Editor’s note: This is the first in a series counting down the top five sports stories in Warren County in 2017.

St. Aloysius has long had a strong tradition in its spring sports, and over the course of a few days in May 2017 it proved it.

First, senior sprinter Donald Woodson won gold medals in six events to lead St. Al to its second track and field team state championship in three years. Then, four days later, the girls’ tennis team won the MAIS Class AAA state title as Elise Piazza and the doubles team of Ashley Jarratt and Taylor Chewning won individual championships.

St. Al’s impressive early-May run is the No. 5 sports story of the year in Warren County.

“It feels great,” Woodson said in May, after his final event at the MAIS Class AAA state track meet. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of a championship team. I went to state with the St. Aloysius football team (in 2014), but we didn’t win it. The second time going to state in track, and actually winning it? No other thing can beat it.”

Woodson’s day was one for the ages. He finished first in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, the 300 meter hurdles and the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 meter relays.

He won the 100 meters in 11.02 seconds, edging teammate Jamar Williams by less than a tenth of a second. Woodson then won gold in the 200 meters with a time of 21.80 seconds, and capped off his triple crown by running the 300 hurdles in 41.99 seconds.

He also teamed with Jamar Williams, Preston McGowan and Antonio Thompson to win the 4×100 and 4×200 relays with times that were overall MAIS records. The 4×200 time of 1 minute, 29 seconds broke a record that had stood since 1986.

Woodson, Williams, McGowan and Tyler Lewis also set a Class AAA record in the 4×400 meter relay.

St. Al won individual state titles in eight events — Jaylen Whitaker won the shot put and Garrett Vincent the 110 meter hurdles — and medaled in five others to win its first state title as a member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools. Its first championship was in 2015, the last year it was a member of the Mississippi High School Activities Association.

“It feels amazing. It feels great, because last year I pulled my hamstring,” said Woodson, who was also The Vicksburg Post’s Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year. “I couldn’t work, and I couldn’t run, and I couldn’t show everybody what I could do. Now this year I showed everybody plus my coach what I could do.”

Meanwhile, on the tennis court, the Chewning-Jarratt tandem earned a bit of redemption in winning the Class AAA No. 2 doubles championship and leading St. Al to the team title.

The two eighth-graders went 15-1 during the 2017 season, but had lost in the finals of the state tournament in 2016. Their only loss in 2017 came against Manchester Academy’s Elizabeth Turner and Mary Sibley McGraw, their opponents in the championship match.

The St. Al duo won 6-4, 6-3.

Piazza, meanwhile, didn’t drop a set in winning the No. 2 girls doubles championship.

Despite only having the two entries in the state tournament, the Lady Flashes emerged with their first team title since 2012 thanks to the unique scoring system used by the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools.

Teams received one point for each match victory by its players. St. Al and Manchester Academy tied with four points each, and the tie was broken by which team won the most individual titles. St. Al’s players beat opponents from Manchester in both tournament finals to give them the team title to go with their individual trophies.

“It feels awesome. It’s a feeling like no other. It’s something I’ve never felt before. It’s new for me, to be a state champion,” Piazza said after the tournament. “I was playing my last game and was like, ‘If I win this point right here it’s over. I’m a state champion.’ It really motivated me to push through and do well. You just get chills everywhere.”