Chelsea, Spain Park, Carrera, Helena and Briarwood players win in icebreakers
Published on Monday, January 8, 2024 at 12:23 PM
- Players from Chelsea, Spain Park, Carrera, Helena and Briarwood won the 2024 Icebreaker. (contribution)
Andrew Simonson Sports Editor
Birmingham – With less than a month left until the state championships in indoor track and field, the best athletes gathered at the Birmingham Crossplex on Saturday, January 6th for the biggest event of the season, the 2024 Ice Breaker Invitational.
Six area athletes and relay teams took first place in Ice Breaker, competing against a field of hundreds of top athletes from across the state.
That included gold-medal winning performances by the Briarwood Christian Lions, Calera Eagles, Chelsea Hornets, Helena Huskies and Spain Park Jaguars.
As with many CrossPlex competitions this season, the field was split into two sets of finals. Helena played in the first set of the final, while Westminster School of Briarwood, Calera, Chelsea, Indian Springs, Spain Park and Oak Mountain played in the second set of the final.
In the second leg of the men’s 3,200-meter final, Chelsea’s Parker Campbell won the gold medal with a time of 9:34.73, beating Northridge’s Shawn Stephenson by less than a second.
In the women’s 1,600-meter final, Spain Park’s Delaney Vickers won the gold medal for the second time in 5:01.37, beating Chelsea’s Ty Cason, who came in second place in 5:10.37.
Vickers’ teammate Remy Richards took fourth place for the Jags with a time of 5:21.80. Briarwood’s Mary Grace Parker placed eighth in 5:24.55.
Helena’s Michael Sestilli was the only athlete to clear the 13-03.00 mark, making him the last man remaining in the first men’s pole vault final.
In the second round final of the women’s pole vault, Briarwood’s Ansley Murphy cleared the mark with a time of 11-06.00 seconds to win.
Additionally, Chelsea’s Alana McCullough tied for 10th with a score of 9-06.00.
In the first final, Abigail Parsons of Helena finished in sixth place with a mark of 8-06.00.
Brooklyn Kelly of the Helena Huskies won the first women’s shot put final with a throw that achieved a mark of 34-07.00.
Teammate Anna Grace Johnson finished seventh with a 30-02.00.
The Calera Eagles won the second leg of the boys 4×400 meter relay final. They finished on top of the podium with a time of 3:33.17, narrowly defeating James Clemens for the win.
Additionally, Westminster OM placed fifth in the same race with a time of 3:43.74.
Carrera took third place in the second leg of the men’s 4×200 meter relay final with a time of 1:32.02, finishing just over a second ahead of Hoover’s first-place team.
In the second women’s 3,200-meter final, Spain Park’s Madison Harvey placed third in 11:55.91, and Chelsea’s Juliet Edwards took fourth in 11:57.21.
Aspen Warren of Helena took third place in the boys 800-meter dash final with a time of 1:59.56.
Briarwood placed fifth in the girls’ 4×800 meter relay finals in the second division with a time of 10 minutes, 31.24 seconds.
In the second women’s 400-meter final, Spain Park’s Sydney Baker placed sixth with a time of 59.80 seconds.
Brandon Sims of the Chelsea Hornets finished 7th in the men’s long jump final with a time of 21-04.00 seconds.
Westminster OM placed 7th in the second leg of the women’s 4×400 meter relay final with a time of 4:30.65.
Chelsea’s Emma Raines McGough finished tied for 9th place in the women’s high jump final with a score of 4-08.00.
In the second men’s 60-meter dash, Spain Park’s Xavier Long finished ninth with a time of 7.01 seconds.
Quinn Conroy, who represented Indian Springs at Icebreaker, finished 18th in the men’s 3,200-meter dash with a time of 10:33.87.