls

300-meter hurdles: Chakiya Plummer, Hoover | 46.26

800 meters: Lily Hulsey, Mountain Brook | 2:16.01

Discus: Janie Branch, Mountain Brook | 107-8

Javelin: Katherine Ratliff, Vestavia Hills | 111-10

Pole vault: Sophie Jane Knott, Mountain Brook | 10-6

Boys

Javelin: Luke Ballard, Hoover | 187-3

Long jump: Jarvis Goodwin, Hoover | 21-1.75

Pole vault: Jacob Doak, Hoover | 14-0

Shot put: Walter Thomas, Vestavia Hills | 57-10.75

Village Living will be in Gulf Shores for this coming week's state meet to bring you up-to-the minute coverage of the Spartan track and field teams. For live updates, follow @sam5k on Twitter and visit villagelivingonline.com