Thanks to Coosa Pines Federal Credit Union for sponsoring our coverage this season.
By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
HOOVER – In a crowded field of the best athletes from Shelby County and across the state, Spain Park’s JD Thompson proved his versatility by taking the state decathlon championship.
Thompson won the boys decathlon title on May 11 and 12 at Hoover High School with a total of 6,250 points, beating Fairview’s Nic Fallin by 45 points.
The decathlon is a traditional two-day track and field competition across 10 events¬–the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1,500-meter run. Its mix of speed, strength, agility and endurance events test each part of the athlete.
The girls competed in the heptathlon encompassing seven events–the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash, long jump, javelin throw and 800-meter run.
The two events have traditionally been held separately from the AHSAA’s track and field championships. They are also a rare opportunity from athletes across all classifications to compete against each other for a state championship.
Thompson won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.86 seconds to open the competition. He also won the long jump with a mark of 6.99 meters.
He would finish fifth in the shot put with a mark of 11.82 meters and then tie for eighth in the high jump, bowing out at 1.72 meters.