Runnin’ Patriots stride into season

The 2016 cross-country season established a new touchstone for the Homewood High School distance program. For the first time in school history, the Patriot boys and girls returned from the state meet with both team and individual titles in tow. 

Will Stone, a sophomore, pulled away from the Class 6A field to pace his squad to its fifth consecutive state championship. Freshman Lainey Phelps created the same impact for her Homewood girls, who won their first state crown thanks in part to her dominant, first-place effort. 

The school year has reset. Now, it’s time to attempt it all again. 

Both Patriot teams return key roster pieces and appear to possess the ingredients needed to maintain their spots atop the state standings. Head coach Lars Porter said his runners understand what’s at stake. 

“I don’t think they’re consumed by it, but I think there is a great deal of acknowledgment of what our legacy is going to be,” said Porter, who enters his sixth year at the program’s helm. “I think there’s a realization it’s their time to carry it on.”

Stone and Phelps, the reigning Gatorade Alabama Runners of the Year, will set the tone for their teams as they take aim at another set of blue maps. 

Stone enters his junior season as Alabama’s preeminent harrier. He clocked a 5K personal best of 15 minutes, 40 seconds last October at the Jesse Owens Classic before breaking through for his state victory, which he clinched in 16:01. He proceeded to lower his track times considerably over the winter and spring, running 4:21 in the 1,600 meters and 9:32 in the 3,200 meters.

This summer, Porter said his front-runner looked to be in “scary” good shape. 

“He’s just so regimented and he’s so focused,” Porter said. “What really separates him is his ability to never appear to get discouraged.”

Stone should largely feel encouraged about his individual positioning, along with that of his teammates. Despite losing a talented senior class that included Paul Selden, Will Smith and Pierce Jackson,  the Patriots bring back both experience and potential. 

Seniors Alvin Finch, Azariah Kipchumba and Lucas Lamb will be counted on, as will sophomore Carson Bedics. Bedics constructed an impressive ninth-grade campaign that concluded with a trip to the state outdoor track and field meet as a qualifier in the 3,200. Jack Gray, a junior, should also be in the competitive mix. 

“We’re in a really good spot,” Porter said. “It’s just going to be a focus on continuing to improve.”

Apart from Stone, the rest of Homewood’s boys have run in the 17-minute to 17:40 range for 5K. Those times will need to drop if they aspire to capture a sixth consecutive title. 

Cullman will likely pose the biggest threat to the Patriots' streak, but Porter said he’s not prone to fret. Instead, he’s trusting the process that has propelled his team to this point. 

“I think when you overreach and expect too much too soon, you begin to get frustrated and overthink and worry,” he said. “We’re holding on to the fact that it’s small steps.”

It would be hard for Porter to overreach on behalf of his Homewood girls, who enter the season with a full head of steam. They won state titles in cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track over the course of last school year — and only one team scorer graduated.  

“This is becoming their identity, their peer group,” Porter said. “It’s who they hang out with. It’s what they do.”

Phelps, like Stone, returns as the state’s top runner, but by an even wider margin. She recorded a personal best of 17:42 at the Jesse Owens meet last fall before winning 6A gold by more than a minute, in 18:02. 

Her times continued to drop on the track, where she secured four  more individual championships. She posted personal bests of 2:11 in the 800, 4:58 in the 1,600 and 10:44 in the 3,200. 

Those typically are untouchable marks for a freshman female.

“Our goals with her are, again, just to follow the process. We’re not in any hurry,” Porter said. “More times are going to come.”

One of Phelps’ biggest challenges this season will be finding sufficient competition. Few runners in the state are capable of keeping up with her beyond the opening third of a 3.1-mile race. 

But that doesn’t mean she trains in similar solitude. 

The Homewood girls return a polished supporting cast in Celie Jackson, Audrey Nabors, Hanna Brook Gibbons, Adah Allen and Edie Smith. 

Jackson, a sophomore, won the 3,200 meters at May’s state outdoor meet and finished fifth at last year’s cross-country championships. She owns a 5K best of 19:23. 

“I think we’re going to be in an incredible spot,” Porter said. “I think we’re going to be hard to beat.”

The Homewood teams will open their 2017 seasons Sept. 2 at the Brooks Twilight Classic in Memphis, Tennessee.