The suspense was almost too much to bear for Cold Springs.

With only one event left in the Class 1A-3A state track and field meet on Saturday, the Eagles didn’t exactly know where they stood in the 2A standings.

The defending champions only heard the whispers.

It was close — excruciatingly close — between them, St. Bernard and LaFayette to see which program would ultimately take home the Blue Map trophy and which two schools would ultimately come up heartbreakingly short.

In the end, however, the Blue and Gold’s fate was entirely out of their hands.

Cold Springs could only watch as Falkville’s Devin Johnson and the Saints’ Dominic Pautler went toe-to-toe during what turned out to be an epic pole vault showdown. Johnson eventually bested Pautler in the fifth tiebreaker to claim the gold medal and, more importantly, the 10 points that came with it.

Pautler finished with eight, while Blake Wood (third), Trevor Slayton (fifth) and Eli Hamby (seventh) combined to earn 11 for the Eagles.

The final tally? Cold Springs 97, St. Bernard 96. LaFayette 94.

Although the Blue and Gold officially corralled their second straight state crown with the result, Wood didn’t find out until right before the trophy presentation.

“The anticipation was horrible,” he said. “I can’t take away anything from Dominic, because he’s a super athlete. But I’m really glad Devin beat him (laughs). If not, we wouldn’t be here right now. This was a team effort. We all stepped up and contributed. We’ve got the best coaches in the state, too. Without God, though, we couldn’t do any of it.”

Added Slayton: “We knew it was going to be a tough fight, but I told the guys to do what we do. We competed. Some of them got school records, and some of them got personal records. It’s a blessing for sure.”

Wood produced a first-place performance in the high jump (6-00) as well as a third-place outing in the triple jump, while Mason Harris (second in 300-meter hurdles and third in 300-meter hurdles) and Brian McAnnally (third in discus) tallied spots on the podium to provide some big-time points.

Slayton, Hamby, Jared Stanley, Cayde Elliott, Jacob Lee, River Banks, C.J. Lang, Jesse Lee, Jonathan Collett, Andrew Blair and countless others also delivered in the clutch for Cold Springs throughout the two-day event.

“It’s a special thing,” Wood said. “The bond at Cold Springs is beyond anywhere else. It’s not just a team, it’s a big family. We win together and lose together. I’m just so blessed to be with these guys and to go out with a bang one last time as a senior. It’s amazing.”

Casey Guthery was first in the 3,200-meter run (9:55.33) and second in the 800-meter run for the Saints, who received a host of sublime showings, including Andrew Sweeney (second in 3,200-meter run and fifth in 800-meter run) and Pautler (fifth in javelin and sixth in triple jump).

For Stephen Calvert, it was a tough way to end a thrilling meet.

The young St. Bernard coach was able to put a positive spin on things, though.

“It’s really special to be a part of a close state meet like this,” he said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. We only qualified eight people for state. This was very stressful (laughs). Pretty nuts it came down to what it came down to. This group that we have … I don’t know if we’ll ever have another one like this.”

Saturday’s victory marked the bittersweet ending for a large group of Cold Springs seniors.

The state championship was incredible, but it also signaled the start of something new.

Slayton won’t ever forget the ride.

“I love every single one of them,” he said. “I hate that we all have to split up after this, but they’ll always be in my heart.”

Holly Pond’s Matt Cahoon wrapped up his prep career with his fourth gold medal of the week following a solid leap (6-06) in the 3A high jump. The senior standout scored 40 points for the Broncos, who finished third.

Addison’s Zeb Maze also placed first in the 1A shot put with a distance of 45-10.40.

Jaden Edge (4-11) and Leahrose Mami (12:02.79) netted golds in the high jump and 3,200-meter run, respectively, while Ivy Edge snagged a bronze in the 800-meter run to help St. Bernard’s girls place third overall.

Cold Springs’ Grace Chambers collected the gold medal in the discus with a throw of 98-05. The Lady Eagles were sixth.

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See a complete list of top-eight performers below:

Girls

Addison (1A)

Abbie Chambless, Allie Chambless, Emee Baldwin and Destiny Walker, second in the 4×100-meter relay

Amanda Erb, fourth in shot put

Abbie Chambless, sixth in triple jump

Sunny Snoddy, seventh in javelin

Emee Baldwin, seventh in 100-meter hurdles

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Cold Springs (2A)

Grace Chambers, first in discus (98-05)

Aubrey Negron, fifth in shot put

Ava Akridge, sixth in 3,200-meter run

Rachel Haynes, sixth in 100-meter hurdles

Brooke Crider, seventh in 3,200-meter run

Kinley Campbell, seventh in discus

Lilly McSpadden, seventh in high jump

Zoe Strawbridge, seventh in pole vault

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St. Bernard (2A)

Leahrose Mami, first in 3,200-meter run (12:02.79) and sixth in 800-meter run

Jaden Edge, first in high jump (4-11) and eighth in 300-meter hurdles

Ivy Edge, third in 800-meter run

Ivy Edge, Katelyn Cowie, Anna Faulk and Claire Sanders, fifth in the 4×400-meter relay

Anna Faulk, sixth in pole vault and sixth in shot put

Ashley Duke, eighth in discus

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Hanceville (3A)

Kierra Merriweather, Emily Lugo, Kaela Hall and Sadie Eddy, sixth in 4×100-meter relay 

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Holly Pond (3A)

Camilla Chambers, seventh in 3,200-meter run

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Boys

Addison (1A)

Zeb Maze, first in shot put (45-10.50)

Micah James, sixth in shot put

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Cold Springs (2A)

Blake Wood, first in high jump (6-00), third in pole vault and third in triple jump

Mason Harris, second in 300-meter hurdles and third in 110-meter hurdles

Brian McAnnally, third in discus

Jared Stanley, fourth in 800-meter run and fourth in 3,200-meter run

Trevor Slayton, fifth in pole vault

Cayde Elliott, Trevor Slayton, Jacob Lee and River Banks, fifth in 4×400-meter relay

Cayde Elliott, sixth in javelin

Eli Hamby, seventh in high jump and seventh in pole vault

C.J. Lang, seventh in 3,200-meter run

Jesse Lee, eighth in high jump and eighth in javelin

Jonathan Collett, eighth in 3,200-meter run

Andrew Blair, eighth in 800-meter run 

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St. Bernard (2A)

Casey Guthery, first in 3,200-meter run (9.55.33) and second in 800-meter run

Dominic Pautler, second in pole vault, fifth in javelin and sixth in triple jump

Andrew Sweeney, second in 3,200-meter run and fifth in 800-meter run

Elijah Price, fourth in high jump

Caleb Guthery, fifth in 3,200-meter run

Marco Tona, sixth in 800-meter run

Jalen Lee, Christian Peterson, Marco Tona and Caleb Guthery, seventh in 4×400-meter relay

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Hanceville (3A)

BJ Smalls, fourth in 100-meter dash and fifth in 200-meter dash 

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Holly Pond (3A)

Matt Cahoon, first in high jump (6-06)

Mason May, seventh in 110-meter hurdles and seventh in 300-meter hurdles

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Class 4A-7A State Track and Field Meet

West Point’s Hunter Appling stole the show on the final day of competition in Gulf Shores, speeding to gold medals in the 200-meter dash (22.12), 110-meter hurdles (14.27) and 300-meter hurdles (38.49) — he placed second in the 100-meter dash as well — to aid the Warriors to a sixth-place finish in Class 5A on Saturday.

Cullman’s boys — behind Tanner Jackson’s sixth-place shot put effort — were third in Class 6A behind Opelika and Homewood.

Ann Carol Braswell (10-00) secured a gold medal in the pole vault, while teammates Anna Franklin (second in pole vault) and Emily Jackson (third in discus) also contributed to the Black and Gold’s 10th-place outing.

Taylor Eady tallied third in the triple jump and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles for West Point’s girls, while Fairview’s Abby Schnittker coasted to seventh in the 100-meter hurdles.