From The Tribune staff reports
MOULTON — The Hewitt-Trussville girls cross country team finished third in Class 7A at the AHSAA state meet here on Saturday, November 6, while the boys team finished in fifth place.
Both teams had two running in the top 15 for all state, according to coach Matthew Michalke.
Sophia Knox finished 13th with a time of 19:15.54, while Kylee Sisk came in 15th, with a time of 19:19.06.
On the boys’ side, Mitchell Phillips placed fourth overall, with a time of 15:45.71, while Tristan Teer finished sixth with a time of 15:46.49.
Vestavia Hills High School senior Crawford West turned in the fastest girls’ AHSAA time since 2014 to headline the girls’ competition and Huntsville High School senior Will Pinson recorded the best boys’ time since 2004 as the 66th Alabama High School Athletic Association State Cross Country Championships at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park & Museum course near Moulton crowned state team champions in six divisions for boys and girls.
It was the 49th year for the girls’ competition.
More than 2,000 runners competed in the championships Saturday.
CLASS 7A GIRLS
Auburn High School took the state title with 68 points, followed by Vestavia Hills, 80, and defending state champion Hewitt-Trussville, 95. Senior Crawford West clocked 17:06.33, the second-fastest time in AHSAA girls’ cross-country history, to win the individual title. Junior Ava McIntosh of Huntsville was second at 18:32.24, followed by sophomore teammate Sarah Cobb, who crossed the finish line at 18:35.73. Baker’s Lindsey Baker was fourth (18:52.29), and Auburn’s tandem of sophomore Rylee Plexico and eighth grader Olivia Tole finished fifth and sixth with times of 19:52.95 and 18:57.48, respectively.
West’s finish was three seconds shy of the state record 17:03 time run by then Montgomery Catholic eighth grader Amaris Tyynismaa.
CLASS 6A GIRLS
Mountain Brook captured its first state championship since 2015 and its 24th overall, with a very strong score of 26 thanks to five runners finishing in the top 10. The 24 girls’ state cross country crowns is a new AHSAA state record – breaking a tie between Mountain Brook and Scottsboro, each owning 23 all-time titles. The Wildcats finished third Saturday with 13 points and defending state 6A champion Homewood was runner-up with 104.
Mountain Brook junior Reagan Riley crossed the finish line at 17:39.62 to claim the individual Class 6A girls’ title. She finished 18th in 2020 with a 20:16.64 time. Teammate Clark Stewart, also a junior, took second place clocking 18:13.50. Northridge junior Mary Mac Collins, the 2020 runner-up, was third at 18:29.64. Other top 10 finishers for the winning Lady Spartans were senior Hunter Anderson (18:34.78) in sixth place; and sophomores Mary Katherine Malone (18:52.40) and Lucy Benton (18:54.67) crossing eighth and ninth, respectively.
CLASS 5A GIRLS
Lawrence County High School posted a very strong 31 points to dominate the Class 5A girls’ field en route to the state title. UMS-Wright was second with 96 points and St. John Paul II Catholic was third with 115.
The Lady Red Devils of Coach Stanley Johnson placed four runners in the top 10 finishers including junior Savannah Williams, who captured the individual girls’ 5A state meeting title with a winning time of 18:56.04. Teammate and eighth grader Katie Mae Coan was second at 19:06.34. Katie Dumas, another eighth grader, crossed seventh for Lawrence County at 19:50.89, and junior teammate Taylor Williams was eighth with a 19:54.11 time.
Montgomery Catholic’s Catherine Aaron was third in the 5A competition with a 19:06.34 time, and Addison Tiemann was fourth clocking 19:30.61.
CLASS 4A GIRLS
Bayside Academy freshman Annie Midyett won the Class 3A girls’ individual championship clocking 18:59.35 to edge another freshman Maddyn Coan of White Plains in a photo finish. Coan crossed at 18:59.89. Indian Springs junior Elise Picard was third at 19:25.38, and White Plains senior Anna Strickland was fourth at 19:36.92.
The strong showing by the Lady Admirals gave Bayside the team championship. Bayside totaled 51 points and runner-up White Plains had 85. Westminster Christian took third place with 97 points.
CLASS 3A GIRLS
Freshman Millicent Talmadge led Providence Christian to the Class 3A girls’ cross country state title with a 19:08.09 time to claim the 3A individual title. Providence, located in Dothan, totaled 39 points with runner-up and Dothan rival Houston Academy taking runner-up with 60 points. Whitesburg Christian finished third with 93 and Altamont was fourth at 110.
Lauderdale County sophomore Addison Embry finished second in the individual final tally with a 19:20.71 time. Providence sophomore Madelyn Patterson (19:32.46) was third.
CLASS 1A/2A GIRLS
Cold Springs won the Class 1A/2A girls’ state cross country championship with three runners crossing the finish line 1-2-3. Reagan Parris, the 2020 runner-up, won the individual state title with a 19:51.85 time. She beat her 2020 state meet time by 1:04. Teammates Macie Huffstutler (10:54.91) and Paizley Whitlow (20:04.51) took second and third place, respectively.
The Eagles of Casey Howell totaled 49 points to take title. Bayshore Christian was second with 86, Hatton was third with 102 and University Charter School was fourth with 129.
Hatton’s Neiden Lopez was the fourth individually at 20:24.81.
CLASS 7A BOYS
Huntsville High School’s boys won their fourth straight Class 7A state cross country title posting 54 points in Saturday’s 2021 state championships. St. Paul’s Episcopal was second with 82 points and Hoover took third with 99.
Senior Will Pinson led the Panthers’ winning effort with a time of 15:13.61 to claim the 7A boys’ individual title. Mac Conwell of St. Paul’s, a junior, was second at 15:22.25 and Saints teammate Stone Smith, also a junior, was third at 15:44.37. Hewitt-Trussville senior Mitchell Phillips was fourth crossing the finish line with a 15:45.71 time.
CLASS 6A BOYS
Scottsboro’s Wildcats won their sixth boys’ state cross country championship in a row and a state-record 16th state title overall with 47 points in Saturday’s Class 6A State Championship race. The Wildcats of Coach Luke Robinson won four 5A titles from 2016-19 and the 6A title last year. Mountain Brook finished second Saturday with 79 points. Chelsea was third with 114 and Cullman had 136.
Miles Brush, a Chelsea senior, won the 6A race with a winning time of 15:23.96. Junior Evan Hill of Scottsboro was second clocking 15:32.43, and Pell City senior Jack Lowe was third at 15:41.21.
Scottsboro’s 16th boys’ state cross country championship broke tie with Hoover for the AHSAA state record. The Bucs have 15.
CLASS 5A BOYS
The race for the boys’ Class 5A individual championship lived up to its promise as senior and 2019 state champion Joseph Perry of UMS-Wright nipped defending 5A state champion Woodrow Dean of Tallassee, also a senior, by just 33/100ths of a second in a thrilling photo finish. Perry clocked 15:20.51 and Dean crossed the finish line at 15:20.84. UMS-Wright sophomore Charles Perry, the younger brother of Joseph, was third with a 15:56.21 time. Faith Academy senior Justin Walker was fourth at 16:23.72.
St. John Paul II Catholic of Huntsville totaled 54 points to win the Class 5A boys’ team title. UMS-Wright was second with 71, followed by Lawrence County with 106 and Ardmore with 139.
CLASS 4A BOYS
Junior Joe Stevens of Ashville won the Class 4A individual state championship with time of 16:23.88. Bayside Academy junior Ty Postle was second with a 16:29.10 time, followed by Priceville junior Adam Taylor (16:31.77) and Westminster Christian senior Seth Peebles (16:34.91) finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Bayside Academy of Daphne won the team championship with 73 points. American Christian was second with 82 and Ashville had 92 to take third place.
CLASS 3A BOYS
Providence Christian’s boys made it a clean sweep in Class 3A winning the state title with 50 points. Pleasant Valley was second with 95 and Trinity Presbyterian was third with 84. The Eagles’ girls also won the state championship.
Senior Conner Patterson led Providence Christian’s effort with a 16:04.48 time to capture the boys’ individual championship for the second year in a row. He improved his time by 24 seconds over last year’s winning time. Pleasant Valley’ junior Cayden Nelson was second running 16:21.76. Altamont freshman Harris Strang (16:22.41) and Elkmont junior Alex Kuntz (16:40.13) were third and fourth, respectively.
CLASS 1A/2A BOYS
Sophomore Ethan Edgeworth captured the Class 1A/2A state individual cross country title for the second straight year in dominating fashion. His 15:53.67 winning time was more than a minute faster than his closest competitor, runner-up Xander McLaughlin of Orange Beach. McLaughlin, a sophomore, crossed the finish line at 16:58.25. Hatton sophomore Carson Masterson (16:59.84) was third , followed by freshman Caden Phillipi of Bayshore Christian (17:02.27) and Cold Springs sophomore Jayden Allred (17:09.13).
Bayshore, located in Fairhope, captured the 1A/2A team championship with 61 points. Cold Springs was second with 86 and Hatton took third with 106.
Complete results can be found at www.ahsaa.com.