MOBILE, Ala., Saturday, September 9---A year after Hurricane Katrina all but shut down the Mobile Challenge of Champions Meet, athletes from five states toed the line in this year's competition under overcast skies.
 It was a big reversal from last year, when schools from Louisiana and Mississippi were unable to compete in the meet because of the storm.
 When it was over, Hoover, Alabama's Tim Landry and Chamblee, Ga.'s Emily Reese were the proud owners of first-place wins and course records.
 Landry beat back a challenge from teammate Patrick McGregor to take top honors with a time of 16 minutes, 7.89 seconds, while Reese, a cross country All-American, ran away from the field to win in a course record 17:52.97.
 To top off the day's competition, Hoover showed its strength by sweeping the individual and open divisions.
 The Bucs won the invitational boys division, defeating defending champion St. Paul's of Mobile 42-69, with Auburn, Ala. third with 80. On the invitational girls side, Hoover defeated Niceville, Fla. 83-94, with St. Paul's of Mobile third with 104.
 In the boys' open division, Hoover defeated Daphne, Ala 40-62, while Auburn came in third with 83. Hoover also prevailed in the open girls, edging St. Paul's 55-58. Murphy of Mobile was third with 68 points.
 Here is an overview of what happened in the invitational and open divisions:

INVITATIONAL BOYS

 This year's race had one of the most loaded fields in its storied history. Besides Landry and McGregor, there was also Johnathan Koenck of Anacoco, La., Howard Graves of Auburn, Ala., and Lee Gilmer of St. Paul's (Mobile, Ala.), as well as defending individual champion Joe Aguirre of McGill-Toolen Catholic and Luke Dessauer of St. Paul's of Covington, La.
 With a field such as that, it was little wonder the opening pace--a sub 5-minute first mile--was quick. It was a three-man battle with Landry, McGregor, and Koenck leading the way. Landry was passed by Koenck at the mile mark, but managed to regain the lead later.
 "I was just trying to have control, but he (Koenck) passed me right at the mile and I think (to myself), 'Man, where did you come from?' But I knew I had more endurance."
 McGregor eventually passed Koenck about 600 meters from the finish to take second place with a time of 16:17.87, while Koenck ran 16:24.14. Rounding out the top five were Graves (16:25.36) and Gilmer (16:34.61).
   "What I was trying to do at the beginning of the race was just sit on Tim and relax and let him take it out,' McGregor said. "But he started gaining some speed on me and I wasn't paying attention to how far he got in front of me. But I managed a 30 second PR."
 "They were not really on a mission, but they just wanted to see what they can do," said Hoover coach Devon Hind. "We knew we were good, but I don't think we've gotten any respect around the state. People don't think we're the team to beat, and we happen to think we are."
 If it sounds like bragging, consider this: Hoover placed all six of their scoring runners in the top 20, and the margin of victory would have been even greater if the Bucs' number three runner had not dropped out of the race with a calf problem after two miles.
 In addition, the third and fourth scorers were not satisfied with their performances though they had solid races.
 "They don't know how good they can be," said Hind. "But we have a couple of months to figure it out. We have the Great American Race coming up, and hopefully we won't panic and run strong there." 

INVITATIONAL GIRLS

 By far, the overwhelming favorite had to be Reese--and she certainly didn't disappoint the fans who came to see her run.
 The Chamblee, Ga. junior, who ran a 4:57 mile at the Challenge of Champions track and field meet last April, ran away from the rest of the field---which included defending champion Mary Carleton Johnston of Mobile St. Paul's---from the starting gun.
 "I felt pretty good today," Reese said later. "I had a cold all week, and I was worried about it, but I started getting over it yesterday (Friday)so I guess I was pretty confident coming into it and I decided to come here because it's a lot bigger meet than what we usually run. I was excited about the race and happy to be here. It's a lot more competive that if we were at some smaller meet.
 Reese had a 70-meter lead on Johnston in the first 800 meters, and led by as many as 300 meters before rolling to the win. Johnston finished more than a minute behind in second (18:59.93), while Auburn's Amanda Smith was third in 19:21.02. Hoover's Nicole Muldowney was fourth in 19:24.36, while CHanelle Cox of Niceville, Fla. was fifth in 19:30.13.
 The top 10 finishers finished under 20 minutes, which was a testimony to the talent and overcast skies.
 According to Reese, though, the course itself was a challenge.
 "It's definitely harder than it looks, because when I came out here I said, 'Oh, it's a flat fast course,' but the thing about it is it has a lot of long, gradual hills, and I'm like, 'Okay, I'm ready to go down now,'" she said. "It's all on a slant, which makes it hard on the calves and everything, and while the hills don't look that big, it's how long they are that makes it difficult."
 Johnston's second-place finish was nothing to sneeze at, according to her coach, Jim Tate.
 "Mary Carleton's time was definitely not bad for an early season meet," he said. "This was definitely some good competition we had today."

OPEN BOYS

 As with the invitational boys division, Hoover flexed its muscles and placed five of its runners in the top 15.
 The day, though, belonged to Mobile Davidson's Damien Lee, who won the open boys race with a time of 17:33.44, 13 seconds ahead of Daphne, Alabama's Colin Lee (17:46.87).
 Lee used patience to overcome a fast early pace set by several other runners and worked his way up to the front with a mile to go. Utilizing strength on the final hill before the finish---a long gradual incline that stretch for more than 200 meters---he pulled away from Hudson and Auburn's Neely Boston and was never threatened.
 "I felt pretty good today," said Lee. "Throughout the whole race, I felt I could keep the pace and stay with it. A lot of guys started out fast, but I knew they would eventually fall back."

OPEN GIRLS

 While Hoover and St. Paul's were waging a close battle in the open girls division, another local runner was getting top individual honors.
 Mobile Murphy's Shalela Dowdy was busy carving up the rest of the field, pulling away from eighth-grader Hannah Nelson of Pascagoula, Miss. to win in 21:16.94. Nelson finished in 21:32.01, while Jessica Hartline of Auburn was third in 21:39.97.
  Dowdy made a move with 800 meters to go to set herself up for the win. It was indeed a big win for her, and the winning time would have placed her a respectable 25th in the invitational division.
 Think Dowdy was thrilled? Guess again.
 "I wasn't sastified with my time," she said. "I was shooting for 20 minutes, but I ran 21. But I was surprised to win by such a large margin. I hope to get below 20 minutes by the end of the season."
 Hoover managed to overcome three St. Paul's runners scoring in the top 10 when its fifth scorer, Jackie Clay, finished well ahead of St. Paul's fifth runner, Syndneyjane Varner.