By Lee Davis
A pair of familiar names and a new one found themselves in the winner’s circle at the Alabama High School Athletic Association State Meet at Oakville last Saturday.
The familiar ones were the Mountain Brook girls and the Homewood boys, who earned championships in Classes 7A and 6A, respectively. Coach Greg Echols’ Lady Spartans won their 12th consecutive title and 13th in fourteen years. The Patriot boys, coached by Lars Porter, won their third consecutive crown.
Taking their first-ever title were the John Carroll Catholic girls, who outscored runner-up Homewood to claim the Class 6A championship. The Lady Cavs are coached by Brian Burgess.
In Class 7A girls, Mountain Brook totaled 41 points to easily outdistance second-place Huntsville’s 59 score. Hoover was third with 79 points, and Vestavia was fifth with 144.
Lady Spartans Frances Patrick, Lily Hulsey, and Anna Balzi finished fourth, seventh and 10th, respectively. Hoover’s Sydney Steele and Sydnee Goyer were sixth and ninth, respectively. Vestavia’s Catherine Bunch was eighth.
Spain Park’s Zoe Shore was 11th, Mountain Brook’s Cameron Hudson was 13th and the Lady Spartans’ Tessa Allen was 14th.
Mountain Brook’s team victory was its 22nd overall in girls’ cross country.
In boys’ Class 7A, Auburn easily took first-place honors with a 25-point total. Hoover was second with 56 points, and Mountain Brook was third with 104.
The top area runner was Oak Mountain’s Cole Stidfole, who finished third. Hoover’s Tommy McDonough finished fourth, while the Bucs’ Carson Tillo and Josh Evans finished seventh and 10th, respectively.
In girls’ Class 6A, John Carroll totaled 68 points to finish ahead of Homewood’s 79.
The top area runner was the Lady Patriots’ Lainey Phelps, who finished second. The Lady Cavaliers’ Lindsey Grainer, Lauren Grainer, Bella Restrepo and Isabel Reaves finished ninth, 10th, 12th and 13th, respectively. Homewood’s Edie Smith was 15th.
In boys’ Class 6A, Homewood claimed its championship with 40 points, slipping past runner-up Opelika’s 41 total.
The strongest Patriot runner was Alex Ngei, who finished second behind Opelika’s Ben Bryant. Homewood’s Logan Sadler and Andy Smith finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The Patriots’ Fulton Williams was 12th in the competition.
In girls’ Class 1A-2A, Westminster at Oak Mountain took second-place honors with 54 points, trailing champion St. Bernard’s 48 total.
Westminster’s Maggie Hoaglund was third in the individual standings. Her teammates Sarah Kate Lipperd and Camryn Neal were ninth and 10th, respectively.
In boys’ Class 1A-2A, Westminster also finished in second place, falling to champion Cold Springs by a 45-47 score.
The individual winner was Dylan Pausic of Shades Mountain Christian. Three Westminster runners placed in the top 10. Carter Lemons was fourth, Scott Landers was fifth and Nathan Deen came in ninth.
