Thorsby’s Sade’ Archie won her fifth state championship, this one coming in the 100-meter dash, at the Class 2A state meet at Birmingham-Southern College on Saturday.

She ran the distance in 12.96 seconds.

Archie has won the 100 three consecutive years; she also has won two titles in the 200-meter dash.

Archie finished fourth in the 200-meter dash this year.

Marqueska Deramus, meanwhile, won what is believed to be Verbena’s first track and field state championship.

Deramus recorded a distance of 32’4” in the shot put.

VHS coach Jonathan Shedd said Deramus is proud of her accomplishment—but that she doesn’t show it.

“Seeing her walk around today, you wouldn’t know she had done anything,” Shedd said. After she won, she said, ‘I think you’re smiling bigger than I am.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve never coached a state champion in track before.’”

Deramus was also second in the javelin and third in the discus.

The shot put wasn’t Deramus’ best effort of the year, but the javelin and discus distances were.

Maplesville’s Cameron Morrow also won a state championship, running the 100-meter dash in 11.38 seconds.

Morrow finished second in the 200-meter dash.

Isabella athletes also competed at the state meet, held at Birmingham-Southern College. IHS’s best finish was by Austin Haigler, who was third in the javelin throw with a distance of 153’10”.

Isabella’s Khadijah Craig was fourth in the shot put.

Sarah Graham was fourth in the 800-meter run and sixth in the 1,600-meter run.

There were several other close calls.

Maplesville’s Dylan Wallace was second in the shot put. Teammate Apollos Abercrombie finished third in the 800-meter run.

Chilton County’s Issac Ford finished 14th in the state in the discus throw at the 5A state meet in Gulf Shores.

Billingsley’s Lori Davis finished second in the javelin, fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and sixth in the shot put.

Billingsley’s Octavis Harris was second in the shot put and third in the discus.

Teammate Isacc Edwards finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles.

By James Dubuisson | Special to the Advertiser

Though several of the Thorsby track team members set personal bests in their respective events at the sectional meet, only junior Sade’ Archie and THS’s 400-meter relay team qualified for state.

Archie on Friday and Saturday will compete for her fifth and sixth state championships, having previously claimed titles in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes the past two years.

On Monday, she placed second in the 100 meter, running a 13.22 second race. Francis Marion’s Brianna Billingsley won that race a mere tenth of a second in front of Archie, running a 13.12.

Archie would then win the 200-meter dash with a 27.44.

The relay consists of Cain Castleberry, Nolan Hayes, Trent McClain and Zack Hensley.

The relay team finished fourth in their race with a 4:06.72 time, which coach Ginger Williams said was their best time so far this season.

By Stephen Dawkins

Sade’ Archie isn’t done making history just yet.
A sophomore member of Thorsby’s track and field team, Archie brought the school its first individual state championships in any sport by winning the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the 2009 state meet.
Archie won those same two events at this year’s state meet and is the North Chilton Advertiser’s Girls Spring Player of the Year. By improving her starts to races, Archie hopes to achieve even loftier goals.
“She knows exactly what she wants to do,” Thorsby track coach Keith Williams said. “Winning the state was her goal this year. Next, she wants to set the records.”
The goal is within reach. Archie’s times at the state meet April 30-May 1 at Birmingham-Southern College were less than a second off the state records.
Archie ran 100 meters in 12.74 seconds and the 200 in 26.23. The state records are 11.97 in the 100 and 25.4 in the 200.
Williams said he thinks Archie can better those times by improving her starts to races.
Archie doesn’t use starting blocks—an unusual approach—simply because she hasn’t in the past and isn’t comfortable with them. Williams wants to help Archie make her starts as dominant as her finishes.
“When she makes the curve and comes down the stretch, she’s at least 25 meters ahead of everybody else,” Williams said.
Archie has been a member of the Thorsby track team since her seventh grade year, when Ken Copen was coaching the team. She runs against the male athletes in practice for the sake of competition.
Williams said one of Archie’s strengths is her ability to manage meets.
“She knows when she has to race; she knows when to rest and when to start preparing,” Williams said. “She’s invaluable. She’s one of those players you don’t have to worry about being at practice.”
Archie’s success has brought more attention to the track program at a school where more attention is given to football, baseball and even softball.
“Last year, they were surprised,” Archie said about her peers’ reaction to her state championships. “This time they were expecting a repeat.”
Note: Look for the boys player of the year in next week’s edition of North Chilton Advertiser.

From staff reports

Thorsby sophomore Sade’ Archie won two state track and field championships last week—adding to the pair she won last year.
Archie now has claimed the first four track and field state titles in school history.
Archie won the 100-meter dash on May 1 at Birmingham-Southern College with a time of 12.4 seconds. She won the 200-meter dash with a 26.2-second time.
“With her doing it back-to-back, it just shows that she is legit,” coach Ginger Williams said. “We’re very proud of her.”
Archie’s times are both within one second of state records, goals that Archie will try to reach in her remaining two years.
Williams said she was encouraged with her entire team’s performance because many athletes recorded personal bests.
“We said, you want to be better today than you were the rest of the season, and we did that,” Williams said.

From staff reports

Fourteen Thorsby athletes qualified for the state track and field meet with their performances at the Class 2A, Section 2 meet at Paul Bryant on April 23.
Sade’ Archie won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, and Marcus Bray won the long jump.
Archie last season won two state championships—the school’s first in the sport.
Megan Sanchez was second in the javelin, and Dillian Simmons was second in both the 400-meter and the 200-meter dashes.
Other Thorsby qualifiers were: Kevin Brasher (100-meter dash), David Roldan (1,600-meter run), Philip Hicks (200-meter dash), Sam Cifuentes (100-meter and 300-meter hurdles), Sam Gasson (800-meter run), Cameron Castleberry (1,600-meter run), and the 4×400-meter relay team of Brady Barrigus, Austin Pickett, Zac Hensley and Cain Castleberry.
The Class 2A state tournament will be held on Friday and Saturday at Birmingham-Southern College.

By Stephen Dawkins

Three weeks ago, the Thorsby baseball team had won 25 games, lost only four and was ranked No. 2 out of the state’s Class 2A teams.
That’s a pretty successful season by anyone’s standards.
But the Rebels didn’t spend much time patting themselves on the back. They knew their real challenge lay ahead of them: the state playoffs.
“It’s like I’ve told them all week,” Thorsby coach Ab Argent said as he prepared his team to host Ranburne in the second playoff round, “We’ve done a good job getting to this point: winning the area, winning in the first round, putting ourselves in a position to host the second round. But you’re going to be judged by what you do in the playoffs.”
The Rebels on Friday got it done and live to practice for another round as the competition continues to improve.
It’s difficult to say whether this Thorsby team has what it takes to win a state championship, but it is difficult to find a weakness. Ace pitcher Cody Carroll shut down Ranburne in Game 1 on Friday and received plenty of support in a 10-0 win, showing what the Rebels can do when they play their best.
Game 2 was more of a struggle, with Thorsby fighting back from a deficit to take a 17-15 decision and end the series, a result that was a little bit of payback from last year, when Ranburne ended Thorsby’s season.
These Rebels are showing what this time of the year in high school sports is all about. The playoffs present an opportunity for a team and/or individual player to create a legacy, to do something the people associated with the school will always remember.
A fine example can be found using the same classrooms as the baseball players. Thorsby track and field athlete Sade’ Archie last year won two event championships at the state meet, the school’s first titles in the sport.
It’s too early to know if the Rebels can do it, but at least they realize the opportunity that’s in front of them.

– Dawkins is the assistant managing editor for The North Chilton Advertiser.