By John Goolsby
For The Tribune
TRUSSVILLE — Thirty-five cross country teams competed Saturday at the 31st Annual Husky Challenge. The 3.1-mile course featured an “Olympic” style finish, with runners entering Husky Stadium and completing 1200 meters before crossing the finish line.
The Husky Challenge featured a Varsity 5K, a JV 5K, the Metro Middle School Championship (2 miles), and an elementary school 1-mile race.
Hewitt-Trussville, Shades Valley, and Leeds participated in the event.
Sarah Thomas, a blind Cross Country runner for Hewitt Middle School, was the honorary starter for the varsity races on White Cane Awareness Day. Sarah raced later in the Middle School Metro Championship and turned in another personal best time.
The Hewitt-Trussville girls finished 2nd in the varsity event. The Huskies placed three girls in the Top 20. Kinley Harris was the highest-placing Husky with a 6th-place finish.
Varsity Girls:
6th Place – Kinley Harris
13th Place – Avery Cahoon
15th Place – Kylee Sisk
The Hewitt-Trussville boys also finished 2nd in the varsity event. The Huskies placed four boys in the Top 20 including race winner Tristan Teer.
Varsity Boys:
1st Place – Tristan Teer
9th Place – Wes Ellison
18th Place – Aran Cane
20th Place – Brooks Maddox
The Hewitt-Trussville girls placed 3rd and had two girls in the Top 20 of the JV race.
JV Girls:
12th Place – Meah Goodell
13th Place – Haley Fogg
The Hewitt-Trussville boys finished 2nd and had five runners in the Top 20 of the JV race.
JV Boys:
2nd Place – Joel Himes
9th Place – Logan Stewart
13th Place – Sawyer Garrett
14th Place – Nathan Mullinax
20th Place – Jacob Moore
The Leeds girls finished 9th and the boys finished 7th in the JV race. The Shades Valley girls finished 6th and the boys finished 9th in the JV race.
Shades Valley Head Varsity Cross Country Coach Jeff Clayton is optimistic about the program’s future. “We are a young squad that is growing; we hope to have forty runners next year,” he said. “Our kids will PR every race and are having fun.”
The Hewitt-Trussville Middle School girls finished 4th in the Metro Championship race, while the boys finished 3rd.
Girls 2 Mile:
9th – Lauren Ruf
20th – Emmie Goodell
Boys 2 Mile:
5th – Lelan Neal
6th – Maddox Turner
10th – Noah Jordan
Hadley Turner was the winner of the Elementary 1-mile run. The elementary mile is “where it all starts,” says Hewitt-Trussville Athletic Director Lance Walker. “The vision our coaches have is to get the elementary kids interested,” he said. “When they get to middle school, our numbers will continue to be high.”
“We are trying to give the kids in the community a chance to come out and get exposure to the sport, finish on the track like the big kids do, and get a t-shirt,” said Trussville Head Varsity Cross Country Coach Matthew Michalke. “The goal, we hope, is getting them excited about Cross Country like they do for baseball, football, and other sports.”
Area cross country teams will begin preparing for Sectionals scheduled for Thursday, October 27.
— Drew Goolsby contributed to this report