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Vicksburg High's Amiyah Hall celebrates as she wins the girls 200 meters at the MHSAA Class 6A state track meet. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Adria Burrell runs to a second-place finish in the girls 400 meters at the MHSAA Class 6A state track meet. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg's Amiyah Hall, left, and Warren Central's Adria Burrell sprint to the finish line in the girls 100 meter dash at the MHSAA Class 6A state track meet. Burrell finished first and Hall was second. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Adria Burrell and Vicksburg's Amiyah Hall hug each other on the podium after they finished first and second, respectively, in the girls 100 meter dash at the MHSAA Class 6A state track meet. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Adria Burrell and Vicksburg's Amiyah Hall hug each other after they finished first and second, respectively, in the girls 100 meter dash at the MHSAA Class 6A state track meet. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Arrionna Jenkins competes in the girls shot put at the MHSAA Class 6A state track and field meet. Jenkins finished second in the event with a throw of 37 feet, 2 inches. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg High's Zion Knox competes in the girls long jump at the MHSAA Class 6A state track and field meet. Knox won the state championship in the event with a leap of 17 feet, 7 inches. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Madison Ward competes in the girls long jump at the MHSAA Class 6A state track and field meet. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg High's McKenzy Edmond competes in the girls high jump at the MHSAA Class 6A state track and field meet. Edmond finished second in the event. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

PEARL — Since February, Adria Burrell and Amiyah Hall had discussed their plan for the first weekend in May.

Win. Celebrate with a hug. Step to the podium to receive their medals. And then do it again.

When the time came to execute it on Saturday, they did it to perfection.

The two sprinters finished first and second in both the 100 and 200 meters at the MHSAA Class 6A state track meet, with Warren Central’s Burrell winning the 100 and Vicksburg High’s Hall the 200. It was the perfect ending to their season-long duel and friendly competition in the two events.

“That’s how we said it was going to go,” Burrell said. “We said before the gun went off, first or second whichever way it goes it’ll be us two. That’s what we’ve been telling each other since February.”

It was the fifth time in seven meets this season that Burrell and Hall have gone head to head and finished first and second — in some order — in both events.

Burrell, a senior, won the first showdown Saturday by clocking a time of 11.93 seconds in the 100 meters. Hall was right behind in 12.01 seconds, marking the fourth time this season they’ve been separated by less than a tenth of a second at the finish line.

“The 100, I just knew what I had to do. I went sub-12. I’ve been trying to do that since ninth grade, and for me to do that my last year, my senior year, I’m beyond blessed,” Burrell said. “You just can’t do nothing but look at the clock and be like, ‘Thank God,’ because all the practice, all the long hours, the early mornings and late nights, this is when it matters. Right here, right now.”

Each runner added another medal to their collection before squaring off again in the 200. Hall was part of Vicksburg’s 4×200 meter relay — along with Nakia Jeffers, Raylyn Parson and Zion Knox — that finished second with a time of 1:44.89.

Burrell finished second in the 400 meters with a time of 59.32 seconds.

In the 200 meters, Hall pulled away in the last half of the race to take the gold medal with a time of 24.64 seconds. Burrell got the silver in 24.99.

“I had to give it my all because I knew I wanted the gold medal in my last race of the season. I wanted it so I had to go get it,” Hall said.

As soon as they crossed the finish line, just like they had done following the 100, the two Warren County runners celebrated with a hug and then walked together to the podium.

“It’s a great day,” Hall said.

Burrell and Hall accounted for two of the three state championships and six of the 12 medals won by Warren County athletes in the Class 6A girls meet.

Vicksburg’s Zion Knox couldn’t defend her championship in the triple jump — she finished second to Hattiesburg’s Tamea Miller — but did get one in the long jump.

The freshman leaped 17 feet, 7 inches to win the first event of the day. Warren Central’s Madison Ward finished third at 17-3.

“It was a pretty good day. It’s the last day of the season so you’ve got to end it right. I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” Knox said.

Knox actually took a break from winning one medal to collect another. During the triple jump competition she stepped away to run the anchor leg on the 4×200 meter relay, then returned for her final attempt. She got a silver medal in both events.

“It wasn’t weighing on my mind because the 4×200 is not my most important event today. My most important event was jumping and then my 400 meters,” said Knox, who also finished sixth in the 400 meters.

McKenzy Edmond picked up a silver medal the high jump by clearing 5 feet even to help Vicksburg finish third in the team standings. The Missy Gators totaled 70 points. Hattiesburg won the Class 6A team championship with 96 points and South Panola was second with 80.

Warren Central had 59 points to finish fourth in the team standings. In addition to the medals by Burrell and Ward, they had two more podium finishes from Arrionna Jenkins.

The junior placed third in the discus and narrowly missed a state championship in the shot put.

Jenkins was muddling along with two throws around 32 feet in the shot put until coach Heather Casey offered some helpful advice — put a little more arc on it. Jenkins did on her next throw and it was good for a mark of 37 feet, 2 inches.

“At first I didn’t understand that she was telling me to use my legs more. I wasn’t using my legs. She told me to throw it higher. I did it and I PR’d,” Jenkins said. “I was so shocked. I was fixing to cry.”

Jenkins’ mark put her in first place until the very last throw of the competition. South Panola’s Takayla Pope threw the shot 37 feet, 5.5 inches to surpass Jenkins’ mark and win the gold medal. Jenkins finished second. West Harrison’s McKinley Humbles was a distant third at 33-6.

Jenkins said she was disappointed not to bring home a state championship, but was still happy with two medals and a personal-best.

“I was frustrated, but at the end of the day I PR’d with a 37-2. I’m going to be throwing way better than that next year,” Jenkins said. “As long as I am growing and not staying in the same place, I’m not going to be that mad.”

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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