Fourteen times this season, Vicksburg High’s Amiyah Hall and Warren Central’s Adria Burrell lined up next to each other in a head-to-head race.

Hall won seven times and Burrell won seven times. The net difference in the results was 1.62 seconds.

It was a razor-thin margin that continued right through the battle for The Vicksburg Post’s girls track and field Athlete of the Year award. In a photo finish, the two state champion sprinters wound up in a dead heat and shared the honor as the co-Athletes of the Year.

“I feel like we both deserve it,” said Burrell, a senior. “She’s younger than me and for her to get it I bet that meant a lot to her, too. I’m not mad at the tie at all.”

Hall wasn’t upset either. Like Burrell, she has insisted that whatever rivalry the two have is as friendly as it gets. After they finished first and second in the 100 and 200 meters at the MHSAA Class 6A state meet, they immediately shared a hug and celebrated together on the podium.

“Some people wanted us to go against each other, but we’re not like that. She’s like a big sister to me. I look up to her,” said Hall, a sophomore.

Hall and Burrell both ran the 100 and 200 meters. They split a few victories early in the season, but by the end each had staked out a lane as the runner to beat in one event or the other — Burrell in the 100 and Hall in the 200.

Burrell won her last five starts in the 100 while Hall swept through the three postseason meets in the 200. In 10 of their 14 head-to-head match-ups, they finished first and second in both races.

That included the state meet, where Burrell won the 100 meters in 11.93 seconds and Hall was second in 12.01. Later on, Hall won the Class 6A championship in the 200 with a time of 24.64 seconds while Burrell was second in 24.99.

Hall said it was not a coincidence. She said the two Warren County sprinters pushed each other to be better all season.

“We were on and off, giving each other competition. It felt good. It pushed us a lot,” Hall said. “The last meet, after we ran the 100, she said I pushed her to break that 12. Same in the 200. She made me run, too.”
Burrell agreed. She called their constant competition “fun.”

“She’s the only person this year that I felt I was that close with every single race,” she said. “Every meet we’re going after a PR and first place. It just makes it more fun.”

Hall added another silver medal in the 4×200 meter relay, while Burrell got another in the 400 meters with a time of 59.32 seconds.

Their last race together was the 200 meters, at the conclusion of which they shared a big hug — their personal post-race tradition — for the final time.

Burrell is graduating from Warren Central and heading off to the University of West Alabama to run for its track team. She finished her high school career with six state meet medals, including state titles in the 200 meters in 2024 and the 100 in 2025, and an elusive mark she had been chasing for four years.

“Anybody that knows me knows I’ve been trying to run sub-12 since I came into high school. For me to finally do that my last track meet of my high school career, my last hurrah, that meant a lot to me,” Burrell said. “It’s an unexplainable feeling. It’s just a huge blessing from God. When I turned around and looked at the clock and I saw 11.93 I just couldn’t say nothing but ‘Thank God.’ It just made my whole day.”

Hall, meanwhile, has plenty of history left to write with two more seasons to run for the Missy Gators. She’s already a two-time state champion, having won gold in the 4×200 meter relay in 2024 as well as the 200 meters this season, and has her sights set on a lot more in 2026 and 2027.

“People tell me I can be the next Sha’Carri Richardson,” Hall said, referring to the Olympic gold medalist. “I think I can be pretty good. I’m starting training today for next season.”

Vicksburg Post girls track Athletes of the Year
2025 – Adria Burrell, Warren Central; and Amiyah Hall, Vicksburg
2024 – Shaniyah Walker, Vicksburg
2023 – Rodrianna Hall, Vicksburg
2022 – Layla Carter, Vicksburg
2021 – Cati Mathews, St. Aloysius
2019 – Char’Davia Anderson, Vicksburg
2018 – Raven Thompson, Warren Central
2017 – Dede Apenyo, St. Aloysius
2016 – Tymesha Nabors, Vicksburg
2015 – Keiyana Gaskin, Vicksburg
2014 – Alyssa Engel, St. Aloysius