Cold Springs sent a clear-cut message to the rest of its Class 2A competition this weekend.
But just in case the huge crowd at this year’s state track and field meet missed it, the Blue Map — destined for the small-school powerhouse’s already stocked trophy case — should remove any and all doubt as to which program owned its classification.
Again.
The Eagles accumulated 94 points across the two-day event at Oliver Woodard Stadium to easily defeat the field — runner-up Reeltown finished well back with 60 points followed by Holly Pond with 58 — en route to its second straight state title and fourth overall.
Ethan Edgeworth dazzled in his final high school meet, sweeping the distance events and anchoring a fantastic 4×800-meter performance — Jayden Allred, Drew Dykes and Sage Nelson also contributed — to rack up four gold medals.
His incredible 4:03.96 mark in the 1,600-meter run is the fastest time ever recorded by an Alabama high school runner and presently ranks as a Top 50 all-time effort in the country. He also set a new Class 2A record in the 800-meter run with a 1:53.31.
Edgeworth didn’t do it alone, though.
Nic Fallin claimed a pair of first-place finishes in the long jump and pole vault to go along with a bronze medal in the triple jump. Jayden Allred finished third in the 3,200-meter run as well to round out the podium performances by Cold Springs.
“This one … we couldn’t have had a better support group from the community,” Edgeworth said. “There was some different talk coming into it like ‘Who’s going to win this?’ We lost to Holly Pond at county, and we knew they’d be tough competition. We just gave it our all this weekend. That’s all I can say. As a team, we couldn’t have done anything more.”
Edgeworth and his teammates were all smiles before, during and after the championship ceremony, no doubt riding high from a job well done and trophy well-earned.
It certainly capped an immeasurable career for Edgeworth, who leaves for the University of Tennessee holding the all-classification state record in the cross country 5K, indoor 3,200-meter run, outdoor 1,600-meter run, outdoor 3,200-meter run, outdoor 2-mile and indoor 2-mile.
He is also the Class 2A record holder for all distance runs in both indoor and outdoor competitions as well.
When asked to put into words what all it meant to him, Edgeworth — humble until the very end — talked about everyone but himself.
“I couldn’t have done this without my coaches, especially coach (Casey) Howell,” he said. “My family … my parents. They always support me. They always buy me everything I need, every shoe I need. They are always at every race. And my teammates … we run together daily and are just best friends. I can’t thank them enough for supporting me in everything that I do, and I know they feel the same way about me. I made them better and they made me better.
“I feel I have more to accomplish, but I’m so happy that I could be a part of this at Cold Springs and that we left it better than we found it.”
Holly Pond’s Daniel Figueroa put together a fine performance at the state meet as well en route to securing gold medals in the 100-meter, 200-meter, discus and javelin ambulatory. Teammate Emery Barnett also earned gold, dusting the field in the 300-meter hurdles.
Addison’s Ava Bartlett, meanwhile, collected a first-place finish in the Class 1A high jump. Cold Springs’ girls came in fourth overall in Class 2A.
In the Class 4A-7A state meet in Gulf Shores, Patrick Adcock shone for Cullman.
The senior secured gold medals in the discus and shot put to help the Bearcats finish tied for fourth in Class 6A. Teammate Adam Byers also won a gold in the javelin.
Fairview’s Kabri Redding, meanwhile, finished second in the Class 5A discus — her fourth straight time to medal in the event. The senior initially broke the state record — previously held by Cullman’s Ginger Holt since 1987 — before Beauregard’s Katie Wilkerson eventually set an all-classification record en route to her win.
See Top 12 results from all three days below.
For complete individual and team results, visit www.al.milesplit.com.
Class 1A-3A State Meet (Cullman)
Varsity Boys
Addison (Class 1A)
Bradley Willette, second in discus
Hayden Holland, third in 110-meter hurdles
Brodie Willingham, fourth in javelin
Jacob McLamb, eighth in 110-meter hurdles and ninth in 300-meter hurdles
Major Snoddy, 11th in javelin
Skylar Cleghorn, 12th in triple jump
Cold Springs (Class 2A)
Ethan Edgeworth, first in 800-meter run (1:53.31), first in 1,600-meter run (4:03.96) and first in 3,200-meter run (9:20.08)
Nic Fallin, first in long jump (21-04.75), first in pole vault (12-09), third in triple jump and eighth in high jump
Ethan Edgeworth, Sage Nelson, Drew Dykes and Jayden Allred, first in 4×800-meter relay (8:28.77)
Jayden Allred, third in 3,200-meter run, fifth in 1,600-meter run and 12th in 800-meter run
Drew Dykes, fourth in 1,600-meter run
Noah Barger, fifth in pole vault
Sage Nelson, sixth in 1,600-meter run
Cole Bales, sixth in high jump
Blake Belcher, sixth in pole vault
Holly Pond (Class 2A)
Daniel Figueroa, first in 100-meter (14.96), first in 200-meter (28.88), first in discus (65-07) and first in javelin (89-06) ambulatory
Emery Barnett, first in 300-meter hurdles (39.41), fourth in 100-meter hurdles, fifth in 400-meter dash and eighth in 800-meter run
Travis Barnett, second in 400-meter dash, fourth in 800-meter run, eighth in 1,600-meter run and 10th in 3,200-meter run
Ethan Fox Westall, fourth in 300-meter hurdles and 14th in triple jump
Diego Arreguin, fourth in discus
Miguel Garcia, fifth in high jump
Boston Gibbs, sixth in javelin, eighth in 300-meter hurdles and 13th in long jump
Joshua Putman, seventh in 3,200-meter run and 12th in 1,600-meter run
Asher Thrift, ninth in javelin
St. Bernard (Class 3A)
Parker Guthery, 11th in 3,200-meter run
Vinemont (Class 3A)
Dawson Wilhite, second in pole vault and 11th in javelin
Brady Johnson, third in 3,200-meter run, fifth in 1,600-meter run and seventh in 800-meter run
Tatum Brown, eighth in discus
Brady Johnson, Andrew Landreth, Kyser Campbell and Yojan Patino, 11th in 4×800-meter relay
Varsity Girls
Addison (Class 1A)
Ava Bartlett, first in high jump (5-00) and fifth in 300-meter hurdles
Kendall Wright, third in shot put and ninth in javelin
Kabri Dyson, Katie Barrett, Hadley Butler and Brooklyn McCurley, sixth in 4×100-meter relay
Katie Barrett, seventh in triple jump
Hadley Butler, 10th in triple jump and 14th in long jump
AnnaBeth Powell, 12th in javelin
Cold Springs (Class 2A)
Macie Huffstutler, third in 3,200-meter run, fourth in 1,600-meter run and eighth in 400-meter dash
Ryleigh Wright, third in pole vault
Claire Huffstutler, fifth in pole vault
Cheyenne Bishop, sixth in 100-meter hurdles
Ellanora Slusser, sixth in shot put and eighth in discus
Claire Huffstutler, Alya Kate Huff, Allison White and Kynzlie Myrex, sixth in 4×800-meter relay
Kenady Graves, Claire Huffstutler, Alya Kate Huff and Macie Huffstutler, sixth in 4×400-meter relay
Makenna Taylor, ninth in discus
Hollyn Bruer, 12th in javelin
Ally Mavers, 15h in 1,600-meter run
Sophia Slusser, 15th in discus
Holly Pond (Class 2A)
Mila Edmondson, fifth in 1,600-meter run, fifth in 3,200-meter run and seventh in 800-meter dash
Mila Edmondson, Caroline Lamoureux, Kynleigh Wood and Kylie Twilley, fifth in 4×800-meter relay
Ava Thomas, seventh in long jump and seventh in triple jump
Morgan Bartlett, Nadia Gibbs, Kylie Twilley and Presli Carr, eighth in 4×400-meter relay
Caroline Lamoureux, ninth in 3,200-meter run
Emma Earl, ninth in javelin
Kynleigh Wood, 10th in 1,600-meter run
Ellie Burks, 13th in high jump
Presli Carr, 14th in 400-meter dash
Vinemont (Class 3A)
Caroline Miller, third in high jump, fifth in long jump and ninth in triple jump
Natalie Foell, ninth in 800-meter run
Addison Holcomb, 10th in javelin
Presleigh Ming, Charlotte Jones, Reagan Robinson and Natalie Foell, 10th in 4×400-meter relay
Class 4A-7A Meet (Gulf Shores)
Varsity Boys
Cullman (Class 6A)
Patrick Adcock, first in discus (161-11) and first in shot put (56-03.5)
Adam Byers, first in javelin (190-10)
Andrue Barnett, fourth in 3,200-meter run
Alexander Renteria, fifth in pole vault
Joshua Ellerbee, 12th in javelin
Brayden White, Cyrus Dawsey, Andrue Barnett and Owen Heinze, 13th in 4×800-meter relay
Fairview (Class 5A)
Alex England, seventh in 1,600-meter run, 10th in 800-meter run and 12th in 3,200-meter run
Andrew Latham, 10th in javelin
Good Hope (Class 4A)
Drake Nichols, sixth in 800-meter run and 14th in 1,600-meter run
Hank Hudson, eighth in pole vault
Riley Brown, Johnathan Murphy, Kaden Mattox and Drake Nichols, ninth in 4×800-meter relay
Hanceville (Class 4A)
Connor Pitts, sixth in discus
LJ Smith, ninth in discus
Eli Akin, 12th in discus
West Point (Class 5A)
Rene Moreno-Tovar, ninth in 3,200-meter run and 13th in 1,600-meter run
Teagan Heaton, Brier Taylor, Jacob Harbison and Hayden Jones, 10th in 4×400-meter relay
Rene Moreno-Tovar, Thomas Ferster, Jakob Salter and Hayden Jones, 11th in 4×800-meter relay
Asa Sutter, 13th in 300-meter hurdles
Varsity Girls
Cullman (Class 6A)
Mabry Free, fifth in 3,200-meter run and eighth in 1,600-meter run
Khloe Nalley, Mabry Free, Addison Vogelaar and Ann Marie Land, seventh in 4×800-meter relay
Khloe Nalley, 15th in 3,200-meter run
Fairview (Class 5A)
Kabri Redding, second in discus and eighth in shot put
Laci Segrest, third in shot put and eighth in discus
Allyson Hill, fifth in triple jump, sixth in 100-meter hurdles and 11th in 300-meter hurdles
Kailyn Redding, fifth in high jump
Good Hope (Class 4A)
Macey Denton, sixth in javelin
Zoe Marks, ninth in shot put
Cadence Watson, 13th in pole vault
West Point (Class 5A)
Jacee Bartlett, 15th in high jump