Staff photo.
Hoover High School senior John Michael Williamson is one of the top runners on the Bucs boys crosscountry team.
Sitting in his office before the season started, Hoover High School cross-country coach Devon Hind relayed intel about his team.
His 2019 roster consists of 127 runners — an all-time high, he said — and many of them had come back to school in good shape after a summer of training.
“Attitudes are good right now,” Hind said. “We’re undefeated.”
Although the Bucs’ unbeaten streak ended once the season began in late August, Hoover’s boys and girls have been running strong this fall. They performed well at the Montevallo Early Bird Twilight Classic, Chickasaw Trails Invitational and Spain Park Classic.
In essence, Hoover picked up where it left off at the 2018 Class 7A state meet. There, the boys and girls both placed sixth behind a wave of personal-best showings.
“At state, just about everybody PR’d,” Hind said. “You can’t ask for much more than that.”
The Hoover boys graduated their top three runners from 2018 but have returned veteran leaders in junior Owen Marquardt and senior John Michael Williamson. Marquardt ran 16 minutes, 30 seconds for the 5K last season and placed 31st at state, while Williamson ran 16:56. Both set lofty goals at the beginning of the current campaign: to break 16 minutes and earn all-state status.
The two upperclassmen have been pushed by sophomore Jacob Villani and a host of freshmen, including Sam Kilgore. Hind said the 30 ninth-graders on his boys team are motivated, talented and heading toward a bright future.
“We’re definitely young,” Williamson said of his team, “but I see a lot of potential.”
As the season continues, Hoover will turn its attention toward the sectional meet on Halloween. The Bucs will look to qualify for state, where Hind said a runner-up team finish isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
“I don’t think we have anybody looking to be top five in the state,” he said, “but we’ve got a bunch of guys who will be coming in pretty strong together.”
The Hoover girls also graduated key pieces from last year’s squad but have adapted to the departures. Juniors Lauren Wallace and Alyssa Halcomb, along with freshman Ashley Girouard, have helped pace the Bucs through the first half of the season.
“I think we’re a lot stronger than we think we are,” Wallace said.
Wallace has rebounded nicely from a tough sophomore campaign in which she was diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction. She had a hard time breathing during practices and races, and that prevented her from performing up to her potential. Wallace consistently ran a few minutes slower as a sophomore than she did as a freshman, when she placed 25th at state and ran 19:34 for the 5K.
“She was running five minutes slower than she did the year before,” Hind said, “just because she couldn’t get any oxygen.”
But with her breathing now under control, Wallace has returned to form. She ran 19:49 to begin the season and said she would like to lower her personal best by the end of it. If all goes well, that will be at the state meet.
“I think I’m capable of that,” she said.
