PREP CROSS COUNTRY: Stanley, Cold Springs boys take titles at Pepsi Challenge; Lady Eagles snag 2nd

Published 2:23 pm Sunday, August 31, 2014

MOULTON — Cold Springs is already ahead of the pack.

It must be cross country season.

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The Eagles’ boys snagged the Class 1A-4A team title, while the girls grabbed runner-up honors at Saturday’s Pepsi Challenge.

Jared Stanley bolstered the Eagles’ five-point victory over Hatton with the individual title. The sophomore sped to first with a superb 5K time of 18:10.

Kramer Crider (fifth, 18:56) and C.J. Lang (ninth, 19:20) also landed in the top 10 for Cold Springs. Mason Harris (13th, 19:59) and Austin Burwell (23rd, 20:27) rounded out the squad’s counting scores.

Seventh-grader Sadie Terry sped to eighth in 23:45 for the Lady Eagles’ top result. Every other Cold Springs’ contributor finished in the top 20 — Emily Campbell (11th, 24:01), Ashleigh White (13th, 24:36), Abi Burrow (16th, 25:02), and Alyssa Jackson (20th, 25:24) — to secure second behind Hatton.

Colton Teeling (19:46) took 12th for Holly Pond’s boys, which were eighth overall. Jacob Drane (33rd, 21:15) and Austin Hammonds (39th, 21:35) were next in line, followed by Parker Smith (45th, 21:58) and Todd Schwab (54th, 22:36).

Haley Higginbotham (25:53) was 21st for the Lady Broncos.

Fifth-place West Point edged Fairview by a slim four-point margin in the 5A-7A boys division. Nick Johnson (18:30) and Joey Riggs (19:21) paved the way with eighth and 14th, respectively. Jesse Farrell (21:04) was 33rd; Nick Roman (21:16), 35th; and Kyle Huffstutler (22:15), 54th.

The Aggies’ top-three runners — Jerrami Browder (16th, 19:50), Logan Murphree (19th, 19:59) and Jacob Guthrie (20th, 20:00) — didn’t stray far from each other the entire course, crossing the line in the same 10-second span. Reece Walker (21:24) and Isom Carden (22:37) were 38th and 55th, respectively.

Fairview’s girls — Tiffany Lodge (15th, 24:10), Kelsi Davis (24th, 26:23), Alexus Lindsey (27th, 26:48), August Stancil (35th, 27:24) and McKenna Chambers (56th, 31:49) — were fifth. West Point’s ladies — Abby Wilson (19th, 25:00), Maddie Whitesell, (38th, 28:07), Caty Hoffpauir (42nd, 29:07), Carson Talley (43rd, 29:23) and Gabrielle Sinyard (48th, 30:21) — were seventh.

The opening-weekend meet was co-hosted by Cold Springs and Lawrence County.