PREP CROSS COUNTRY: Five teams, four runners claim sectional crowns

Published 5:44 pm Thursday, November 3, 2016

Five local teams and four area individuals qualified for the upcoming state cross country meet with respective sectional championships on Thursday.

St. Bernard and Cold Springs both swept their Class 1A-2A divisions, while Cullman’s boys were triumphant in 6A action.

The Lady Bearcats were runners-up, and Fairview’s boys nabbed third at a 5A meet to also advance as complete squads. The top three teams, as well as the top six runners not tied to those particular squads moved on to state, which is set for Nov. 12 at Oakville Indian Mounds in Moulton.

Casey Guthery (17:02) and Leahrose Mami (20:24) successfully defended their individual sectional titles for St. Bernard, which packed five boys into the top nine and seven girls into the top 11.

C.J. Lang conquered his home course at Cold Springs in 16:32 for a sectional crown. Holly Pond eighth-grader Camilla Chambers tackled the same trails in 20:08 to cap off the list of local winners and take the title in a 3A race.

St. Bernard’s girls have now won five sectional championships in a row. The Lady Saints and Cold Springs’ boys each upped their sectional streaks to three.

St. Bernard’s girls and Cold Springs’ boys are the two-time defending 1A-2A state champions.

See below for a breakdown of each local program’s sectional performances and state qualifiers. Only the top fives are listed for advancing teams, though they’ll be represented by up to 10 runners at state.

Boys

Class 1A-2A, Section 2

Site: Cold Springs

Team: Cold Springs

Result: First (28-37 over Altamont)

Qualifers: C.J. Lang, first; Jard Stanley, third; Jonathan Collett, sixth; Trentan Williams, eighth; and Mason Harris, 10th

Class 1A-2A, Section 3

Site: Good Hope

Team: St. Bernard

Result: First (19-44 over Hatton)

Qualifiers: Casey Guthery, first; Andrew Sweeney, second; Marco Tona, fifth; Caleb Guthery, sixth; and Joey McCarthy, ninth

Class 3A, Section 4

Site: Cold Springs

Team: Holly Pond

Result: Fourth

Qualifiers: Jacob Drane, fourth; Zackery Reynolds, 15th; and Conner Lowery, 23rd

Team: Hanceville

Result: Sixth

Qualifier: Aaron Brown, fifth

Class 5A, Section 3

Site: Fairview

Team: Fairview

Result: Third

Qualifiers: Cody Fallin, 12th; Quinton Chambers, 14th; Jacob Guthrie, 15th; Will Butler, 25th; and Blake Hogan, 34th

Team: West Point

Result: 10th

Qualifier: Zach Clayton, 20th

Class 6A, Section 5

Site: Scottsboro

Team: Cullman

Result: First (36-70 over Albertville)

Qualifiers: Joey Franklin, second; Eli Wilhite, fifth; Jackson Tucker, eighth; Tucker Adkison, ninth; and Atticus Phillips, 12th

Girls

Class 1A-2A, Section 2

Site: Cold Springs

Team: Cold Springs

Result: First (30-36 over Altamont)

Qualifiers: Brooke Crider, fifth; Ava Akridge, sixth; Sadie Terry, seventh; Alyssa Jackson, eighth; and Ashleigh White, ninth

Class 1A-2A, Section 3

Site: Good Hope

Team: St. Bernard

Result: First (21-42 over Hatton)

Qualifiers: Leahrose Mami, first; Ivy Edge, third; Liz Medina, fourth; Katelyn Cowie, sixth; and Claire Sanders, seventh

Class 3A, Section 4

Site: Cold Springs

Team: Holly Pond

Qualifier: Camilla Chambers, first

Class 5A, Section 3

Site: Fairview

Team: Fairview

Result: Fifth

Qualifier: Alex McDonald, fourth

Team: West Point

Result: Seventh

Qualifier: Taylor Willingham, 15th

Class 6A, Section 5

Site: Scottsboro

Team: Cullman

Result: Second

Qualifiers: Rachael Collins, ninth; Kendall Adkison, 12th; Della Kelly, 17th; Mattie Green, 23rd; and Olivia Craft, 24th