Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Hewitt-Trussville’s girls celebrate with the AHSAA Class 7A state runner-up trophy following the state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Feb. 3.
The Hewitt-Trussville High School girls indoor track and field team claimed a red map trophy at the state meet on Feb. 2-3 at the Birmingham CrossPlex, as the Huskies finished second in Class 7A.
Hoover ran away with the 7A title in the boys and girls competitions, but the Huskies edged out Vestavia Hills, Auburn and Thompson for second place.
The Hewitt boys finished fourth, behind Hoover, Vestavia and James Clemens.
“They did a super job tonight,” Hewitt-Trussville first-year coach Jamey Curlee said. “We only had one girl win an event, so it was an effort of all the girls getting points. Every girl did what they were supposed to do, and that was great.”
Curlee said that lone victory — Tori Mack prevailing in the 60-meter hurdles — came at a critical time in the meet for the Huskies. Mack posted a time of 9.01 seconds to win the competition and gain 10 points.
A few other Hewitt girls made the podium during the event. Jayda Hammonds finished as the runner-up in the long jump, Avery Cahoon finished third in the 800-meter run, Haven White was third in the pole vault and Madisyn Hawkins finished third in the shot put.
White added a sixth-place finish in 60 hurdles, Cahoon finished eighth in the 1,600, Hadley Turner was sixth in the 3,200, Catherine Asbury was sixth in the high jump and Jaliyah Edwards finished seventh in the shot put. The 4x800-meter relay team finished fourth and the 4x200 relay placed fifth to also earn points.
Michael Igbinoghene earned an individual win for the boys team, as he won the long jump competition by reaching 22 feet, 8.75 inches. He also reached the podium in the triple jump, finishing third.
Shaw Helfrich notched a third-place finish in the pole vault. Raphael Boakye-Yiadom, Elliott Greene, Jamal Hobbs and Alex Jones also earned points in their events. The 4x200 relay placed fifth, while the 4x800 team was seventh.
Libby Armstrong, Mary Durham, Kinley Harris, Demetri Hall, Oscar Spears, Noah Jordan and Ethan Ridley also competed in individual events.
Curlee said he was proud of the athletes and wants “to keep it going in the right direction,” after following legendary coaches David Dobbs and Tom Esslinger at Hewitt-Trussville. Curlee also said the boys team performed well given the circumstances. Without a few injuries hampering the team, he believes the boys would have been in the mix a spot or two higher on the leaderboard.
