Alabama State Meet

Huntsville Boys Dominate 7A, Auburn Girls Win On Tiebreaker

By Arthur L. Mack for DyeStat

OAKVILLE, Ala. — Fast times, cool temperatures, talented youth, winning streaks, and in a couple of cases, tiebreakers, were the order of the day in this year’s Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Cross Country Championships at Indian Mounds Park. 

Class 7A: In a race that saw Vestavia Hills’ Ethan Strand run the fastest time of the day (15 minutes, 18.58 seconds), it was Huntsville’s boys who proved that good team running wins meets. Meanwhile, Auburn’s girls won for the third straight year, but did so in dramatic fashion, needing a tiebreaker to best powerhouse Mountain Brook.

Huntsville’s boys defended their title, placing all five of its scorers in the top 15, defeating Vestavia Hills 27-47. Auburn was third (100), while Mountain Brook and Hewitt-Trussville took the next two spots with 130 and 168 points respectively.

Huntsville was led by Jackson Danner (third, 15:31.37), Will Pinson (sixth, 15:38.86), Keaton Watts (seventh, 15:42.81), Gabe Scales (eighth, 15:49.07) and Benjamin Steber (11th, 16:01.88). Vestavia Hills put four runners in the top 15.

Strand came into the race hoping to break 15 minutes and had good conditions in which to break the mark. In the early going, the pace was fast, with Strand, Danner, and Oak Mountain’s Walker Cole (who was second in 15:24.35) leading the way through a 4:48 first mile.

“I wanted to push and go out hard at the start, because I knew if I was feeling all right, I would be able to kick at the end,” Strand said. "So, I wanted to make them hurt early and that’s why I went out super-fast. The second mile (split) was like 9:43."

Auburn was in the fight of its life against Mountain Brook and Mobile’s Baker High. Auburn placed four runners in the top 15, while Mountain Brook placed five. Auburn’s top finishers were Samantha Rogers (second, 18:11.31), Harper McGowan (fourth, 18:27.97), Sangie Lincoln-Velez (seventh, 18:47.85) and Hallie Stewart (12th, 19:00.31).

Yet, the Tigers were tied with Mountain Brook — led by Reagan Riley (third, 18:22.09) and Lilly Hulsey (fifth, 18:30.40) — with 80 points apiece. 

A tearful coach Anthony Benitez was overcome with emotion at the news.

“I’m just so proud of the girls,” he said. “It was a lot of hard work they put in. You see so many kids coming across the finish line and it was a suspense at the end. I was just trying to figure out if our sixth runner was ahead of their sixth runner.”

Baker was third with 124 points, while Hewitt-Trussville (148) and Vestavia Hills — led by individual winner Crawford West (18:07.92) — scored 157 points to round out the top five teams.

Class 6A: As expected, Homewood’s boys and girls put on quite the show. The boys, led by Jon Fielding Stogner, won their eighth straight title, which included a Class 5A crown in 2013, and did so by defeating a very young and talented Mobile St. Paul’s Episcopal team 38-80. Cullman (97), Helena (114) and Athens (177) rounded out the top five.

The girls, led by senior Lainey Phelps, were just as dominant, defeating Fort Payne 33-68, while Mobile’s St. Paul’s Episcopal (97), Cullman (128), and Spanish Fort (178) took the next three team spots.

Homewood’s boys put four runners — Stogner, Carson Bedics, Jackson Merrell, and Jack Harchelroad —in the top 10. Stogner won with a time of 15:51.82, while Bedics was second in 15:57.96. Merrell finished sixth (16:11.68), while Harchelroad was seventh (16:16.70).

Asked if he expected his boys’ team to be so strong, Homewood coach Joshua Donaldson said: “I don’t know if expected would be how I would put it, but I knew that we were capable of it. I challenge them every time, every race to give it their best and today they did that.”

Stogner battled a tough field in the early going, which included Bedics, St. Paul’s Episcopal’s freshman Mac Conwell, Cullman’s Will Thompson, and Helena’s Brady Barton. But thanks to a strong first mile and a sound plan, Stogner prevailed.

“I came through (the first mile) like I wanted to, 4:55,” Stogner said. “There were some really good kickers in that race, and I needed to go hard at the 2-mile mark. So, it was me and Thompson, and I surged, and kept pushing.”

Donaldson said Stogner executed the race plan. 

“He’s not necessarily used to racing out front,” Donaldson said. "We kind of worked on that at sectionals, and it didn’t go quite as he had hoped. But then coming into today, that execution was to perfection racing against those top guys.”

Homewood’s girls, paced by Phelps, who won in 18:14.69, placed four runners in the top 10 to defend their title. Freshman Marin Poleshek was third (19:12.54), Celie Jackson was sixth (19:30.69), and Victoria Thompson finished eighth in 19:47.20 to seal the deal for the Patriots.

Phelps, who was last year’s individual winner, faced an early challenge from St. Paul’s Episcopal senior Isabel Valenzuela, who finished second in 18:38.31. She gradually pulled away and won by nearly 24 seconds despite being bothered by a cold.

“Since this was the last race, I was going to push and pushed through it, and it was nothing major, either,” she said. “I definitely went out to where I wanted to be, and I became a little complacent in the second mile and didn’t get the time I wanted, but overall I’m proud with the point I got for the team. That’s what today really was about.” 

Class 5A: Scottsboro’s boys and girls proved once again that when it comes to Class 5A, they are the teams to beat.

Scottsboro’s boys were nothing short of dominant, scoring 26 points to easily defeat Huntsville Randolph (102) and Birmingham’s Briarwood Christian (105) for their fourth straight title, while Southside-Gadsden and Lawrence County were fourth and fifth with 116 and 171 points, respectively.

Scottsboro's Wildcats, led by first-place finisher Cooper Atkins (15:50.16), had eight runners in the top 15. Atkins battled second-place finisher Woodrow Dean of Tallassee (15:51.85) in an exciting finish.

“In our sectional race, our boys had a perfect score, and considering that Woodrow Dean was the only runner in our section (in the lead pack) it was a motivation for (me) in the state race to power through,” Atkins said. “It turned out to be strategic, and I just stuck with him to the end."

Scottsboro’s girls made it three in a row by defeating Lawrence County 52-81, with Briarwood Christian, Mobile’s Faith Academy, and Southside-Gadsden rounding out the top five with 90, 157, and 162 points respectively. Eighth grader Ally Campbell led Scottsboro with a sixth-place finish (19:45.90).

Eighth graders were the stars of the Class 5A girls race, as two of them — Opelika Beauregard’s Molly Conway and Faith Academy’s Emily Shumock were locked in a battle for individual champion honors. Conway’s late kick proved to be the difference as she edged Shumock by two seconds, 19:03:70 to 19:05:86.

Class 4A: Huntsville’s St. John Paul II Catholic, led by Adler Brininger’s third-place finish (16:19.30), won the Class 4A boys’ division with 60 points and all five scorers in the top 20. Second-place UMS-Wright, led by individual race winner Joseph Perry (15:55.67), had 72 points, while White Plains had 74.

A pair of Montgomery schools — Catholic-Montgomery and Loveless Academic Magnet Program (LAMP) —rounded out the top five with 93 and 126 points, respectively.

American Christian Academy of Tuscaloosa won the girls championship with 50 points, while St. John Paul II Catholic was second (79) and Ashville third (113). Eighth-grader Karis Kelley was American Christian Academy’s top finisher, placing fifth (20:04.65).

LAMP’s Kathy Hammond won the race in 19:20.89.

Class 3A: Geraldine’s Collin Mayfield took individual race honors, winning in 16:16.50, but it was a pair of Baldwin County schools — Fairhope’s St. Michael Catholic and Daphne’s Bayside Academy — which led the boys team standings.

St. Michael Catholic, competing in only its second year, defeated Bayside 71-90. The Falcons were led by Michael Garriz (eighth, 17:15.58) and Jack Phelps (10th overall, 17:21.02). Bayside was led by Myles Cook (sixth, 17:06.52).

Cullman’s St. Bernard (104), Pleasant Valley (105), and Huntsville’s Westminster Christian Academy (148) rounded out the top five.

St. James of Montgomery, led by Presley Miles, won the girls team title with 60 points to defeat Westminster at Oak Mountain (73). JB Pennington of Blountsville was third with 120 points, while Bayside Academy (140) and Providence Christian of Dothan (141) rounded out the top five.

Miles had the fastest time of any female, regardless of classification, in the competition, blistering the field with a 17:48.56 clocking.

“It was awesome,” Miles said. “It was definitely what I was looking for today — just to run fast. I had a purpose out here, to run for the Lord, and I think that I achieved that purpose. The goal was to go out aggressive. I think my first mile was about 5:24, so I went out hard and made sure I kept my cadence going.” 

CLASS 2A/1A: Cold Springs won the boys title convincingly, but the girls championship was determined after using a tiebreaker to sort out first, second AND third.

Cold Spring’s boys, led by eighth grader Ethan Edgeworth (third, 17:14,31), placed all five of its scorers in the top 15 to score 29 points, well ahead of second-place Whitesburg Christian Academy of Huntsville (112) and third-place Westbrook Christian School of Gadsden (141). Altamont of Birmingham was fourth (148) and Hatton fifth (178).

Nicolas Ulrich of Athens Bible School was the individual winner, running 16:43.18.

While the boys had a clear-cut winner, the girls did not.

Ohatchee’s Jayda Fair (20:01.56) won the race, but the top three teams — Whitesburg Christian Academy, Cold Springs and Altamont — all had 80 points. All three teams had runners bunched together. 

Whitesburg Christian, led by eighth grader Emily Driskill (sixth, 21:32.33), had a higher sixth-place finisher than Cold Springs, led by yet another eighth grader, Reagan Parris (second, 20:29.52), by one scoring spot. Altamont, led by seventh grader Margarette Berdy (21:04.50), wound up third because its sixth runner was four scoring places behind Cold Springs’ sixth.

Team Champions 

Class 7A - Huntsville boys 26 points, Auburn girls 41 points (tiebreaker) - RESULTS

Class 6A - Homewood boys 38 points, Homewood girls 33 points - RESULTS

Class 5A - Scottsboro boys 26 points, Scottsboro girls 52 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - St. John Paul II Catholic boys 60 points, American Christian Academy girls 50 points - RESULTS

Class 3A - St. Michael Catholic boys 71 points, St. James girls 60 points - RESULTS

Class 2A/1A - Cold Springs boys 29 points, Whitesburg Chistian Academy girls 80 points (three-team tiebreaker) - RESULTS