ALABAMA STATE MEET

Vestavia Hills Boys, Auburn Girls Lock Down Class 7A Titles

Photos and Story By Arthur L. Mack

OAKVILLE, Ala. — Sweeps and streaks, and some surprising performances, were the order of the day at Saturday’s Alabama High School Athletic Association Cross Country Championships held at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park.

There were some strong performances from the usual suspects when it came to teams and veteran runners, but there were some new stars on the horizon.

Here’s a recap of Saturday’s action:

Class 7A: Vestavia Hills defeated Hoover 43-63, with perennial power Huntsville third with 80 in the boys race. Huntsville’s Charles Pearson’s winning time of 15 minutes, 25.85 second was just ahead of Florence’s Charlie Hollingsworth (15:27.91) and Huntsville Grissom’s Jack Shattuck (15:28.37). 

On the girls side, Auburn edged out Vestavia Hills 80-84, with Hewitt-Trussville very close behind with 85. The surprise of the day was Hoover eighth-grader Reese Gonzalez denying Auburn’s Sara Tole of a fourth straight individual title. Gonzalez won in a very fast time of 17:57.58, while Tole was second in 18:12.24.  Opelika’s Carolne Couey was third (18:16.29).

“I was just going to try and run relaxed and stay with the leaders,” Gonzalez said. “I was really surprised to beat her (Tole), but I was so happy.” 

Class 6A: To no one’s surprise, Mountain Brook swept the boys and girls titles. The boys placed four runners in the top 15 and routed Homewood 44-111. Braden Little was the Spartans’ top finisher (2nd 15:54.30). The big surprise in the boys race came when Hazel Green’s Nehimiah Johnson used a strong kick in the last 100 meters to win in 15:49.85.

Cullman was third with 155 points.

Mountain Brook’s girls were just as dominant, placing four runners in the top 15 to beat Homewood 36-84. The Spartans were led by Francesca Demarco’s second-place overall finish (18:44.77). Saraland was a surprising third with 107. Hartselle’s Grace Goldman had the best performance, winning in 18:15.34. 

It was Mountain Brook’s fourth win in a row for the boys, and the fourth in fifth tries for the girls, and for head coach Mike McGovern, it was important for the streaks to continue. The girls performance was especially remarkable because the Spartans’ No. 1 runner, Emelie White, was unable to finish the race because of injury. 

“We definitely talked about the streaks,” McGovern said. “This is the third time (in school history) that we got four wins in a row. For our girls, one of the benefits we have is a strong junior high program, so the kids blend in seamlessly. With two eighth-graders on the team and two ninth-graders, it’s a mixture of youth and experience, especially with our No. 1 runner (White) unable to finish.”

Class 5A: Scottsboro’s boys defeated Westminster at Oak Mountain 57-67, with Providence Christian School third (123). On the girls side, Lawrence County, always among the state’s top Class 5A teams, defeated Scottsboro 45-53, with Westminster at Oak Mountain third (105).

The most exciting race came in the boys competition, where Scottsboro’s Ryder Linville (16:00.36) edged Westminster at Oak Mountain’s Weaver Caldwell (16:00.46) and Jacksonville’s Rua Mathis (16:00.88) in a virtual photo finish. Scottsboro won its eighth boys title in the last 10 years, while Lawrence County won its fifth girls title in the last six years.

Brewer’s Rose Betts won the girls race in 18:33.21, easily outpacing Lawrence County’s Katie Mae Coan (18:59.97) and Scottsboro’s Banks Bradford (19:20.58).

Class 4A: Whitesboro Christian’s girls, led by the sister act of Nora and Isabelle Allan, scored 41 points to win their third title, easily defeating Bayshore Christian (114) and Altamont (126). It was especially sweet, since Whitesboro won the Class 3A title two years ago and Class 4A titles last year.

Nora, only an eighth grader, won individual honors handily in 18:29.30, while big sister Isabelle, a sophomore, was second (19:16.23)

Nora Allan said the course was a little bit harder than she expected because.

“My PR was on a flat course, but this course (Oakville) is one of my favorites,” she said. “The weather was pretty, and our success comes from having a really good community, having fun with each other, and running for the glory of God.”

Nora said the plan was to run with Isabelle for as long as possible during the race.

“We always run together,” she said. “The plan was to run together for as long as possible before I broke away.”

Head coach Sean Allan, Nora and Isabelle’s father, said: “Nora and Isabelle are experienced runners. They wanted to go out from gun and do their job. They executed really well.”

Hamilton won the boys competition, defeating White Plains 51-90, while Bayshore Christian was third (144). The Aggies, who got their second state title as well as a runner-up in the last three years, were led by senior Joshua Webb, who finished second in 16:04.87, just behind DAR’s Bailey Kendrick (15:45.31).

“We thought we had a good chance of repeating because of the times we ran this year,” Hamilton coach Scotty Sanderson, who has six seniors on his squad, said. “With six seniors who had PRs throughout the season, we had a chance.”

Class 3A: Montgomery Academy swept Class 3A boys and girls titles and it was done in contrasting ways.

Montgomery Academy’s boys narrowly edged St. Luke’s 56-58, placing three runners in the top 15 to overcome a fourth-place finish from St. Luke’s Zachary Robinson (16:43.74). Huntsville’s Alabama School of Cyber Technology was third with 131 points. Vinemont’s Brady Johnson ran an impressive 15:45.31 to win the race.

Despite a 1-2 finish from Montgomery’ St. James’ Elley Goff (19:28.07) and Molly Phillips (19:51.06), it wasn’t quite enough as Montgomery Academy’s Ellie Ingram (19:58.07), Isabella Arnett (20:13.79), and Livia Dwyer (20:20.19) took the next three places and defeated St. Luke’s 30-84. St. James finished third with 99 points.

Class 1A-2A: In perhaps the closest of team races, Athens Bible School edged Cold Springs in the boys competition 86-87, with Pleasant Valley third with 104.

Individually, Horseshoe Bend’s David Layfield finished his senior year with a solid 16:15.24 to win the state title.

Cold Springs won the girls team championship with 45 points. The Eagles were led by eighth-grader Reese Swidecki, who won with a solid 19:20.

TEAM CHAMPIONS

Class 7A - Vestavia Hills boys 43 points, Auburn girls 76 points RESULTS

Class 6A - Mountain Brook boys 42 points, Mountain Brook girls 36 points - RESULTS

Class 5A - Scottsboro boys 57 points, Lawrence County girls 45 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - Hamilton boys 51 points, Whitesburg Christian Academy girls 41 points - RESULTS

Class 3A - Montgomery Academy boys 56 points, Montgomery Academy girls 30 points - RESULTS

Class 2A/1A - Athens Bible boys 86 points, Cold Spring girls 45 points - RESULTS