Outdoor Track and Field | 3/18/2024 6:50:00 PM
Homewood Invitational
Another Outdoor Track meet for the Rebels at Waldrop Stadium. With practice, weight room, weekly track meets, and Prom – these athletes stay busy!
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HOMEWOOD, AL – On Saturday, the Rebels continued the Outdoor season at the Homewood Invitational, competing against 24 other teams. The Boys team finished in 3rd overall, following Homewood HS and Hoover for the top two spots. The Girls finished in 11th.
Due to the meet's date coinciding with the Vestavia Hills High School Prom, the Rebels had fewer athletes compete at Homewood this weekend. But despite the lower numbers, Vestavia still had many exceptional performances, with a total of 18 individual PRs.
"The important thing is that we continue to see improvement," Head Coach Richard Anderson said. "It's hard for them to come out and compete every weekend expecting to continually set new marks. But watching our athletes work hard at practice and seeing them make an effort to perform assures me that they're heading in the right direction."
Of the athletes who did compete, the Rebels had 11 athletes finish in the top 5 of their individual events, including 6 athletes who won medals for top 3.
On the girls' side, Christiana Belcher brought home a gold medal, winning the Girls' Javelin with a throw of 130 feet and 10 inches while Krislyn Thomas competed in the Pole Vault and placed in 3rd, tying her PR of clearing 11 feet.
On the boys' side, Jack Stubbs was Vestavia's gold medalist, setting a new Vestavia Hills School Record in the Long Jump (23 feet and 3 inches). The Rebels also had three athletes win silver medals, placing 2nd in their events. For the throws, Henry Drew took 2nd in the Shot Put while Walker Gardner was 2nd in the Discus. And in the Boys Pole Vault, Caleb Farrar placed in 2nd, clearing 13 feet.
Read below to hear about this week's spotlight athletes and to see the full list of Vestavia's top 5 finishers.
Upcoming for the Vestavia Hills HS Track Team is the exclusive FSU Relays meet in Tallahassee, Florida, where the Rebels will send a few individuals with qualifying marks to compete. The next regular season competition will be the Spain Park Classic on Saturday, April 6th.
EVENT(S) OF THE WEEK
Boys Shot Put, Discus, and Javelin
Set apart from the chaotic events happening around the track at weekly meets, the throwing events are some that don't often get enough attention. The Rebels, coached by Jeremy Andrews and Brad Shaw, have several talented throwers on both the men's and women's side. Last week at King of the Mountain, Christiana Belcher set a new school record in the Girls' Javelin. And this week, at the Homewood Invitational, the boys team had a lot of success in the Shot Put, Discus, and Javelin events.
In the Shot Put, sophomore Henry Drew placed 2nd in the finals with a throw of 52-01.00, a personal record for Drew. Chase Kaiser, a junior, also placed in the top 10 of Boys Shot Put, throwing 46-02.00 for 9th place overall.
In the Boys Discus, the Rebels had two more individuals place in the top 10. Walker Gardner, a senior, finished 2nd with a throw of 147 feet and 7 inches while Grey Vice, a junior, placed 5th with a personal record of 136 feet and 1 inch.
Last, in the Boys Javelin, the Rebels had two athletes in the top 10 of the meet. Coleman Chapman finished in 8th with a PR of 141 feet and 2 inches while Hicks Johnson finished 9th, also with a PR that was 139 feet and 5 inches.
"I think it went great," Henry Drew said when asked about his performance on Saturday. Drew, speaking on behalf of his teammates, expressed that the best parts of track are "being with other people, getting better, and seeing other people succeed as well as myself. It's a blast."
As Henry voiced, so much of the sport revolves around being with teammates and seeing others improve in addition to working hard on individual accomplishments. And at the Homewood Invitational, these events are the perfect example of that, with not just one, but six athletes improving on either their marks or their rankings.
BOYS SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Jack Stubbs | Long Jump | 1st | 23-03.00
Jack Stubbs is a junior who frequently competes for the Rebels in the Long Jump as well as in the 100m dash. Stubbs has been working hard throughout the Indoor season to improve his marks. At State he placed in 5th, setting an indoor record for himself and jumping 21-09.00. He opened the Outdoor season with another 21 foot jump of 21-04.75. Then, with an outstanding jump on Saturday at the Homewood Invitational, Jack set a new PR and a Vestavia Hills School Record with a jump of 23 feet and 3 inches.
"I feel like I did pretty good," Stubbs said. "I definitely did not wake up this morning thinking I would jump that, but I got the school record by 5 or 6 inches."
Stubbs will definitely be an athlete to look out for heading into the latter half of the Outdoor Season. With his performance on Saturday, he is now ranked 3rd in Alabama on milesplit for the High School Boys Long Jump. Stubbs's short-term and long-term goals for continuing his career in the Long Jump are to win state and reach 24 feet before the time that he graduates. We can't wait to see how he does in pursuit of these goals!
GIRLS SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Krislyn Thomas | Pole Vault | 3rd | 11-00.00
Krislyn Thomas is a freshman who competes in the pole vault. She is one of Vestavia's athletes who consistently places in the top 5 of every track meet. In the 2024 Indoor Season, Thomas finished 2nd at the State Meet clearing 11 feet, which is her best height. With improving in pole vault, part of Krislyn's training includes consistently – and comfortably – clearing the same heights. Since pole vault athletes only get 3 attempts on each height in competition, consistency and comfort becomes a necessary skill in order to advance to higher heights. At the King of the Mountain Invitational, Thomas tied her PR of 11 feet. Then this past weekend at the Homewood Invitational, she tied her PR once again. But this time it was on her first attempt.
"My year has gone pretty good," Thomas said. "I got 11 feet indoors for the first time. And I've gotten 11 at the last two meets. So, I'm hoping to get 11-6 next time."
When asked about her practice schedule, Krislyn said that she usually jumps around six to eight hours a week, vaulting on Tuesdays and Thursdays for organized practice in addition to time spent in the weight room. She also likes to practice at her house on Sundays, where she has just learned how to land on her back (something which I imagine will make the pole vaulting experience more comfortable).
The coaches at Vestavia are all very proud of Krislyn's accomplishments this season and she is one to look out for in the coming meets!
VESTAVIA'S TOP 10 FINISHERS:
Abby Allen | 400m, 4th, 59.52 (PR)
Jackson Mize | 1600m, 5th, 4:24.60 (PR)
Reese Beckner | 100m Hurdles, 4th, 16.14
Riley Zeanah | 800m, 5th, 2:19.48
Jack Stubbs | Long Jump, 1st, 23-03.00 (PR & School Record)
Henry Drew | Shot Put, 2nd, 52-01.00 (PR)
Christiana Belcher | Javelin, 1st, 130-10
Walker Gardner | Discus, 2nd, 147-07
Grey Vice | Discus, 5th, 136-01 (PR)
Caleb Farrar | Pole Vault, 2nd, 13-00.00
Krislyn Thomas | Pole Vault, 3rd, 11-00.00
A full list of results are available here: https://live.xpresstiming.com/meets/31711/events
