By Rubin E. Grant
Mountain Brook senior Reagan Riley had one thing uppermost on her mind as she ran the Oakville Indian Mounds Park course during the AHSAA 67th State Cross Country Championships on Nov. 5.
“The conditions were not the best,” Riley said. “It was muddy after a torrential downpour, and it is usually dry and dusty. I was really watching my footing to make sure I didn’t slip or fall.”
Riley kept her footing, finishing the 5K race in 17:57.30 to win her second consecutive Class 6A title. It was the second time this season Riley broke the 18-minute barrier.
She was the only one of the seven individual girls champions to have a sub-18 time. Auburn’s Sarah Tole had the next fastest time, running the course in 18:02.91 to win Class 7A.
“The time I ran was a great time, considering the conditions,” said Riley, who plans to sign a track scholarship with Notre Dame later this month.
Mountain Brook cross-country and track coach Michael McGovern said he is running out of superlatives to describe Riley.
“To be a two-time state champion is a remarkable accomplishment,” McGovern said. “She won several meets this season, and the only race she lost was in Seattle, when she finished in second place.”
Mountain Brook swept the girls and boys team titles in 6A, and Homewood finished runner-up in both. The girls won their second consecutive class title and 25th overall.
“The sweep was really special,” Riley said. “The girls and guys are close, like a big family.”
The Mountain Brook girls were without senior Clark Stewart, a Virginia signee who was sidelined with a leg injury. Still, the Spartans scored 33 points to 88 for Homewood. The Spartans boys finished with 47 points to 65 for the Patriots.
In the girls race, four other Spartans earned All-State honors for finishing in the top 15. Mary Katherine Malone and Virginia Averyt finished fifth and sixth, running in 19:13 and 19:22, respectively. Gracie Walker (11th) and Kennedy Hamilton (14th) also earned All-State. Callie Kent (16th), Holland Finch (19th) and Lucy Benton (20th) finished in the top 20.
“Our girls were in the next-to-last race of the day and the course was really chopped up from the rain and mud,” McGovern said. “It was an outstanding feat. They ran with a lot of heart.”
Clayton Collins was the top performer for the Mountain Brook boys, finishing second with a time of 15:56. Three other Spartans earned All-State honors, Braden Little (9th), Harry Clark (12th) and George Pelekis (13th). Jack Chapman (16th), Denton Russell (18th) and Branum Lloyd (19th) finished in the top 20.
“After three straight second-place finishes, I was superexcited to see our boys get the championship,” McGovern said.
“It’s our first sweep since 2011. I had somebody come up and tell me after the race that our seventh and eighth graders won the Metro and JV won the junior varsity state championship, so it was a very good year for Mountain Brook cross-country.”
Storybook Ending
The Vestavia Hills boys put an end to Huntsville’s Class 7A boys reign, preventing the Panthers from winning their fifth straight title.
The Rebels and Panthers finished tied with 60 points apiece, but the Rebels claimed the state championship – the school’s first cross-country title since 2012 – on a tiebreaker that factored each team’s sixth runner finish. Vestavia Hills’ No. 6 runner, freshman John Hayes, finished 32, eight spots ahead of Huntsville’s Jack Gruber, the Panthers’ No. 6 runner, to give the Rebels the championship.
“It was a total storybook moment,” Vestavia Hills coach Katherine Terino said. “You couldn’t write a better script if you tried.
‘It took only five minutes to determine who had won, but it felt like two hours. I started running around and screaming.”
Throughout the season, Terino expected the Rebels to contend for the title, but two of their top runners, Henry Strand and Ethan Meadows, were sidelined for the state meet with injuries sustained during and after sectionals.
“We had some adversity, with two of our top seven runners injured,” Terino said. “But the boys came together and ran as a team. Our depth was important.”
Mitchell Schaaf and Alex Leath finished eighth and ninth to lead the Rebels, while Will Jordan (12th), Wilson Holt (15th) and Jackson Mize (16th) all posted top 20 finishes.
On the girls side, the Rebels scored 114 points to place third, behind Chelsea and Auburn. Junior Kaitlyn Wende finished fifth with a time of 18:42 and sophomore Claire Spooner placed seventh in 18:54 to earn All-State honors.
Noteworthy
Indian Springs’ Elise Picard ran away from the pack, winning the 3A girls’ ace by more than a minute with a time of 19:11.32.
Altamont won the girls Class 3A title, finishing with 55 points to second-place Whitesburg Christian’s 82. Laura Spann (8th), Abbey Sellers (10th), Ellie Sellers (13th) and Mary Spann (15th) led the way for the Knights.
Homewood had two girls earn All-State honors in Class 6A. Emma Brooke Levering finished third with a time of 18:48 and Sydney Dobbins 10th with a time of 19:29.
The Patriots’ boys had three All-State finishers, Grayton Murray (6th), Ben Murray (7th) and Andrew Laird (11th)
John Carroll Catholic’s Arthur Langley finished fifth in the Class 5A race with a time of 16:07.
Hoover’s Elijah Joseph was All-State in Class 7A boys, running 15:58 to finish 11th.
Briarwood’s Mary Grace Parker earned All-State in Class 6A girls, finishing ninth with a time of 19:28.
