Sam Chandler
Mountain Brook Indoor Track
Anna Grace Morgan, left, and Frances Patrick, right, embrace after finishing first and second in the 1,600 meters at the 7A indoor state meet on Feb. 6, 2016.
Entering the indoor track and field season, Mountain Brook head coach Michael McGovern believed his Spartan squads were capable of earning a pair of top-five finishes at the state meet.
As it turned out, he was right.
At the AHSAA State Indoor Track and Field Championships, held Feb. 5-6, at the Birmingham CrossPlex, the Mountain Brook girls and boys fulfilled McGovern’s prediction.
Led by Frances Patrick and Anna Grace Morgan, the Spartan girls tallied 64 points, earning a third-place finish.
“I’m so proud of the girls because I think they gave it all they had,” McGovern said. “It’s one of those things that sometimes you give all you had, and you don’t end up in first or second, but it’s OK.”
The reigning state cross-country champion, Patrick clinched two more individual titles while breaking a pair of Class 7A state meet records, posting times of 11 minutes, 6.51 seconds in the 3,200 meters and 5:07.88 in the 1,600 meters. She also sealed a sixth-place finish in the 800 meters and ran a leg on the Spartans’ third-place 4x800-meter relay team.
“Unbelievable. Coming off cross-country, she just kept the streak going and really showed that she is one of the top runners around,” McGovern said.
Morgan also played a key role in the team’s top-three showing, placing fifth in the 3,200 and clinching a runner-up finish behind Patrick in the 1,600.
With their top-two placings in the event, Patrick and Morgan turned a once-distant dream into reality.
“It’s crazy. We’ve been talking about getting one-two this whole year, like since the summer, and we just wanted to score a lot of points for our team,” Patrick said.
Behind the indefatigable effort of Drew Williams, the Spartan boys totaled 52 points, clinching a fourth-place finish.
Williams, a University of Alabama signee, placed second in the high jump (6-2) and 800 (1:55.61) before setting two state meet records with victories in the 1,600 (4:17.06) and 4x800 relay (7:57.93).
“He had a great meet. The two events that he came in second in he lost to people who broke the state records, so I think he did the best that he could possibly do this weekend, and our team wouldn’t be the same without him,” McGovern said.
Composed of Williams, Griffin Riley, Gram Denning and Charlie Slaughter, the Spartan boys 4x800 set a Crossplex facility record and, as of Feb. 10, held the No. 5 national ranking in the event.
