Patriots breeze through sectionals
HOOVER — The Homewood High School cross-country teams took care of business at the Class 6A, Section 3 meet on Thursday morning.
Amid cool, overcast conditions at Veterans Park, the Patriots breezed to the team titles in convincing fashion over runners-up John Carroll. The Homewood girls won, 23-46, and the Homewood boys won, 15-52.
The teams’ first-place finishes secured their spots at the Nov. 11 state meet in Oakville, where both squads will aim to defend their titles.
“I was pleased with them today,” Patriots head coach Lars Porter said. “They actually just competed with individuals as opposed to worrying about an abstract time. They just raced.”
Celie Jackson, a sophomore, and Audrey Nabors, a junior, swept the top two positions in the 5K girls race. They finished in times of 20 minutes, 30 seconds and 21:07, respectively. It was Jackson’s second triumph in as many meets. On Oct. 19, she claimed her first victory of the season at the Hoover Invitational.
“She is quiet and kind and, underneath this sweet persona, she’s as competitive as they get,” Porter said.
Jackson and Nabors paced a pack of six Homewood runners that finished in the top 10. Adah Allen placed fifth in 21:43, Alex Steltenpohl placed seventh in 22:00, Hanna Brook Gibbons placed eighth in 22:14, and Zoe Nichols placed ninth in 22:29.
The Homewood boys established a similar presence at the front of the race. Led by Will Stone, the Patriots swept the top five positions to record a perfect score, 15.
“They took it personal, and on these smaller fields when there’s not just a ton of teams, it’s easy to identify somebody and make it personal,” Porter said. “They did a good job of that.”
Stone, a junior, led from start to finish and clocked a 5K time of 16:33. Alvin Finch placed second in 17:17. Jackson Merrell (third, 17:25), Azariah Kipchumba (fourth, 17:44) and Jack Gray (fifth, 17:45) rounded out the front-running contingent.
The Homewood boys will face a tougher test at the state meet. Cullman has run well throughout the season and will threaten to snap the Patriots’ streak of five consecutive state championships.
“I would describe them, as the saying goes, as humble and hungry,” Porter said of his team. “They recognize that Cullman is a good team, that Cullman is both talented and well-trained and strong competitors. I think these guys are up to the challenge. They welcome that.”