PV sweeps county
- Updated: October 27, 2016
Pleasant Valley sweeps team titles, PV’s Roberts wins girls race, Oxford’s Robinson wins boys
Oxford’s Reed Robinson wins the boys race of the Calhoun County Cross Country Championship. (Photos by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)
By Kody Coppock
For East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD — Both Pleasant Valley teams took home the gold today at the Calhoun County Cross Country Championship. In spite of the fierce competition, the favored Raiders were able to secure yet another boys and girls sweep.
The Lady Raiders won for the sixth time in as many scored races, placing all five counters in the top 15 and scoring 40 points. Alexandria finished second and Oxford third with 56 and 91 points, respectively.
The PV boys won for the fifth time in seven races. The Raiders had 53 points with four boys finishing in the top 15 and the fifth placing 16th. Oxford was second with 78 points and White Plains finished third with 92.
Pleasant Valley coach Brad Hood said his athletes see cross country as “a team sport” and do not place as much focus on individual achievement. They “want the team to do well,” he said, and “if someone has a bad day someone else can pick up the slack.”
PV’s Trinity Roberts won the girls race with a time of 19:31.70, beating out Alexandria’s Abby Nunnelly (19:44.34) for first and dethroning two-time reigning county champion Rebecca Hearn of Jacksonville, who finished third (20:25.10).
Nunnelly had been focusing on winning the county all season and was in the lead for much of the race, but Roberts was able to pull ahead just after the two-mile marker.
“Trinity did what I said to,” Hood said. “”To be a young, inexperienced runner, get on her hip and use her a little bit. When you get to that two-mile post, when you think you can go, go. Don’t let up. Don’t leave any question. Either get behind her or go around. She went around her and it was game over. She believed in it and did it.”
After the race, Roberts said she was “really happy” she had won.
The boys race was up for grabs as two-time winner Zebedee Lunsford of Anniston had graduated.
Oxford’s Reed Robinson won the race with a time of 17:35.96, 10 seconds ahead of Jacksonville’s Kevin Barajas. The first five runners across the line all came from different schools.
After crossing the finish line, Robinson, ecstatic, said he “could not have done it without [his] coach and [his] team.”
Hood was incredibly pleased with his girls’ performance. He stated that his first three runners were very consistent, but it was his fourth and fifth finishers — Eva Bryant and Lindsey Pritchett, who weren’t on last year’s stats championship roster — who “really showed up today.”
“If they didn’t have that team mentality the ‘5’ wouldn’t have pushed that hard,” Hood said. “My 4 and 5 knew my normal 4, 5 and 6 were having a bad day and they stepped it up. If they don’t realize how valuable they are during the season they won’t be able to step up for you when it counts.”
He said the team is running about 30 seconds faster than it was at the time of the County Meet a year ago.
Hood described his boys performance as “phenomenal” and was pleased with the depth of his team. PV had a total of 10 runners in the top 22 and had the second five been scored as a team would have finished in the top three.
Kody Coppock is a junior at Ohatchee High School. He is a former shot putter with the Indians track team.
Pleasant Valley’s Trinity Roberts wins the girls race in the Calhoun County Cross Country Championship.
CALHOUN COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
At Oxford Lake Park course
GIRLS RACE
Team scores: Pleasant Valley 40, Alexandria 56, Oxford 91, Ohatchee 103, Jacksonville 110, White Plains 124, Saks 226, Faith Christian 242.
Individual top 20
(Top 15 all-county)
Trinity Roberts, Pleasant Valley 19:31.70
Abby Nunnelly, Alexandria 19:44.24
Rebecca Hearn, Jacksonville 20:25.10
Madison Reeder, Oxford 21:05.35
Rachel Faucett, Pleasant Valley 21:19.79
Emma Hood, Pleasant Valley 21:30.53
Dentiny Heathcock, Alexandria 21:44.85
Toni Coley, Oxford 22:15.00
Mary Shelton, Jacksonville 22:15.77
Jayda Fair, Ohatchee, 22:17.44
Briar Poytress, White Plains 22:21.37
Brittany Caywood, Ohatchee 22:22.62
Eva Bryant, Pleasant Valley 22:24.71
Sarah Kilgore, Alexandria 22:37.90
Lindsey Pritchett, Pleasant Valley 22:38.54
x-Libby Davis, Donoho 22:39.36
Michaela Watts, Alexandria 22:40.66
Katie Snow, Alexandria 22:45.67
Molly Parker, Alexandria 23:01.50
Malaya Cooper, Alexandria 23:03.83
Oxford’s Toni Coley (L) sprints to an eighth-place finish ahead of Jacksonville’s Mary Shelton.
BOYS RACE
Team scores: Pleasant Valley 53, Oxford 78, White Plains 92, Ohatchee 101, Jacksonville 111, Alexandria 131, Donoho 197, Saks 222, Faith Christian 238, Sacred Heart 267.
Individual top 20
(Top 15 all-county)
Reed Robinson, Oxford 17:35.96
Kevin Barajas, Jacksonville 17:45.52
Daniel Gladen, Pleasant Valley 18:02.37
Luis Rodriguez, Alexandria 18:08.46
Gabe Hammonds, Ohatchee 18:14.58
Matisse Miller, Pleasant Valley 18:17.72
Blake Noah, Ohatchee 18:24.62
Gannon Womack, Alexandria 18:26.44
Braxton McFall, Jacksonville 18:27.15
Dylan Hulsey, Oxford 18:28.24
Jake Moore, White Plains 18:41.96
Alex Sluder, Oxford 18:43.79
Caleb Kirk, Pleasant Valley 18:44.84
Chase Crandall, White Plains 18:45.48
Balin Littlejohn, Pleasant Valley 18:47.78
Skyler Mcleod, Pleasant Valley 18:54.08
Dekota Roberts, Pleasant Valley 18:57.49
Jacob Gladen, Pleasant Valley 19:01.99
x-John Anthony Kritlow, Pleasant Valley 19:03.46
Rayburn Price, Saks 19:04.73
x-Not counting in team scoring
A pack of runners push through the tree line at Oxford Lake Park. The pack includes (from left) Alec Gilbert, Matthew Kennewy, Ben Glass, Joseph Francis, Stephan Ray and Zachary Patterson.
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