ACA Girls Win Fourth Straight Championship

Competing on Friday and Saturday at Birmingham-Southern College, ACA totaled 103.5 points. Mobile Christian was second with 71.5.

“The fourth one, in my mind, was a big accomplishment, particularly since we had lost some of the huge, great athletes like Bekah Hoppis and Rebekah Rhodes off last year’s squad,” said ACA coach Charles Tiller. “We knew we wouldn’t be able to match the type of points we had in prior years. We had the feeling we would come in at the 103- to 105-point range, but we didn’t know how the competition would stack up.

“What it does is that it tells people we’re actually a program and not about one particular athlete.”

ACA junior Carolyn Barnett won the pole vault at 8 feet, 6 inches.

“What made her situation very special is that she’s a very competitive high jumper, but she did not do that well (seventh place),” Tiller said. “She walked away feeling like she let down the team. For her to turn around and give the performance she gave in the pole vault was extraordinary.”

ACA’s Amy Mirabito earned 8 points by placing second in the pole vault at 8 feet. Sara Gibson contributed 4 points by placing fifth at 7-6.

“Our pole vaulters got 22 out of a possible 24 points,” Tiller said. “That put some distance between us and Mobile Christian.”

Tiller said senior Rachel Mills “just about passed out” as she placed sixth in the 1,600 meters on Friday. “She went to the medial tent, and we really thought it would be a challenge getting her back,” Tiller said.

Mills, who was fourth in the 800 and sixth in the 3,200 meters, rested up until Saturday’s 4x800 relay. Mills teamed with Gibson, Kaitlin York and Chloe Rector to give ACA a victory in 10:54.32.

“Rachel ran the final leg and turned in an outstanding time,” Tiller said. “She just said, ‘I’m a senior. This is my favorite event. I’m not going to let you down.’ She wanted so much to do her part she inspired the other members of the team to really step up, and they ended up winning.”

ACA’s 4x400 relay team of Martha Grace Mize, Mary Roberts, Morgan Hoff and Jordan Ballard placed second in what Tiller said was a school-record 4:32.73.

“They put it on the line and ran a really, really great race,” Tiller said.

Tiller said Katie Hooper “got us rolling” when she placed second (94-4) in the discus event, which began at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Chandler Dare placed third in the triple jump and sixth in the 200 meters. Roberts was sixth in the 300 hurdles.

“This is a really scrappy team,” Tiller said. “With only two victories, in every event we were trying to get a few points here and there. That’s how we did it, which takes a lot more focus and a lot more work.”

The ACA boys team placed sixth with 33 points. Lanett won the title with 121, and Francis Marion placed fourth with 43.

“This was probably one of the better teams we’ve had in a number of years,” Tiller said. “We were mainly distance-based with a lot of throwers as well.”

Conor Rector set an ACA record of 2:06.56 to place third in the 800. He was fifth in the 1,600 and sixth in the 3,200.

He and Tanner Kelley, Cameron Lyons and Eric Tiller, the coach’s son, placed third in the 4x800 relay on Friday with a school-record time of 8:58.84

“That was an outstanding performance against some really good 4x800 squads,” Charles Tiller said. “One of our big leaders this year was Tanner. He would lead vocally and by his actions to help the team.”

The 4x400 relay team of Jordan Coleman Austin Marchant, Jacob Fager and Patrick Farley placed eighth in 3:57.32. “They gave us a spark,” Charles Tiller said.

Charles Tiller also said Cameron Hamner “came out of nowhere” to place eighth in the javelin.

ACA to Host Track & Field Sectionals

Click on the link below to find out important information regarding the meet schedule and directions.

track, sectional info 2010.pdf

Please do not forget that you will need to turn in this Form either prior to or on the day of the Sectional.

track, form 52.pdf

The AHSAA changed some event minimums for 2010. They also added a minimum for the 1600. Click on the link below to see what the minimums will be this year in 1A, 2A, and 5A:

track, state qualifying minimums 2010 v 4.6.pdf

AHSAA Class 1A
Section 1
Autaugaville (AUTA), Billingsley (BILL), J.U. Blacksher (JUBL), Butler County Magnet(BCMA), Florala (FLOR), John Essex (JOES), A. L. Johnson (JOHN), Linden (LIND), Loachapoka (LOAC), Maplesville (MAPL), Marengo (MARE), McKenzie (MCKE), Notasulga (NOTA), Providence Christian (PROV), South Lamar (SOLA), Sunshine (SUNS), Sweet Water (SWEE)

AHSAA Class 2A
Section 2
American Christian Academy (AMER), Francis Marion(FMAR), Fultondale (FULT), Keith (KETH), Ohatchee (OHAT), R.C.Hatch (RCHA), Shades Mountain Christian (SHAD),Sulligent (SULL), Thorsby (THOR), Vincent (VINC)

AHSAA Class 5A
Section 4
Brookwood (BRWD), Carver-Birmingham (CAVR), Central-Tuscaloosa (CETU), Chelsea (CHEL), Cullman (CULL), Curry (CURR), Erwin (ERWI), Fairfield (FFLD), Hartselle (HART), Hayden (HAYD), Mortimer Jordan (MOJO), Parker (PKER), Pleasant Grove (PLGR), Russellville (RUSS), Springville (SPNG), Walker (WALK), Wenonah (WENO), Woodlawn (WOHS)

Meet Director Contact
Coach Charles Tiller, American Christian Academy, 2300 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 Cell: 205-454-7033 Fax: 270-721-4896 Email: coachtiller@gmail.com

April 5, 2010 Update
The 1A Section 1, 2A Section 2, and 5A Section 4 meet will be held at the University of Alabama track. This is a different location than what was announced earlier in the spring.

The meet will begin at 8:00 am on both Friday and Saturday. The gates will open for teams and spectators at 7:00 am. It is anticipated the meet will end by 5:00 pm on each day.

We ask your cooperation in being honest and accurate when entering seed marks. Marks must be recorded in official meets in 2009-2010. In fairness to all please, do not turn in bogus marks. Seed times for each event may be verified by meet officials. Athletes with bogus marks will be placed in slowest sections. Please adjust all hand times in sprint and hurdle events upward by .25.

This is a State Championship qualifying meet. For the safety of your athletes, please do not enter them in events for which they are not familiar, particularly in the Pole Vault and High Jump. If it is apparent to meet officials that an athlete doesn't have the training or experience to safely compete in the events for which they are entered, the athlete's participation in that event will be disallowed.

All pole vaulters will be weighed prior to their event. Vaulters will only be allowed to use a pole that has a rating that is greater than their weight. You must bring your own pole as poles will not be provided.

April 6, 2010 Update
The State Qualifying Minimums sheet (above) has been corrected to reflect the proper distance of 110' as the minimum for the 5A Boys Discus.

ACA Girls Cross Country Wins Third Straight State Title

ACA out raced the field with 39 team points, outdistancing Athens Bible 85, 3.) Cold Springs 120, 4.) Westminster School at Oak Mountain 123, 5.) Section 152, 6.) Shoals Christian 156, 7.) Covenant Christian 178, 8.) Westminster Christian Academy 183, 9.) St Bernard Prep 208, 10.) Clements 247, 11.) Holy Spirit 250.

Led by Senior Rachel Mills (5th/ 21:15), ACA put 4 girls in the Top 10 – Kaitlin York (6th/ 21:46), Sara Gibson (7th/ 21:50), Chloe Rector (10th/ 21:50). Each earned All-State Honors. Wrapping up the scoring for ACA was Olivia Goldsby (18th/ 22:47).

Winning the individual title was Amy McKelvey of Shoal Christian with a time of 20:56. Senior Palee Myrex of Cold Springs, going for her 3rd individual title, was leading the race but collapsed down the home stretch of the course and was unable to finish.

Other athletes racing for ACA were Morgan Avery (21st/ 23:02), Carolyn Barnett (32nd/ 24:01), Lauren Sandras (37th/ 24:23), Chelsea Booth (54th/ 25:02), and Betsy Ann Ingram (71st/ 26:41).

“I am really proud of their efforts. These kids have a lot of heart,” Head Coach Charles Tiller said. “Several of the kids were banged up. Rachel Mills has had knee pain as of late and Sara Gibson has been battling both a sinus infection and an inflamed Achilles tendon, but they were able to finish toward the top.

“The times were slower due to a very wet course which is okay. Cross country is about places not times.

“Athens Bible really came out strong. Through the first mile, it was neck and neck. However, all the summer conditioning paid off because by mile 2, we started to separate ourselves from them.”

Winning the individual title was Amy McKelvey of Shoal Christian with a time of 20:56. Senior Palee Myrex of Cold Springs, going for her 3rd individual title, was leading the race but collapsed down the home stretch of the course and was unable to finish.

ACA’s Boys Cross Country Squad Finishs 5th in State

The race won by twins Nathan and Nick Lewis of Cold Springs.

First year runner Connor Rector led the Patriots finishing 11th in a time of 18:11. Right behind Rector was sophomore Tanner Kelley in 18:12. Both earned All State honors.

Scorers for ACA – Rector, Kelley, Eric Tiller (29th/ 19:27), Austin Marchant (40th/ 19:58), and Patrick Farley (64th/ 21:02).

Other athletes racing for ACA were Chase Boyles (72nd/ 21:12), Cameron Lyons (84th/ 21:51), Hill Brakefield (94th/ 22:48), Charles Hardin (95th/ 22:52), and Owen Carpenter (110th/ 23:52).

Hatton won the team competition with 38 points. Cold Springs was second with 75, Athens Bible was third (99) Westminster School at Oak Mountain fourth (123) and ACA fifth with 130.

It was Hatton’s 2nd consecutive victory.

“We had a large number of newcomers this year who have run their hearts out all season,” Tiller said. “Last week, they won their first Sectional title. They were one of the top teams in Decatur several weeks ago.”

“Tanner Kelley has shown a tremendous amount of leadership this year. There have been a number of races where he has been very vocal giving directions and encouragement. Eric Tiller has been solid in every race. He cut close to one and a half minutes from the championships last year.

“We needed to have our best race plus some to finish in the top 2. The other squads were just too experienced.

ACA Boys and Girls Finish First at Sectional Meet

The Boy’s squad led by Conor Rector (1st) and Tanner Kelley (3rd) ran the 2nd fastest team time in it’s history (1:35:41). ACA (36 points) won a tight race ahead of Westminster School at Oak Mountain (41), Holy Spirit (61) and Mobile Christian (85). Coach Tiller praised the competitiveness of the guys squad. “Both Westminster and Holy Spirit have great squads. We knew that it would be a tough fight. We have stressed the importance of the number 4-5 spots. Austin Marchant, normally our number 4 runner, stepped it up and ran 3rd in a time of 19:26. Eric Tiller had another solid race in 19:35. Lyons PR of 20:30 wrapped up the scoring for ACA.” Others competing for the Patriots - Patrick Farley (17th/21:05), Chase Boyles (21st/21:38), Hill Brakefield (23rd/22:01), Charles Hardin (31st/23:50), and Owen Carpenter (35th/25:03).

The Girl’s team won their 3rd consecutive Sectional title. Led by Sara Gibson (3rd in 21:53), the Lady Pat’s placed 8 athletes in the top 12 positions. Placing 4th overall was 7th grader Kaitlin York running in her first Sectional meet. Rachel Mills, last weeks winner at the Hoover Invitational, had some challenges due to dehydration, but still finished 6th overall in a time of 22:39. Tiller said “Mills is such a special athlete. She showed a lot of guts and determination. As a Senior, she does such a great job leading by example. Other athletes would have not finished the race but she worked her way through it. She will be missed next year.” Runners 4-6 (Chloe Rector 23:22, Morgan Avery 23:25, and Carolyn Barnett 23:34) kept the Girls team undefeated on their home course this season. “The team’s success will be based on how well they run. Every Championship contending team has 1-2 great runners, few have strong 4-6 as we do. We are very fortunate.”