 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | 10th Jesse Owens XC Invitational
Saturday, October 4, 2008 - Oakville Indian Mounds Park, Oakville AL
DyeStat on-site with Arthur Mack
|
Jesse Owens Invite Shows Strength in Numbers
More than 3,100 athletes set to run in North Alabama classic
By ARTHUR L. MACK
If success was measured in numbers, this year’s Jesse Owens Classic—scheduled for Saturday, October 4 at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park—should be very successful.
As of October 1st, there were 3,142 total entries and 228 teams in 12 separate divisions, ranging from the Elite Division to small schools Junior High Division. The 12 divisions are Elite (Gold) boys and girls, Silver (large school division) boys and girls, Bronze (small school division) boys and girls, Red (B teams from silver division) boys and girls, Jr. High (large school) boys and girls, and Jr. High (small school) boys and girls.
That means there will be a lot of awards. The top five teams in each division, with the exception of the boys and girls’ Red Division, will receive trophies. The top two teams in the Red division’s boys and girls’ races will get trophies. Individually, the top 15 finishers in each division will receive medals, while the top 75 runners in the Elite boys and girls, Silver boys and girls, Bronze boys and girls, and Jr. High boys and girls will receive special race T-shirts. The top 40 finishers in the Red boys and girls divisions as well as the Jr. High schools’ boys and girls’ divisions will get T-shirts.
Runners will also be treated to a challenging, yet fast, course. The girls’ meet record is 17 minutes, 54 seconds, set by Decatur (Ala.) Austin High’s Jennifer Dunn, while the boys’ record is 14:58, set by Ben Hubers of McEachern, Ga. Both records were set in 2006.
Records may not be threatened this year, but there will be some competitive races.
Teams to watch in the elite boys’ division include Hoover, Ala.; Parkview, Ga.; Mountain Brook, Ala.; Houston, Tenn.; and Cordova, Tennessee.
Hoover will be without its leading runner, Patrick McGregor, who will be on a recruiting trip. However, Nick Perkins, the number 4 runner for the Bucs last year, will be the top man for this meet. While Hoover has not won any meets this year, it should still have a competitive showing.
Parkview, behind senior Brian Detweiler, could make its mark as a first-time participant in the meet. Parkview is one of the premier teams in the Southeast, having won the Georgia state 5A championships three of the last four years. Detweiler has a personal best of 15:54 set at last year’s Georgia Region 8 5A meet last season.
“We lost a lot of seniors (who are running at the collegiate level) from last years meet,” said coach James Tigue. “This has been somewhat of a rebuilding year, but we have shown steady improvement all season long. We look forward to running on this course.”
Cordova is the two-time defending Tennessee Region 7 AAA champion, and is led by junior William James, who placed fifth in the Tennessee state meet and placed seventh with a 16:09 in the sophomore race at the South Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in Charlotte last year.
On the elite girls’ side, it appears that Mountain Brook, led by Madeline Morgan and ranked second in the Southeast, is favored to win it all. But there could be some competition from another Alabama team, Scottsboro, as well as out of state competition from Red Bank, Tennessee.
Claire Turner, Red Bank’s leading runner, was fifth in last year’s Tennessee AAA Cross Country championships, and won the Powerade Invitational in Chattanooga.
The Silver Division could be very competitive as well.
Leading the way is Potontoc (Miss.), which has won a total of 26 boys and girls state titles. In the Silver boys division, it could very well be Pontotoc, along with McGill-Toolen Catholic of Mobile, as well as Brentwood Academy (Tenn.). On the Silver girls’ side, it could be wide open, with Pontotoc, Ravenwood, Tenn., which won this year’s Nestle Waters Invitational, and another Tennessee school, Independence.
A possible war looms in the Bronze boys division. Several schools, including hometown favorite Lawrence County, have a shot, as well as Randolph, Bayside Academy, UMS-Wright and Leeds. Individually on the boys’ side, one runner to watch is Mobile Christian’s Colby Herrington, who came in second at the TCBY Invitational with a 17:41.
Lawrence County’s Ari Stephenson is the hometown favorite in the Bronze girls’ division. Stephenson, last year’s 3A-4A Alabama State Champion, has a personal best on the Oakville course of 19:38. There should be plenty of competition from Randolph, Shades Mountain Christian, and Cold Springs, to name a few.
If sheer numbers could win the junior high large schools division, Mountain Brook would win hands down. With nearly 200 runners entered in the boys and girls races, the Spartans seem to have a lock on both crowns. As for the junior high small schools division, it appears to be anybody’s race.
Jesse Owens Home
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
