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| AHSAA Alabama
State Championships
Oakville Indian Mounds Park, Moulton AL
November 14, 2009
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Streaks are on the line at Alabama State Championships this weekend
By Arthur L. Mack
Four streaks are on the line at the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Cross-Country Championships at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park this weekend.
In the larger classifications, Mountain Brook puts its streak of six 6A girls’ titles on the line, while Scottsboro’s girls try to make it nine straight in 5A. In the smaller classifications, Randolph hopes to make it five in a row in 3A boys’ competition, while American Christian hopes to make it four in a row in 1A-2A girls.
In 6A boys, Mountain Brook tries to repeat as champions, while in 5A boys, Scottsboro hopes to make it two in a row. In 4A, UMS-Wright makes an attempt to repeat in the boys’ division, while in 4A girls, UMS-Wright hopes to dethrone defending champion Rogers. And Hatton strives to repeat in 1A-2A boys.
Here is what to expect this weekend:
6A: Undoubtedly, Mountain Brook, behind Catherine Diethelm and Marie Demedicis, is primed to win its seventh straight title. The Lady Spartans have dominated the competition all year, and as a result, are ranked at the top of the state rankings regardless of classification.
The battle will be for second, with Auburn, Bob Jones, and Mobile’s McGill-Toolen Catholic. McGill-Toolen especially bears watching, because it has the fastest runner in the state in freshman Carmen Carlos, who ran a personal 5K best of 17 minutes, 48 seconds at the Mobile County Championships.
Mountain Brook could make it two in a row in 6A boys. The Spartans, led by Layton Dorsett, are Alabama’s top-ranked team, and dominated their sectional meet. The battle could be for second with Hoover, led by David Hudman and Bryan Propst; and Vestavia Hills, led by James Graham.
5A: Last year, Scottsboro swept the girls and boys divisions. For the girls, it was their eighth straight title, while the boys broke St. Paul’s streak of three straight championships.
This year, it may be a little bit different. While Scottsboro’s girls, led by Maggie Thompson, are coming into the state championships just as competitive as ever, St. Paul’s, led by Margaret Harkness, could very well break the streak.
The two times St. Paul’s and Scottsboro met this year, it was at the Jesse Owens Invitational and the Wildcat Invitational in Pensacola, Florida. In both meets, St. Paul’s finished ahead of Scottsboro. With both teams having relatively young squads, it could be very close, but the guess is that St. Paul’s could very well break Scottsboro’s streak.
The boys’ competition could be just as fierce. Scottsboro is led by Lucas Sieb, one of the top runners in the state. Ordinarily, that would be enough for the Wildcats to win, but Sieb could face stiff competition from Cullman’s Brigham Kilgore, St. Paul’s Stuart Graham, and Spanish Fort’s Brett Hanke.
Spanish Fort could pose the biggest threat to Scottsboro’s quest for a team title. The Toros, led by Hanke, placed six runners in the top 10 at their sectional meet, and in the one time that the Toros faced Scottsboro (the Jesse Owens Classic), Spanish Fort outscored the Wildcats by 117 points.
4A: It is almost a good bet that Mobile’s UMS-Wright will sweep the girls and boys’ divisions.
UMS-Wright’s girls’ team is ranked second overall in the state of Alabama, and scored a perfect 15 points at the sectional meet. Rogers, led by Katie Stewart, is ranked 10th in the state of Alabama, and has been consistent all season long. But a strong performance by Claire Kennedy, along with a great supporting cast of Kathryn and Kristen Lazarchick, Claire Speegle, and Charlotte Galloway should be more than enough for UMS-Wright to derail Rogers’ effort for a second straight title.
On the boys’ side, it could be a two-team battle between UMS-Wright and Lawrence County. UMS-Wright, led by Ritchie Huettemann and Kelly Cutrell, is ranked No. 15 in Alabama. Lawrence County, ranked 24th, is led by Freddie Shirah.
3A: Montgomery Academy, led by Maggie Rickard and Jenny Wool, come into this weekend’s meet hoping to repeat. Last week in the sectionals, the Falcons managed a narrow win over T. R. Miller, led by the Nelson sisters, Karisa and Katie. In addition, Daphne’s Bayside Academy, led by Charlotte Gill, could very well be in the top three.
The guess is that Montgomery Academy will repeat because beyond their top three runners, T. R. Miller does not have as strong a fourth and fifth runner to take the title.
On the boys’ side, Randolph, led by Hudson Robb, Keith Buell, and Leland Collins, is a solid bet to win its fifth straight title. Randolph, ranked No. 9 in Alabama, could get a strong challenge from Bayside Academy, led by Stewart Shoemaker. Shoemaker is considered the favorite in the race.
Other teams expected to challenge Randolph include Montgomery Academy, Mobile’s Cottage Hill Christian, and Birmingham Altamont.
1A-2A: Hatton, led by Jade Brackin, is striving to win its second straight boys’ title. But Cold Springs, led by Nathan Lewis, who has run 15:36.70, could present a very strong challenge.
On the girls’ side, American Christian, led by Sara Gibson and Rachael Mills, bids for a third straight title. American Christian’s main rival could be Cold Springs, led by Palee Myrex.
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