Sam Chandler
Hoover Cross Country
The Hoover High School girls cross-country team won its third meet of the season on Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Oak Mountain Invitational.
Over the course of the year, the Hoover Sun will keep you up to date on the various Hoover and Spain Park high school athletic teams. Here is the fourth installment. If you missed last week's edition, click here.
FOOTBALL
The Hoover and Spain Park high school football teams enjoyed an open date last week, but return to action in Class 7A, Region 3 play this week. The Bucs host Oak Mountain, while the Jags travel to Huffman on Friday night.
VOLLEYBALL
The Hoover High School volleyball team’s week started out with a five-set loss to Pelham (27-25, 25-11, 29-31, 22-25, 10-15) on Tuesday, but the Bucs rebounded to sweep Tuscaloosa County (25-14, 25-6, 25-18) on Thursday to capture a Class 7A, Area 5 win.
The Bucs made their mark over the weekend, as they won the Over the Mountain Tournament as the hosts. Hoover dropped just one set on the way to a 7-0 run in the tournament, with wins over Wenonah, Briarwood, Guntersville, Maclay (Fla.), Northside (Ga.), Daphne and Bob Jones.
This week, Hoover hosts Thompson on Tuesday and Vestavia Hills on Thursday in area contests.
The Spain Park High School volleyball team played a pair of Area 6 matches, splitting the two. The Jags opened up the week with a 3-1 loss to Oak Mountain (11-25, 14-25, 25-15, 11-25), but rebounded to dismantle Huffman (25-15, 25-12, 25-11) on Thursday.
This week, the Jags host Vestavia Hills on Tuesday and play a tri-match against Mortimer Jordan and Clay-Chalkville on Thursday. They will participate in the Tournament of Champions in Danville over the weekend.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Hoover High cross-country teams claimed first-place finishes on Saturday at the Oak Mountain Invitational. The Buccaneers prevailed over Oak Mountain in both varsity races, with the girls winning 21-75 and the boys winning 50-53.
Hoover seniors Ava Weems and Sydney Steely swept the girls race. Weems completed the 5K course at Heardmont Park in 20 minutes, 7 seconds; Steely crossed the finish line in 20:19.
“That’s a big shocker after the start of the season where Sydney’s been getting her,” Hoover head coach Devon Hind said. “They usually trade back and forth, but we just hadn’t seen that yet. That’s healthy.”
Five other Hoover runners placed in the top 11, including three who finished among the top seven. Lauren Wallace, Caroline Sall and Emma Langley took fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Wallace ran 20:32, Sall 20:36 and Langley 20:39.
The trio comprised part of a large Hoover pack that ran together for the first half of the race. The group began to break apart after crossing a creek near the 1.5-mile mark, when Weems and Steely created separation.
“They were very controlled at the beginning,” Hind said of his team. “They didn’t panic because some girls went out way too fast...They’re smart runners.”
It was the third victory of the season for the Hoover girls. Earlier in September, they captured team titles at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational and Spain Park Cross Country Classic.
But Saturday’s triumph was the first of the season for the Hoover boys, who were led by senior John McCrackin. McCrackin secured a runner-up finish in 16:44, only 13 seconds behind Northside’s Tanner King.
The Buccaneers placed their top five runners in the top 15. Alex Leary (17:09) and Drew Kilgore (17:09) finished ninth and 10th, while David Ash (17:20) and Joe Leventry (17:22) finished 14th and 15th.
The Hoover cross-country teams will return to action this weekend at the Disney Classic in Orlando, Florida.
The Spain Park cross-country teams took this past weekend off, but they are scheduled to compete on Saturday at the Jesse Owens Classic in Oakville.
NOTABLE ALUMNI
Former Hoover and Alabama football standout Marlon Humphrey recorded a career-high four tackles in the Baltimore Ravens 26-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Wisconsin running back and former Buc Bradrick Shaw picked up 34 yards on nine carries on Saturday, in a Badgers win over Northwestern.
Bowling Green linebacker Kholbe Coleman-Abrams recorded a career-high three tackles against Akron.
North Alabama freshman Christon Taylor had seven tackles and a sack against West Georgia.
Mississippi State tight end Justin Johnson caught a touchdown pass in the Bulldogs’ loss to Auburn on Saturday.
New Orleans volleyball player Kyra Hunter tallied 18 kills over two matches last week.
Spain Park alumnus and Cincinnati linebacker Perry Young had a big game on Saturday against Marshall. Young racked up 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss, and fumble recovery.
Spain Park alums Tyler Sumpter and A.J. Smiley took part in Troy’s shocking 24-21 win over LSU on Saturday night.
Presley Weems, an Auburn sophomore, clocked a 5K time of 19:02 at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday. She was the eighth Tigers’ runner across the line.
Southern Miss freshman Julie Baker set a program and course single-round record after shooting a 7-under 65 at the William Carey Intercollegiate.
-- Who did we miss? What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
