Vestavia Hills Sophomore Riley Zeanah Sprints to AHSAA Indoor Track Spotlight
By Josh Bean | For the AHSAA
MONTGOMERY – Vestavia Hills High School’s Riley Zeanah and Northridge High School’s William Numnum set personal records Monday at the Martin Luther King Indoor Classic No. 2 indoor track meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex, putting them both in this week’s AHSAA Indoor Track Spotlight.
The Martin Luther King Indoor Classic No. 2 was the week’s only indoor track meet for AHSAA athletes.
Zeanah, a sophomore, won a tight 400-meter final, clocking 59.24 seconds in a race, to beat runner-up Haley Wilson of Central-Phenix City by 1/100th of second. In fact, the top five runners in the race were separated by just 7/10ths of a second. Zeanah set PRs in the 800 meters (2:15.69) and 1,600 meters (5:17.86) earlier this season.
On the boys’ side, Numnum set a personal record in the pole vault clearing 14 feet, 7 inches, and beat his nearest competitor by more than a foot at the MLK No. 2 Monday. He is one of four AHSAA athletes to clear 14 feet this season, and he ranks third this season behind Hoover’s Collin Pate (15 feet) and Hamilton’s Jake Webb (14-9).
Numnum, a junior who finished third in the 2023 AHSAA decathlon competition, also set personal records in the 60-meter hurdles (8.79 seconds) and shot put (35 feet, 7 inches) earlier this season.
The AHSAA Indoor Track season, which concludes next week with the AHSAA 54th State Indoor Championships Feb. 1-2 at the Birmingham CrossPlex, closes the regular season this weekend with the Last Chance No. 1 and No. 2 meets this weekend.
Here is a look at other notable indoor track performances from the last week, all coming at the Martin Luther King Classic No. 2 at the Birmingham CrossPlex, as reported by www.alabamarunners.com:
GIRLS
TY CASON, CHELSEA: Clocked 5:01.98 to win the 1,600 meters event.
LAUREN COLE, OAK MOUNTAIN: Finished runner-up in the 1,600 meters.
HALEY WILSON, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Ran second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.25 seconds.
AVERY CAHOON, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Won the 800 meters in 2:19.14 and finished third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.31 seconds.
KYRIE TATE, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Clocked 59.74 seconds to finish fourth in the 400-meter dash.
SKYY SMITH, CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY: Ran fifth in the 400-meter dash event.
TORI MACK, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Clocked 9.08 seconds to win the 60-meter hurdles.
KYNDELL CHRISTIAN, WOODLAWN: Won the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.74 seconds.
ERIHANA JOHNSON, JAMES CLEMENS: Clocked 7.77 seconds to finish second in the 60-meter dash.
AUBREY EVANS, FORT PAYNE: Cleared 5 feet, 2 inches to win the high jump event.
CEAIRA WINE, NORTHRIDGE: Tied for runner-up in the high jump clearing 5 feet.
ARIANNA HALL, THOMPSON: Cleared 5 feet to tie for second in the high jump.
JAYDA HAMMONDS, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Won the long jump competition with a leap of 17 feet, 2¼ inches.
BOYS
MICHAEL IGBINOGHENE, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Won the long jump with a leap 23 feet and finished fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.03 seconds.
LUKE ALVERSON, JAMES CLEMENS: Won the 1,600-meter run in 4:16.78 and won the 3,200-meter run in 9:43.85.
JOHN SHOEMAKER, OAK MOUNTAIN: Finished runner-up in the 1,600 meters race clocking less than second behind the winner with a 4:17.61 time.
SHAWN STEPHENSON, NORTHRIDGE: Clocked 4:18.40 to finish third in the 1,600 meters in one of the closest finishes of the season.
WINSTON McGHEE, SPANISH FORT: Ran 4:19.31 to finish fourth in the 1,600 meters, and he also took third place in the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.49.
WILSON HOLT, VESTAVIA HILLS: Clocked 4:26.84 for fifth place in the 1,600 meters.
ETHAN MEADOWS, VESTVIA HILLS: Crossed the finish line in sixth place in the 1,600 meters clocking 4:28.35, just 12 seconds behind the winner.
MAX ARMSTRONG, VESTAVIA HILLS: Won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.69 seconds.
RODERICK ALEXANDER, CLAY-CHALKVILLE: Ran 49.43 seconds to finish tied for second in the 400-meter dash.
JOSH WHITE, PARKER: Tied Alexander for second place in the 400-meter dash, also clocking 49.43 seconds.
QUATEZ WILLIAMS, CALERA: Ran fourth in the 400 meters with a time of 49.74 seconds.
CURTIS HILL, THOMPSON: Took fifth place in the 400 meters with a time of 49.74 seconds.
JADEN KING, CALERA: Finished sixth in the 400 meters clocking 50.15 seconds.
BRADLEY FRANKLIN, THOMPSON: Clocked 7.87 seconds to win the 60-meter hurdles and was fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.04 seconds.
DYLAN COPE, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE: Finished runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.38 seconds.
JIMMY RICE-EDISON, HILLCREST-TUSCALOOSA: Won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.96 seconds.
MATTHEW KEEBLER, RAMSAY: Finished second in the 60-meter dash clocking 6.97 seconds, just 1/100ths of a second behind the winner.
ERYK BROWN, CHELSEA: Finished third in the 60-meter dash clocking 6.98 seconds.
DYLAN DRYER, JAMES CLEMENS: Clocked 1:56.87 to win the 800 meters race.
COOPER JEFFCOAT, OAK MOUNTAIN: Finished runner-up in the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.41.
PARKER CAMPBELL, CHELSEA: Finished fourth in the 800 meters crossing the finish line in 1:59.33.
DAVID HOWARD, VESTAVIA HILLS: Ran fifth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:59.81.
KHIYON LEWIS, NORTHRIDGE: Won the triple jump with a leap of 45 feet, 7 inches.
TYLER DRESSBACK, VESTAVIA HILLS & JENNINGS HINZ, NORTHRIDGE: Both cleared 6 feet, 2 inches in the high jump with Dressback winning the event with fewer attempts.
