Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



The Mortimer Jordan Blue Devil cross county team proved their the best runners in the county for a second straight season, as they won the Jefferson County Cross County Championship meet on Thursday in Morris.

The Blue Devils had seven of the first ten finisher’s to cross the line, giving them a big 68-point margin over the runner-up Hueytown club, which had only one runner finish in the first ten.

The Blue Devil’s sophomore Barrett Bradford won the meet with a time of 17:22, finishing 12 seconds ahead of second place runner Antwain Patrick of Shades Valley.

Bradford’s teammate Aaron Nette took third in a time of 18:15, followed by teammate Donald Gittman in a time of 18:50.

The Blue Devil’s Nathan McIntosh, who is the shooting guard on the Mortimer Jordan basketball team, took fifth place in a time of 19:10.

Jordan’s Matt Wilkerson took seventh place with a time of 19:13, followed by teammate Matt Barett in 19:26.

Jordan’s Jeff Hall was the seventh Blue Devil’s runner in the top 10, as he took ninth place with a time of 19:26.

Overall the Blue Devils finished with 20 points, followed by Hueytown with 88, Shades Valley with 95 and Pleasant Grove with 272.

The win was the second in the two seasons that Mike Dutton has coached the Mortimer Jordan runners.

Dutton will have several runners back next season to defend their county title as only three of the 16 Blue Devil runners are seniors.

Last year, in Dutton’s first season at the school, the Blue Devils surprised everyone by winning the meet at Shades Valley to capture the school’s first ever county cross county championship.