Buccaneer girls win, again

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HOOVER — Sydney Steely and Ava Weems entered Saturday’s varsity girls race at the Spain Park Cross Country Classic with a plan: They wanted to start fast.

Cross-country races, however, rarely unfold according to blueprint.

So when Steely and Weems, a pair of Hoover High School seniors, approached the 1-mile mark behind their desired split, they decided to tweak their strategy.

Now, the race was on.

Over the final 2.1 miles of the rugged 5K course at Veterans Park, Steely and Weems pushed the pace and picked off competitors. By the time they came barreling down the grass-and-gravel homestretch, only one runner, Catholic-Montgomery’s Amaris Tyynismaa, had beaten them to the finish line.

Steely placed second in 20:10, and Weems placed third in 20:16.

“It was motivating to be able to know, ‘OK, I have the ability, because I ran slower in the beginning, to be able to pass people throughout the race,’” Steely said, “and that’s what we did.”

The pair of top three finishes highlighted a strong showing for the Hoover girls, who placed four runners in the top 10 and seven in the top 18. The heavy presence of black and orange jerseys at the front of the race secured the Buccaneer girls a team title for the second straight week.

Last Saturday, they defeated Mountain Brook to win the Chickasaw Trails Invitational in Oakville. This week, they blitzed past Harrison (Ga.), 37-54.

“Honestly, I think we’ve just been working so much harder this year,” Steely said. "We didn’t lose any seniors...so we all have a really good bond, and we have a lot of freshmen that we’ve been able to literally pull with us.”

Caroline Sall, a senior, and Lauren Wallace, a freshman, finished third and fourth on the Hoover team. Sall placed ninth in 20:41, while Wallace placed 10th in 20:53. Emma Langley (13th), Haley Stallworth (17th) and Caroline Franklin (18th) rounded out the Bucs' top seven.

Steely and Weems both said their team’s fast start to the 2017 campaign bodes well for the end of the season, when they’ll be chasing the school’s first girls state cross-country title. In years past, Steely said she can’t remember a Hoover team earning the commanding, early-season victories this current squad already has.

“Obviously, the end goal is state,” Weems said. “I feel like we have a better outlook on it this year.”

Homewood sophomore Celie Jackson was the top local finisher behind Steely and Weems. She placed fifth in 20:22, as the Patriots earned a fourth-place team finish. They scored 134 points to Oak Mountain’s 124.

Eagles sophomore Evie Bell (11th) propelled her team to third place. 

Boys race

Will Stone arrived at Veterans Spark on Saturday morning with tempered expectations.

Earlier in the week, his training schedule had been modified due to the impact of Hurricane Irma, which canceled classes at many local schools. As a result, he performed his week's toughest workout a day or two later than he normally would have.

Fatigue emerged as a potential concern for him and his coach, Lars Porter. But if it was present during the varsity boys race, Stone made it undetectable.

The Homewood High School junior charged down a sharp hill in the competition’s second mile to gap his nearest pursuer, Northside’s Tanner King, before widening his lead over the course's final third. 

Stone completed the 5K in 16:26, 16 seconds ahead of King, to capture his second victory in as many weeks. Last Saturday, he won the Chickasaw Trails Invitational in a personal-best 15:36.

“I think it definitely boosts my confidence to know that [week] in and [week] out I can consistently stay at the top of the race,” Stone said. “It makes me feel good.”

Stone and teammate Jackson Merrell (14th) paced the Patriot boys to a fifth-place finish, three spots behind host Spain Park. The Jaguars tallied 96 points at their home meet to finish as the top local boys team. Harrison (Ga.) won with 66 points.

“I’m pleased with being the top Alabama team, but we still have a lot of work to do," Spain Park head coach Michael Zelwak said.

Jacob Warner and Charlie Trower paced their Jaguar squad with a pair of top 10 finishes. Warner, a junior, placed fifth in 17:09, and Trower, a sophomore, placed sixth in 17:12. Zelwak said he expects both runners to continue setting the tone for his team throughout the season.

“They’re great leaders and they’re buying in and they’re putting in the work,” Zelwak said.

Oak Mountain finished third in the team standings with 119 points, while Hoover placed fourth with 124. Each squad put a runner toward the front of the race.

The Bucs’ John McCrackin was one of only three athletes to break 17 minutes, taking third in 16:53. Oak Mountain's Jonah Barrett placed 11th in 17:29 to lead a pack of three Eagles who finished in the top 20. 

“We had a good plan coming in, and they executed the plan really well,” Oak Mountain head coach Jim Moore said. “They did what I asked them to do.”

Local team scores

Girls

1. Hoover: 37

3. Oak Mountain: 124

4. Homewood: 134

7. Westminster School at Oak Mountain: 218

9. Spain Park: 248

Boys

2. Spain Park: 96

3. Oak Mountain: 119

4. Hoover: 124

5. Homewood: 147

11. Westminster School at Oak Mountain: 302