Sweeney, Thomas propel Rebels at state track and field meet

The Vestavia Hills High School boys track and field team exceeded expectations at the Class 7A state outdoor meet May 4-6 at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. 

The Rebels scored 39 points to claim a seventh-place finish. Walter Thomas and James Sweeney led the charge, as each clinched individual championships.

Thomas won the shot put and Sweeney the 3,200-meter run. 

Thomas’ triumphs in shot put

Thomas knew the moment it left his hand: This was the throw — the one that would compensate for a past shortcoming, the one that would send him out on top.  

He was right.

Fifty-eight feet and 4 inches from the point of his powerful release, the metal sphere fell from the air and dribbled onto a plane of pebbles and dirt. The heave wouldn’t be matched.

Thomas, a Vestavia senior, won his second straight 7A boys shot put title on the state meet’s first day. He held off Auburn’s Erik Ebel, who upset Thomas at February’s state indoor meet.

Ebel threw 56-2.5 to Thomas’ 58-4, which represented a season-best mark.

“Whenever you lose something, it always makes you want to be better,” Thomas said. “You could say that gave me some motivation.”

The career-crowning victory capped a pristine outdoor season for Thomas, who lost only once — to Ebel — in his signature event. Thomas won the sectional meet and picked up marquee victories earlier in the season at the Mobile Challenge of Champions and Mountain Brook Invitational.

His throws traveled farther at nearly every competition. He peaked at state.

“All of that, I think, has gone into today,” said Vestavia head coach Brett Huber. “He knew what he had to do; he didn’t get nervous, and he met the challenge.”

Thomas set the 7A state-meet record last May with a heave of 59-0.5. Though his throw fell just short, Huber said Thomas handled the pressure well. This was the closest Thomas had come to equaling that distance. 

“I think he kept things in perspective today, because you can try to want something so bad it messes you up,” Huber said. “He knew his goal was to beat other people today — to first be a state champion and, two, try to break his own record.”

Thomas will compete next year for the University of South Alabama. In April, he signed his letter of intent to join the Jaguar program.

A fresh start is on the horizon, but on May 4, he finished his Rebel career on top.

“It means the world,” Thomas said. “Honestly, nothing in my high school career, excluding football, has mattered more to me than the outdoor season for track and field.”

Sweeney clinches 3,200 win

Huber got a new hairdo when he returned from the coast, thanks in part to junior James Sweeney.

Huber set performance goals for his athletes prior to the state meet. If the athletes met or exceeded those goals, Huber vowed to get lightning bolts shaved in his hair. 

Sweeney more than exceeded his coach’s expectations on May 5. He captured the first state title of his career, winning the 7A boys 3,200-meter run in a personal-best time of 9 minutes, 27.72 seconds. The day before, he placed sixth in the 1,600-meter run.

“A state championship trumps a performance,” Huber said. “He’s definitely going to get a lightning bolt on that one.”

The race came down to the wire.

For seven of the eight laps, Sweeney paced a chase pack that trailed Auburn’s Joshua Escoe by 15 to 20 meters. Escoe went out aggressively and ran alone in front of the field for the majority of the race. It appeared that his solo endeavor might pay off with one lap to go. Despite battling heavy winds for more than eight minutes, Escoe maintained a substantial cushion over his nearest competitors.

Sweeney had other plans. Entering the final 400 meters, he made his defining move. 

“I came across. I heard that bell, and I was like, ‘I might as well put it all out there,’” he said. 

He did.

Sweeney increased the tempo considerably at the start of the bell lap, and he pulled a few familiar faces along with him. They made up ground quickly on Escoe. 

But after passing him with nearly 300 meters to go, Sweeney went from hunter to hunted.  Hoover’s Tommy McDonough, Hewitt-Trussville’s John Ngaruiya and Baker’s Jay Day followed closely in his tracks. 

Sweeney stayed steady, picking up the pace as he maneuvered the final curves. A 5-meter gap separated him from his pursuers.

He had been there before, in multiple races. After entering the final stretch with a clear line of vision, he would be swallowed from behind by guys like McDonough, a 4:13 miler with exceptional leg speed. 

Sweeney didn’t let that happen this time. He willed himself around the last bend and down the final straight. He pushed his body to the limit. 

“I just put it out there, ran as hard as I could that last 100,” he said. “It hurt, really bad, but it was all worth it.”

Sweeney threw his arms in the air when he crossed the finish line, the memories of missed opportunities erased in an instant. A smile washed over his face. 

“I’m never going to forget this,” Sweeney said. “All the glory goes to God.”

McDonough finished second, in 9:28.51. Ngaruiya finished third, in 9:29.20. At February’s state indoor meet, that order was jumbled, as McDonough placed first, Ngaruiya placed second, and Sweeney placed third in the 3,200.

“That’s what these events do,” Huber said. “They bring performances out of kids they weren’t sure they could do.”