St. Bernard's Ivy Edge, Leahrose Mami, Katelyn Cowie and Jaden Edge are all smiles as they pose with their medals for fast finishes at Saturday's Gulf Coast Cross Country Stampede in Pensacola. The Class 1A Lady Saints were second out of 32 full teams and the top squad from Alabama.

COLD SPRINGS — There were so many folks scattered over Cold Springs’ cozy campus for the 11th annual Kudzu Hills Invitational that it was, at times, difficult to carve out even an inch of personal space.

When you run out front like the Eagles’ boys did Saturday morning, that’s hardly a concern.

The Blue and Gold didn’t just win their home meet; they dominated it, placing six speedsters in the top 12 to smoke the small-school (Class 1A-3A) field by a whopping 71 points.

C.J. Lang (16:36), Jared Stanley (16:43) and Kramer Crider (17:09) sent Cold Springs well on its way to a super-low 28-point showing with a 2-3-4 finish. Mason Harris (17:39) and Trentan Williams (17:40) were ninth and 10th, respectively, with Austin Burwell (17:48) just missing out on a counting score in 12th.

The Kudzu crown was the Eagles’ second in three years. Historically, though, it’s been a tough title for the home team to obtain.

“C.J. ran well. Man, did he run well,” coach Clayborn Campbell said. “Of course, I knew Jared and Kramer were both coming.”

And don’t forget Harris and Williams, who were also instrumental in helping the reigning 1A-2A state champs secure their first win of the fall.

“It feels good,” Harris said. “It feels like we’ve actually pushed ourselves, and it just feels like everybody did their job.”

Cold Springs had all the motivation it needed after opening the meet with a moment of silence for Chad Akridge. The assistant coach suffered a stroke during a run Sunday with his son, Cole, and wasn’t taken off a ventilator until the middle of the week.

Harris couldn’t say enough about Akridge, his former basketball coach, or his son, who the team has welcomed with open arms.

“It pushed us a lot,” Harris said. “Akridge just means a lot to us. He’s a really nice guy.”

The Eagles nearly pulled off the small-school sweep but came up just 16 points shy of first-place Hatton in the girls race.

Ashleigh White (20:46) and Alyssa Jackson (21:17) cracked the top 10 in fourth and sixth. Abi Burrow (22:36), Brooke Crider (22:52) and Rachel Haynes (23:42) were 14th, 16th and 23rd.

Fairview’s boys were eighth out of 22 full teams in the large-school (4A-7A) division. The Aggies’ top five were Cody Fallin, 17th (17:39); Reece Walker, 23rd (17:57); Jerrami Browder, 58th (19:01); Quinton Chambers, 71st (19:23); and Will Butler, 95th (20:01).

The Purple and Gold girls snagged the same spot, this time out of 18 full squads, in the girls 5K. Fairview’s top five were Emma Gardner, 36th (22:05); Kelsi Davis, 48th (22:52); Alex McDonald, 55th (23:10); Tamra Buckelew, 56th (23:17); and Alexus Lindsey, 65th (23:34).

West Point’s boys were 17th behind an 11th-place run from Joey Riggs (17:21). The rest of the Warriors’ counting scores came from Jeremy Reid, 121st (20:35); Zach Clayton, 130th (20:57); Luke Watson, 183rd (22:29); and Tyler Sinyard, 189th (22:41).

Good Hope’s Heather Middleton (24:18) was 83rd on the girls side. West Point’s Jordan Skinner (25:49) was 107th.

Hanceville was 10th in the small-school boys competition. The Bulldogs’ top five were Aaron Brown, 28th (18:56); Jackson Brown, 62nd (21:01); Mason Dyer, 64th (21:06); Jacob Baker, 78th (22:21); and Matthew Henrickson, 84th (22:57).

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Arab Invitational

Holly Pond has slowly but surely crept up on the local cross country scene since the season started in late August.

After Saturday’s exceptional outing, the Broncos won’t be able to sneak up on anyone anymore.

Jacob Drane (18:52) and Parker Smith (19:01) were fourth and fifth, and the Green and White squeaked past Oneonta by two points for the boys team title.

The Redskins fifth runner actually finished one spot ahead of Holly Pond’s, but the Broncos’ 4-5-13-18-20 scoring line for 60 points was just enough to overtake Oneonta, which went 1-9-16-17-19.

Dallas Curtis (14th, 20:10), Colton Teeling (20th, 20:27) and Todd Schwab (22nd, 20:42) rounded out the top five that clinched the trophy.

Led by Camilla Chambers (23:51) in third place, the Green and White girls missed out on runner-up honors by a mere eight points.

The youngster was accompanied by Logan Chambers (15th, 26:41), Savanah Reid (17th, 27:00), Elizabeth Thompson (18th, 27:01) and Cassie Carter (28:33) in the top five.

Holly Pond coach Bob Kusz said several runners on both sides posted personal bests.

“I’m just proud of the boys and the girls. It’s nice to see them rewarded for all their hard work,” he said. “We’ve got work to do to catch Cold Springs, but these kids are starting to believe that if they continue working that anything is possible.”

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Gulf Coast Cross Country Stampede

St. Bernard likely had plenty of fun on its trip to Pensacola, but the Lady Saints still knew when to kick it into business mode, claiming the runner-up trophy out of a massive field of 32 full teams.

St. Bernard, the defending 1A state champs, bested 6A Scottsboro by three positions for the top Alabama result. Schools from Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida were also represented.

Ivy Edge (20:08) and Leahrose Mami (20:10) paced the Lady Saints in eighth and ninth. Other contributors were Jaden Edge, 22nd (21:11); Katelyn Cowie, 24th (21:14); and Adrian Smith, 47th (21:55).

St. Bernard and Cullman were sixth and 10th out of 36 full boys teams.

The Saints top five were Steven Mami, 21st (17:14); Casey Guthery, 24th (17:22); Will Sciaroni, 42nd (17:51); Marco Tona, 64th (18:15); Marshall Rosenhoover, 86th (18:38).

The Bearcats top five were Joey Franklin, 33rd (17:38); Tucker Franey, 43rd (17:52); Tucker Adkison, 44th (17:55); Eli Wilhite, 59th (18:13); and Colton Smith, 116th (18:58).

Cullman’s girls were 20th. The Black and Gold’s top five were Lexy Sivley, 58th (22:07); Kendall Adkison, 74th (22:33); Rachael Collins, 105th (23:21); Alexandra Holt, 140th (24:12); and Anna Franklin, 171st (25:01).