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Preview - Alabama State XC Meet - 2013- DyeStat

Published by
DyeStat.com   Nov 8th 2013, 8:41pm
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Top teams vie for supremacy in Alabama
 
By Arthur L. Mack for DyeStat
 
Auburn’s boys, Mountain Brook’s girls among the 6A favorites, Homewood’s boys and Scottsboro’s girls seek 5A titles, while UMS-Wright’s girls hope to continue dominance in 4A competition; while all eyes will be on Vestavia’s Mac Macoy in 6A boys’ race
 
 
 
Saturday’s Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Cross Country Championships at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park near Moulton will certainly be one to remember — not only for the expected cool weather and the fact that the course itself will be scenic — but also for some streaks to continue and milestones to be reached.

 
From an historical standpoint, runners will have a chance to see some history. The race course itself runs through the 83-acre state park dedicated to Native American monuments and the Cherokee Nation of the Southeast. It preserves 20 2,000-year-old mounds built by Middle Woodland-era prehistoric indigenous peoples.

 
Runners will not only see some of the mounds on the course, but the course itself has a winding uphill section approaching the two-mile mark called ‘The Snake.’ It will be on that course that dreams will come true — or be shattered. Five classifications — 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, and 1A-2A — will battle for titles.
Let’s take a look at what to expect:

 
CLASS 6A — Undoubtedly, the runner to watch is Vestavia Hill’s Macoy, who has run not only the fastest time of the season (15 minutes, 3.34 seconds at the FSU Invitational Meet), but has run the third-fastest time in history by an Alabama runner. If conditions are just right, and if he has someone pushing him, Macoy could very well break the 15 minute mark.

 
Team competition, though, is another matter. Auburn, led by Dylan Ogburn, Fernando Lincoln and Adam Ruggles, is solid from top to bottom and could very well be considered the favorite. The Tigers, though, should get some competition from Smiths Station and Mountain Brook.

On the girls’ side, Mountain Brook, led by Jessica Molloy, is favored to win its 11th straight title, as well as 13th team title over the last 14 years. Battling for second will likely be Bob Jones, Hewitt-Trussville, and Oak Mountain.

CLASS 5A — The two teams to watch are Homewood’s boys and Scottsboro’s girls.
 
Homewood, led by Mike Rohdy, Alex Ngei, and Fulton Williams, has far and away the best chance to win the boys’ competition in 5A. The battle for second includes Lawrence County, led by Caleb Lipsey; Scottsboro, led by RobReynolds; Birmingham’s John Carroll Catholic; and a pair of Southwest Alabama teams, Spanish Fort and Mobile’s St. Paul’s Episcopal.

Scottsboro’s girls, led by Olivia Thompson, are shooting for their 13th straight state title. That’s not necessarily a lock, because there are several other teams which have had strong seasons.
 
One of them is Mobile’s St. Paul’s Episcopal, which despite having a young team, has the fastest 5A runner in the state, Anna Braswell, who ran a speedy 18:56.62 on a flat grassy course at the Daphne Invitational back in late September and who handily won her sectional race.
 
Two other teams to watch are Lawrence County, led by Lexie Burfield and Laura Bennett,who have run under 20 minutes on several occasions; and Spanish Fort, led by Hannah Frain. 
 
CLASS 4A — It’s safe to say that streaks are on the line.
 
On the boys’ side, Randolph—which competed as a 4A school for the first time last season—is seeking its ninth straight title after breaking Mobile’s UMS-Wright’s winning streak of four titles last season. Randolph, led by Eshan King, has a seasonal 4A best of 16:11.47, bested by Mobile’s UMS-Wright’s Robert Hope (16:08.30), which was set at the Azalea City Classic in late September.
 
Speaking of UMS-Wright, it will be Randolph’s main threat in the 4A boys’ division, along withMontgomery’s LAMP (Loveless), led by Noah Foster and Thomas Lambert. UMS-Wright will not only have to have a strong race from Hope, but also a strong supporting cast to unseat Randolph and hold off LAMP (Loveless).
 
UMS-Wright’s girls, led by a young, but talented group of runners including Ellie Carter, eighth-grader Greer Lauber and seventh-graders Emily Douglas and Anna Hunt, is the odds-on favorite to repeat as 4A girls champions. In fact, the Bulldogs ran well enough to beat the top 6A team in the combined 4A/6A sectional.
 
The strongest competition could come from Huntsville’s Pope John Paul II, led by Kristen Cianfaglione and Katie Sisk; and Wilson of Florence, led by sisters Cele and Phoebe Moon.

 
CLASS 3A — On the boys’ side, it could be a very interesting battle between Mobile’s Cottage Hill Christian Academy, Catholic-Montgomery (last year’s champion), Tuscaloosa’s American Christian Academy, Daphne’s Bayside Academy and Huntsville’s Westminster Christian.
 
For Cottage Hill Christian Academy, led by Tyler Bennett, it could be a chance at redemption. The Warriors finished a disappointing third in last year’s meet because of illness among several runners, but are at full strength this time around. In fact, Cottage Hill Christian got a little bit of revenge when it defeated Catholic-Montgomery in its sectional championships.
 
Westminster Christian, led by Ryan Ford and Cameron Sullivan, along with Bayside Academy, led by Ryan Shankle and Ash Midyett, should make things interesting in the battle for first. Individually, the runner to watch is Wesley Curles of Trinity Presbyterian (Montgomery), who ran a season-best of 16:19:56 at the Jesse Owens Classic back in October.
 
Bayside Academy and Brewton’s T. R. Miller are expected to be the favorites in the 3A girls. The two teams had a close battle in their sectional meet, and last year Bayside pulled off the win. Bayside is led by a pair of eighth-graders, Mary Catherine Branyon and Abigail Warner, while T. R. Miller is led by sisters Karisa, Katie, and Allie Nelson.
 
American Christian Academy, paced by Kaitlin York (who has a seasonal best of 17:56.20) and Harper Roberts could also present a challenge, as well as Pisgah, which has done well in several meets in the northern part of the state.

 
Class 1A-2A — Some say that Montgomery Academy could be the prohibitive favorite to win both the boys and girls divisions. The Eagles swept both divisions in their sectional meet, and came away with some strong performances.
 
On the boys’ side, Montgomery Academy does not have the really overpowering times. But the Eagles have specialized in pack running, and it could make a big difference in the state championships. If Montgomery Academy hopes to take home the title, it will have to deal with perennial powerhouse Hatton, led by Colt Montgomery, and Cold Springs, led by Kramer Crider and Morgan Smith.
 
Montgomery Academy’s girls, led by Taylor Gerard, will be locked in a battle with a tough St. Bernard of Cullman squad led by Logan Ayers and Ayleana Mami, who have seasonal bests of18:48.32 and 19:04.30 respectively. Also, look out for Westminster-Oak Mountain, who is led by Maddie Hoaglund.

 



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