AHSAA CROSS COUNTRY: MA girls win 3A state title
By TIM GAYLE
The Montgomery Academy girls placed four runners in the top 12 to run away with the Class 3A state championship in the Alabama High School Athletic Association state cross country meet at Indian Mound Park in Oakville on Saturday.
The Eagles scored 42 points, easily outdistancing second-place Cottage Hill Christian, which had 77. St. James finished third with 80 points, followed by Holly Pond (97) and St. Luke’s (131) in the 12-team field.
Olivia Khan of Lee-Scott Academy won the individual title, followed by sophomore Elley Goff of St. James with a time of 19:37.32 and Montgomery Academy sophomore Elle Ingram at 19:54.06.
Eighth grader Molly Phillips of St. James was fifth with a time of 20:44.25, followed by Montgomery Academy freshman Livia Dwyer (20:53.41) and MA seventh grader Lucy Hubbard (20:59.17).
Montgomery Academy freshman Bea Farley was 12th with a time of 21:35.40, St. James freshman Aileen Mulligan was 14th (21:41.36) and Montgomery Academy senior Emily Ingram was in 21st place with a time of 22:16.09.
Two other Montgomery Academy runners placed in the top 50, with Mary Surhea White placing 38th and Alyssa Kaplan finishing 41st.
The feat was almost duplicated by the Montgomery Academy boys, which finished second in the 15-team field. J.B. Pennington was first with 47 points, followed by Montgomery Academy (54), St. Luke’s (98), Holly Pond (181) and Prattville Christian Academy (206). St. James was 11th.
Travis Barnett of Holly Pond won the individual title, followed by Trinity’s John Thomas Mathison with a time of 16:39.83.
Senior Price McLemore was the top runner for Montgomery Academy, finishing in eighth place with a time of 17:10.14. Five other Eagle runners placed in the top 20, including junior Bo Johnston in 12th (17:18.45); junior Ian Farley in 14th (17:30.66); senior Trey White in 16th (17:40.96); senior Matt Cone in 19th (17:49.84); and senior Frank Williford in 20th (17:50.17). MA freshman Jack Obenhaus placed 25th with a time of 18:07.78.
Three other Montgomery Academy runners finished in the top 50, including Jackson McIntyre (30th), Stephen McLemore (48th) and Colin Whitley (49th).
Ryan Lueck was the top runner for Prattville Christian Academy, placing 40th, while St. James was paced by Jackson Scarpate, who finished 64th.
In Class 4A, the LAMP girls finished 12th in the 14-team field, paced by Ava Cain’s 43rd-place finish. The Golden Tigers were sixth in the 16-team boys field, with Samuel Holmes placing 14th with a time of 17:10.95 and Riley Godwin placing 20th with a time of 17:32.39.
Catholic was a step behind in seventh place, led by eighth grader Liam Skala, who was 31st with a time of 17:54.16. Teammate Andrew Gueret, a freshman, was in 41st place.
In Class 6A, three boys teams were among the 23 teams participating. Stanhope Elmore was 17th, paced by senior Dominic Jones’ 49th-place finish, while Pike Road, led by senior Jakob White in 67th place, was 21st. Wetumpka was right behind Pike Road and was led by sophomore Bennett Williams, who placed 106th.
In 7A girls, Prattville was 13th in the 16-team field, led by Hailey Erler, who was 64th with a time of 20:57.68.
Billingsley fielded a cross country team for the first time this year and the Bears were 14th among the 16 boys teams competing in 1A. Sophomore Colton Lawrence led the Bears with a 42nd-place finish after running the course in 19:11.10.