Sectional stars
- Updated: November 1, 2019
County champs Moore, Fair win individual races, lead strong contingent of county runners into next week’s state cross-country championship
By East Alabama Sports Today
FAIRVIEW – County champion Jake Moore ran the fastest time in Class 4A this season – 15:58.56 – on a fast course that holds some painful memories for him leading White Plains to team and individual gold in their Section 3 cross-country race at Fairview Town Park Friday.
The boys and girls teams from White Plains, Pleasant Valley and Ohatchee, the JCA boys and the girls from Jacksonville and Alexandria plus 20 other Calhoun County individuals all qualified for next week’s state meet at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park course near Moulton.
The sharpest part about Moore’s big run is he turned it in on the same course where he broke his hip last year to deny him a shot to run in the state meet.
The junior said he never gave any of that a thought before or during the race, concentrating instead on having a good run and doing what he could to help produce a team win. When he passed the 800-meter mark where he was tripped making his move last year he just motored on through thinking “thank God it’s not crowded.”
“I came in with the mindset of breaking 16,” he said. “This year I got out in front of the pack and once I got ahead of everybody I felt good, I felt comfortable in my pace.
“At the beginning Marty (Wennblom) made these charts for us to know where we needed to be at what point in the race and I was at all of them.”
At first, Wildcats head coach John Moore thought his son and Anniston’s Christian Myles might be out at too fast a pace, but Jake held up fine. He hit the first mile in 4:45 and the second in 5:15, faster than his county two-mile time. He had about 30 seconds to cover the final 125 yards to break 16 and once he saw the clock he put the hammer down.
“That’s probably the fastest I ever sprinted in my life,” Jake said. “I came to the straight away and saw 15:45 and just did it.”
The Wildcats had four of the top six finishers and placed all five counters in the top 11 to score 37 points and lap runner-up Fairview (75). The White Plains girls finished second to Ashville, 31-45; Jacksonville’s Olivia King won the race.
“It was a good solid perform from all five,” WP coach John Moore said. “Actually they were ready to run today, the boys and the girls. I had 20 PRs today. I can’t ask for a better performance.
“The girls finished second and were a little disappointed. The performance mattered more to me than the trophy; they come and go and collect dust anyway. That’s all any coach wants, a better performance than the week before or the race before.”
The Pleasant Valley boys secured their spot to defend their Class 3A state cross country championship by running away with the 3A Section 2 race at Auburn’s Kiesel Park Friday. The PV girls finished third behind the top two teams in the state.
Led by the 1-2 finish of Cayden Nelson (17:48.80) and Coleman Haynes (17:54.20), the Raiders scored 22 points. Their top six runners all finished in the top 10.
“We weren’t looking at empty the tank on this one, we did last week at county, this was looked at as workout,” PV coach Brad Hood said. “They know they have to dip into that last mental 10 percent Saturday. You don’t want to experience that feeling three weeks in a row.”
County girls champion Jayda Fair and brother Luke won their respective races in the Class 1A-2A sectional at Choccolocco Park.
Jayda Fair won the girls race – for the second year in a row – in 20:34.43. Teammate Clara Ryan was third (22:39.55). Donoho’s Taylor Simmons was second at 21:25.76.
Luke Fair ran a 17:35.44 to win the boys race. Teammate Dalton Fitch was third (17:56.01)
It’s the second time this year sister and brother have won their respective races, but the first time they’ve won together outright. Jayda won the overall girls race at the White Plains Fall Invitational, while Luke was the fastest runner in the small-school breakout.
“Those two kids, they work hard,” Ohatchee coach Casey Lipscomb said. “They’re determined academically and athletically.
“I talked to Jayda and she said I just knew this was my last sectional race and I had to go out on top. That was probably helping drive Luke to get those times down.”
The Ohatchee girls placed all five counters in the top 11 and won by 40 points over runner-up Ider.
Ohatchee and JCA finished 2-3 in the boys race, with the Indians falling three points short of winner Westbrook Christian. Westbrook put four of its counters in the top 10. All five of Ohatchee’s counters finished ahead of the Warriors’ No. 5, but the Indians’ 3-4-5 were between 15 and 20.
“It was so close,” Lipscomb said. “We’re sitting there at the tent waiting on the results to pop up and it was bouncing back and forth. We’d be up, then they’d be up, back and forth like that.”
CLASS 1A-2A SECTION 4
Boys team qualifiers: Westbrook Christian, Ohatchee, Jacksonville Christian, North Sand Mountain.
Race winner: Luke Fair, Ohatchee (17:35.44).
Additional local boys qualifiers: Levi Garrett, Faith Christian; Kam Thomas, Donoho.
Girls team qualifiers: Ohatchee, Ider, Sand Rock, Cedar Bluff.
Race winner: Jayda Fair (20:34.43).
Additional local girls qualifiers: Taylor Simmons, Donoho; Hannah Salame, Donoho; Elizabeth Bedford, Faith Christian; Evie Garrett, Faith Christian; Chloe Belcher, Faith Christian.
CLASS 5A SECTION 2
Boys team qualifiers: Southside, Springville, Douglas, Beauregard.
Race winner: Ryan Maudsley, Southside (17:00.05).
Additional boys qualifiers: Dakota Frank, Munford; Jonah Medders, Alexandria; DeShaun Foster, Alexandria.
Girls team qualifiers: Southside, Springville, Beauregard, Alexandria.
Race winner: Molly Conway, Beauregard (19:17.75).
Additional girls qualifiers: Destiny Moncrief, Munford.
CLASS 6A SECTION 5
Boys team qualifiers: Cullman, Albertville, Fort Payne, Pinson Valley.
Race winner: Will Thompson, Cullman (16:16.28)
Additional boys qualifiers: Noah George, Oxford; Josue Alvarez, Oxford; Chad Turner, Oxford.
Girls team qualifiers: Fort Payne, Cullman, Pell City, Albertville
Race winner: Maggie Crow, Fort Payne (19:47.00)
Additional girls qualifiers: Katie Keur, Oxford; Mia Munoz, Oxford; Cara Gauldin, Oxford; Tori Williams, Oxford; Kaelyn Albright, Oxford
CLASS 3A SECTION 2
Boys team qualifiers: Pleasant Valley, Westminster-Oak Mountain, Saint James, Prattville Christian.
Race winner: Cayden Nelson, Pleasant Valley (17:48.80)
Additional boys qualifiers: Conner Cothran, Glencoe; Cole Contris, Glencoe; Ian Strickland, Randolph County.
Girls team qualifiers: Westminster-Oak Mountain, Saint James, Pleasant Valley, Glencoe.
Race winner: Presley Miles, Saint James (18:27.00)
Additional girls qualifiers: JayOnna Cobb, Saks.
CLASS 4A SECTION 3
Boys team qualifiers: White Plains, Fairview, Ashville, Oneonta.
Race winner: Jake Moore, White Plains (15:58.56)
Additional boys qualifiers: Parker Comisac, Jacksonville; J.R. Proctor, Lincoln; Jaylon Rivers, Lincoln; Evan Garner, Jacksonville.
Girls team qualifiers: Ashville, White Plains, Jacksonville, Fairview.
Race winner: Olivia King, Jacksonville (20:07.93)
Additional girls qualifiers: Danielle Rollins, Lincoln; Chadie Farr, Handley; Emily McGehee, Lincoln.
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