Lady Patriots flip script, claim 3rd straight state title
The Homewood High School girls cross-country team was determined.
Undeterred by its performance the previous week, when the Lady Patriots were edged out by Mountain Brook by one point in the Class 6A, Section 4 meet, Homewood ran its best when it mattered most.
Homewood’s girls won the 6A state meet for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years, scoring 59 points to runner-up Mountain Brook’s score of 68.
“Coming into the day, we definitely knew it was going to be a challenge and take everything we had,” said head coach Josh Donaldson.
The girls certainly rose to that challenge, coming away with just a 40-second split from its first through fifth runners, better than any other team in the field. They were paced by eighth-grader Emma Brooke Levering, who finished seventh in the race with a 5K time of 19:27. Levering ran in the JV championship race, so she wasn’t with the high school team at the section meet, but she starred in her first varsity opportunity.
Marin Poleshek (ninth, 19:38), Caroline Wilder (12th, 19:56) and Camille Etheridge (15th, 20:06) joined Levering by earning All-State honors as one of the top 15 finishers in the race. Sydney Dobbins (16th, 20:08) just missed that cut but earned points for the Lady Patriots.
Sarah Kemper (22nd, 20:22), Victoria Thompson (26th, 20:32), Sophia Forrestall (53rd, 21:45), Alex Steltenpohl (61st, 21:52) and Sarah Derriso (88th, 22:29) also ran in the race.
Homewood’s boys finished third at state, behind Scottsboro (31 points) and Mountain Brook (73). The Patriots scored 85 points to comfortably edge out Cullman for third.
With Scottsboro ascending from 5A and Mountain Brook moving down from 7A, Donaldson knew the 6A state meet would be a tough one for the boys. In the race, Homewood’s top runner, Crawford Hope, rolled his ankle but still managed a seventh-place finish with a time of 16:09.
“It was a testament to the guys’ determination, just how they were able to overcome things that happened in the race and the season and finish how they did. I’m proud of that third-place finish,” Donaldson said.
Joining Hope with All-State honors was Grayton Murray, who placed 14th in 16:56. Ivan Pichardo-Njenga (22nd, 17:12), Ben Murray (23rd, 17:13) and Andrew Laird (17:13) all scored points for the Patriots as well.
Jack Harchelroad (54th, 17:45), Graham Miner (87th, 18:22), Jack Freeman (89th, 18:23), Cole Bedics (104th, 18:41) and Adonijah Kaplelach (117th, 18:54) also ran.
Donaldson also lauded the seniors that ran at state, with Hope — a North Carolina commit — Pichardo-Njenga and Kaplelach on the boys side and Thompson and Steltenpohl for the girls running their final cross-country races for the program.
Both Homewood teams ran their best races of the year at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville early in the season, setting the tone for a strong season.
“I really could not be more proud of them,” Donaldson said. “Perseverance is needed in a 5K, race and to have that for the race, but also the season, it’s a testament to their hard work.”