By Rubin E. Grant
Sometimes the term dynasty is applied loosely – but not when it comes to the Homewood track and field program.
The Patriots swept the Class 6A titles for the third consecutive year in the 50th Alabama High School Athletic Association Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 7-8 at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The Homewood girls blew away the competition with 111 points total, far ahead of second-place Pelham (51 points), to claim their fourth consecutive indoor state championship.
The Patriots boys faced a stiffer challenge but edged Opelika 84.5-76 to win their third consecutive title and their sixth in eight years. It’s the second time the Homewood boys have won three consecutive indoor state championships.
“I would think in terms of a dynasty that this track program has been pretty special with what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Homewood coach Tom Esslinger said.
The Patriots swept all six state titles during the 2018-2019 school year, winning both the boys and girls crowns in cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track.
“If we can do it again, it would be pretty special,” Esslinger said.
The Patriots are two-thirds of the way there. They swept the 2019 cross-country titles last fall.
“It starts with the kids and then with us as coaches trying to find the best fit for them to succeed,” Esslinger said. “With the kids we pull up from middle school, they come in as freshmen with talent and they continue to work hard to keep getting better.
“The younger kids see what the older kids are doing with their work ethic and leadership and try to emulate it. They want to keep carrying on the tradition, so it kind of builds on itself.”
Senior distance runner Lainey Phelps sparked the Homewood girls, sweeping the 800-meter run (2 minutes, 15.76 seconds), the 1,600 (5:06.88) and the 3,200 (11:01.23). The Vanderbilt signee now has won 14 individual state titles in her career.
Phelps also anchored Homewood’s first-place 4×800-meter relay team that included seniors Celie Jackson and Adah Allen and freshman Marin Poleshek. They set a school record with a time of 9:48.86.
Jackson also scored points by finishing third in the 800 (2:22.53) and 1,600 (5:20.8), while Poleshek finished fourth in the 3,200 (11:46.85).
In the field, senior Alex Brooks won the pole vault, clearing 12 feet, and teammate Brooke Walden was second, vaulting 11 feet, six inches.
Senior Maggie White won the shot put with a heave of 38-1.5 and Alyssa Langford was second in the long jump with a leap of 16-11.25.
The Homewood boys distance runners also came up big. Senior Carson Bedics won the 1,600, setting a 6A meet record with a time of 4:19.27 while earning his first state individual title. Teammate Crawford Hope, a junior, took second in 4:23.69.
The roles were reversed in the 3,200 with Hope winning with a time of 9:23.2 and Bedics finishing second in 9:24.23.
Hope was second in the 800 (1:59.28). He also teamed with Bedics, Jackson Merrell and Ivan Pichardo-Njenga to win the 4×800 relay in 8:15.47.
Senior Walker Smith won the pole vault with a 6A meet record clearance of 15 feet, 7 inches, leaving Esslingler ecstatic.
“That was one of the coolest things,” Esslinger said. “He jumped out ahead when he executed a 14-6 vault and then he upped that. That was a heck of an accomplishment, one of the greatest individual performances in our program’s history.”
With the sweep of the indoor titles, Esslinger now has won 20 track and field state championships in his 15 years at Homewood. His father, the legendary John Esslinger, won 46 state championships as the head cross-country and track and field coach at Scottsboro High School.
“I don’t know if I can catch him,” said Tom Essingler, who isn’t the head cross-country coach. “I’d have to coach a long time, but I don’t think I’d go past 25 (years). But it’s been a fun ride so far, that’s for sure.”
