By John Goolsby
Special for the Tribune
HOOVER – The Hewitt-Trussville boys and girls cross country teams punched their ticket for the state tournament this morning at the AHSAA 7A Section 3 meet at Veteran’s Park in Hoover.
The Hewitt-Trussville boys cross country team qualified for the 7A state meet on Thursday, October 27. (Photo by John Goolsby)
The Shades Valley/JCIB teams did not qualify in 6A Section 4 but qualified six girls and two boys as individual qualifiers.
The Hewitt team, led by Kinley Harris, finished in third place. Chelsea High School was the Section 3 winner with 20 points, and Vestavia was runner-up with 74 points. Hewitt finished with 79 points.
Kylee Sisk, Sophia Knox, Natalie Wiram, and Avery Cahoon scored with Harris.
Kinley Harris, 8th, 20:14.90, Kylee Sisk, 13th, 20:52.49, Sophia Knox, 14th, 21:02.35, Natalie Wiram, 20th, 21:21.29, Avery Cahoon, 24th, 21:52.79, Bella Bales, 43rd, 23:06.59, Callie Armstrong, 44th, 23:16.96
The boy’s team, led by race winner Tristan Teer, finished in fourth place. Vestavia won Section 3 with 34 points. Spain Park was runner-up with 73 points. Hoover finished in the third spot with 78 points. Hewitt finished with 93 points, grabbing the final qualifying spot.
Wes Ellison, Brooks Maddox, Aran Cane, and Jacob Mullinax were points scorers with Teer.
Tristan Teer, 1st, 16:23.27, Wes Ellison, 13th, 17:15.75, Brooks Maddox, 22nd, 17:46.41, Aran Cane, 26th, 17:51.19, Jacob Mullinax, 33rd, 18:01.30, Garrett Yokeley, 34th, 18:08.72, Rush Lachina, 35th, 18:10.06.
Coach Reardon, Coach Estes, and the Shades Valley/JCIB qualifiers. (Photo by John Goolsby)
Head coach Matthew Michalke was pleased with his team’s effort. “I’m really proud of our kids today. We knew it would be a battle for both teams because we’ve struggled with some setbacks in the last week, injury and illness,” he said. “They ran with a lot of heart today. Our goal has been to run for the team. They did that today!”
Lauren Lindsey led the Shades Valley/JCIB girls. Elizabeth Harris, Grace Lindsey, Ashley Leon, Brenna Villa Acosta, and Sara Bailey also qualified.
Brian Moose and Ivan Gonzalez were the two qualifiers for the Shades Valley/JCIB boy’s team.
“This is a determined group of girls who goes to practice every day and they want to get better,” said Mountie coach Melinda Estes. “They got a taste of getting close last year, but we didn’t qualify anyone. This year we have six.”
The Huskies and Mounties head to the AHSAA XC State Championship in Oakville on November 5.
