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Photo courtesy of William Galloway, Mountain Brook Schools.
From left; Mountain Brook’s Lucy Benton finished sixth, Briarwood’s Bella Doss finished fourth, Catherine Johnstone of Athens High finished second, Homewood’s Emma Brooke Levering finished first, Briarwood’s Mary Grace Parker finished third, and Mountain Brook’s Mary Katherine Malone finished fifth in the AHSAA girls Class 6A state meet in Oakville on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo courtesy of Mountain Brook Schools.
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Photo by Deangelo McDaniel.
Homewood at the start of the 6A state championship cross-country meet in Oakville on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Deangelo McDaniel.
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Photo by Deangelo McDaniel.
Homewood's Emma Brooke Levering was the overall winner in the 6A state championship cross-country meet in Oakville on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Deangelo McDaniel.
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Photo by Deangelo McDaniel.
John Carroll's Arthur Langley was the overall winner during the 5A state championship cross-country meet in Oakville on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Deangelo McDaniel.
A pair of winning performances highlighted the cross-country state meet for Homewood and John Carroll high schools.
The state meet was held Nov. 11 at Oakville Indian Mounds Park.
Homewood’s Emma Brooke Levering took home the individual state championship in Class 6A, posting a blistering time of 17 minutes, 46 seconds. She posted the fastest time of any girls state champion across all classifications.
John Carroll’s Arthur Langley added yet another accolade to his illustrious high school career, winning the 5A boys title with a run of 15:35.
The team performances were impressive as well. In cross-country, the lowest point total wins, as points are credited by finishing order. Homewood’s boys posted a second-place finish in 6A, behind only Mountain Brook.
Mountain Brook posted 74 points, while Homewood edged UMS-Wright for second. The Patriots scored 129 points, compared to 132 from UMS-Wright. Northridge (167) and Helena (188) rounded out the top five.
Homewood’s boys claimed second with a full team effort, considering none qualified as all-state runners (awarded to the top 15). Isaiah Davis was the Patriots’ top runner, finishing 20th overall with a time of 16:19. Foster Laird was 24th in 16:31, while RJ Teter placed 26th in 16:34.
Will Doughty was 35th and Hayden Thomason was 42nd to score points for Homewood. Austin Nix, Wade Thomas, Blake Peacock, Charles Stone and Colvin Bussey also ran in the race.
Homewood’s girls finished third as a team, putting a pair of runners on the all-state team. The Patriots scored 111 points, behind Mountain Brook (46) and Briarwood (86), but ahead of Athens (192) and UMS-Wright (196).
Levering stole the show, beating her nearest competitor by more than 23 seconds. Caroline Wilder was the next Homewood runner, finishing 15th in 19:42. Lilly Maske and Bailey Zinn finished back-to-back in 31st and 32nd, while Sarah Kemper placed 35th to score points for the team.
Levering is the first girls state champion from Homewood since Lainey Phelps won three in a four-year span (2016, 2018-19). She came on strong in the second half of the season.
Marin McWilliams, Madelyn Thompson, Margaret Cherry, Lucia Hopkins and Sophie Ballard also ran for Homewood.
Kelly McNair took over as the head cross-country coach this season following four years as an assistant.
Langley was one of three John Carroll runners at state. His finish was nearly eight seconds better than anyone else. Eli McMillan finished 26th in 17:19, with Sebastian Guerrero running his race in 19:50. A pair of girls also raced, as eighth grader Zuzu Dillard impressed with a 16th-place run, while Reagan Flynn ran 66th overall.
