Jacob Shames|Montgomery Advertiser
The AHSAA postseason for track and field is set to get underway, with sectional meets taking place this weekend before the state championships May 5-7 in Cullman (Class 1A-3A) and Gulf Shores (4A-7A).
Here are 15 boys and 15girls from the Montgomery area who are set to make an impact running, jumping or throwing.
Boys
Jeremiah Cobb, Montgomery Catholic, Jr.:Last season's All-Metro track athlete of the year is better known as a 4-star running back with over 30 offers. Cobb, a two-time individual state champion in outdoor track, runs a sub-11 100-meter dash.
Nick Dudle, Prattville, So.:Dudle ran a 10:00 3200 at last season's 7A championships, and while he hasn't hit that time this spring, his 10:21 at Montgomery Academy's Monday MAdness meet on April 18 is the fastest in the River Region.
Julian Fenderson, Brewbaker Tech, Fr.:Fenderson arrived on the scene at the Race Against Hunger on April 2 at Montgomery Academy, running an 11.36 100, 23.22 200 and long jumping 20 feet.
BEST OF TRACK AND FIELD:Meet the 2021 Montgomery Advertiser All-Metro track and field team
BEST OF CROSS COUNTRY:Meet the 2021 Montgomery Advertiser All-Metro cross country team
Ladarrien Golson, Autaugaville, Sr.:Golson ran a 42.99 in the 300 hurdles to place third at last season's 1A state meet and also qualified in the 100 and 200.
Donald Harris, Jeff Davis, Jr.:Harris made a statement right out of the gate, running a 10.82 at the River Region Invitational in Wetumpka on March 28 to shatter the meet record by four-tenths of a second.
Matthew Johnson, Marbury, Sr.:A Troy offensive lineman signee, Johnson finished fifth in the shot put at last season's 5A state meet and has a personal best of 46 feet.
Agustin Lemuz, LAMP, Jr.:Lemuz ran a 4:37 to finish sixth in the 1,600 meters at the Class 4A indoor state meet, and ran a 2:03 to place eighth in the 800.
Connor Owens, St. James, Jr.: On April 2, Owens put up a distance of 156-feet-6 inches to set a school record in the discus. Three weeks later, he broke his own record by throwing 165-10.
Dylan Payne, Pike Road, Sr.:Payne has remained one of the River Region's best middle-distance runners. A fifth-place finisher in the 800 in Class 5A last season, Payne ran a 2:00.46 in Wetumpka last week.
Christian Sanders, Brewbaker Tech, Sr.:Sanders competed at state in three events last season, placing fifth in the 110 hurdles (15.83) and took fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.78) at this season's indoor finals.
Sylvester Smith, Pike Road, Sr.:Smith has been perhaps Harris' biggest competition in the short-distance this season. He clipped him in two events at the Race Against Hunger(11.17 100, 22.38 200).
Avery Thomas, Wetumpka, Sr.:Thomas, who finished 14th at last season's Class 6A state meet in the long jump, has improved on his distance this season. He jumped 21-7.5 in the long jump in March.
Grant Weighall, Wetumpka, Fr.:Weighall won the silver medal in javelin at the AAU National Junior Olympics last summer. He set a personal best of 147-7 at the Opelika Invitational in February.
Chance Wilson, Montgomery Academy, So.:Wilson's come on strong lately, running a 11.14 in the 100 and 23.09 in the 200 at last week's Monday MAdness meet.
Quashawn Wright, Wetumpka, Jr.:Wright's 42.13in the 300-meter hurdles at the Race Against Hunger would have been good for a ninth-place finish at last season'sstate meet.
Girls
Catherine Aaron, Montgomery Catholic, Sr.:Aaron was the 2021 All-Metro Cross Country Runner of the Year. She's been mostly untouchable in distance events this season, and swept the Class 1A-3Aindoor state meet with a 2:27 800, 5:28 1,600 and 12:07 3,200.
Chloe Baynes, Tallassee, Sr.:One of the state's best athletes across not just one, but two, spring sports, Baynes is an Auburn University at Montgomery softball signee. On the track, she was second in the 60-meter hurdles (9.61), second in triple jump (33-3.5) and long jump at the Class 4A-5A indoor state meet.
Allison Bowen, Brewbaker Tech, Jr.:Bowen helped the Rams to a runner-up finish at last season's Class 5A state meet with a third-place throw of 34 feet in the shot put. Her personal best, set in 2021, is 35-11.
Ann Cobb, Montgomery Catholic, So.:At last season's Class 3A state meet, Cobb placed second in the 400, third in the 200 and sixth in the 100. She recently swept those three events at the Monday MAdness meet at Montgomery Academy.
Maddie Clark, Elmore County, So.:Clark recorded a javelin throw of 95-5 to win the Wetumpka Invitational in March, and more recently threw 90 feet again to place second at the Monday MAdness meet.
Kate Finch, Alabama Christian, So.:A two-time member of the All-Metro Cross Country team, Finch ran a 12:02 in the 3,200 meters atlast season's Class 4A state meet. Sheset a 1,600 personal best at 5:41 earlier this season.
Kendall Hardaway, St. James, Sr.:Hardaway holds the Trojans' triple jump record at 17-6.25. She qualified for state in the triple jump, long jump and 200-meter dash last season and placed fifth in the triple jump at this season's indoor 4A-5A meet.
Elle Ingram, Montgomery Academy, 7th:Ingram, an All-Metro cross country runner, is no ordinary seventh-grader. At this season's Class 1A-3A indoor state meet, she placed second in the 800 and fifth in the 1,600. Her personal bests are 2:27 and 5:35, respectively.
Isabella Johnson, Montgomery Academy, So.:After placing second in the shot put at the indoor state meet, Johnson's picked up where she left off. Johnson set school records in both the shot put (35-0) and discus (94-3) at the Mountain Brook Invitational.
Jamya Johnson, Wetumpka, Jr.:Johnson, who was sixth in last season's Class 6A state meet in the long jump and ninth in the triple jump, has a personal record of 17 feet in the former event and 34 feet, 5.5 inches in the latter.
Jasmine Moore, Pike Road, Sr.:Moore won the 100, 200 and 400 at the Race Against Hunger in early April and is improving throughout the season. At her last meet, she shaved four-tenths off her 100 time (12.58) and six-tenths from her 200 (26.31).
Kacee Oliver, Brewbaker Tech, Sr.:The reigning Class 5A triple jump champion has only gotten better this season. Oliver posted a personal best of 35-8.75 to claim first place at the indoor state meet.
Lauren Parker, Brewbaker Tech, Sr.:Parker came in fourth place in the 100-meter dash (12.60 seconds) at last year's state meet and also took fifth in the long jump. She'll look to contend for individual titles while also playing a big role on the Rams' relays.
Gabriel Stephens, Pike Road, Sr.: Stephens finished fourth in the 200 (25.67) andfifth in the 100 (12.69) at last season's Class 5A state meet. She won both those events at the River Region Invitational in March.
Onderia Whetstone, Carver, Sr.:Whetstone competed in last season's Class 6A state meet in discus and javelin. This season, she's thrown 91-3 in the discus and 94-2 in the javelin.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com, by phone at 334-201-9117 and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
