Arab Senior Megan Schwarze Wins Two Races
In 4 Days to Grab AHSAA Cross Country Spotlight
MONTGOMERY – Senior Megan Schwarze of Arab High School captured first place at two cross country meets – over a span of just four days — to grab the AHSAA Cross Country Spotlight this week.
Schwarze, who finished third in 3,200 meters and second in the 1,600 race at the AHSAA Class 5A Outdoor State Track Championships in Gulf Shores last May, won the 5A-7A Division title at the Randolph Cross Country Classic championships held Tuesday, Sept. 18, at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. She also won the 5A-7A division race of the Fairview Invitational the previous Saturday, clocking 22:22.59 to finish first in a field of 67 participants.
She ran the 5,000-meter course at UAH in 19:31.5 to beat a field of 121 runners with Vestavia Hills freshmen runners Crawford West, Katy Lambert and Sarah Comer finishing in the next three spots with times of 20:19.42, 20:25.34 and 20:27.34, respectively. The Rebels swept the team competition totaling 29 points.
Running at the Cullman County race, Schwarze edged Alexandria’s Abby Nunnelly, who had a time of 20:53.13, to win the event. The Arab girls’ team, coached by her dad James Schwarze, finish second with 35 points. Cullman, the winner with 33, was paced by sophomore Bernada Tizapa and junior Della Kelly, who crossed the finish line at Fairview 3-4 with times of 21:22.15 and 21:23.34, respectively.
On the boys’ side, sophomore Ethan Strand of Vestavia Hills High School had the fastest time of the week placing first in a field of 237 runners to capture the individual Class 5A-7A championship at the Randolph Cross Country Classic held at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Strand clocked 15:38.10 over the 5,000-meter course to edge senior teammate Bryce Hutchinson, who had a time of 16:06.89. The Rebels won the team crown with 33 points.
Thanks to results compiled by Express Timing and Alabama Runners, other top performances reported over the week included:
BOYS
SILAS FRANKLIN, SMITHS STATION: Won the Enterprise Wildcat Classic held at Enterprise with a winning time of 16:32.50 for the Panthers in the featured “A” race. Evan Crawford of the host Wildcats was second at 17:05.72. Smiths Station had five runners in the top 13 of the 89-participant field to claim the team title with 35 points. Auburn was second just one point behind with 36, and Enterprise third with 51.
AARON BROWN, HANCEVILLE: Won the Class 1A-4A division of the Randolph Cross Country Classic at the University of Alabama-Huntsville with a winning time of 17:05.26. The senior edged out Hatton senior Kagen Sutton, who finished second at 17:09.59 in the race that featured 257 runners. The top 10 runners all came from different schools. DAR won the team title with 118 points.
JACOB WARNER, SPAIN PARK: The senior clocked 16:57.85 to capture the boys’ varsity Top 10 race at the Spain Park Classic held at Hoover’s Veterans Park. Wetumpka senior Cory Anthony was second with a 17:17.69 time in the race that featured 294 participants. Hoover captured the team championship with 67 points, and Montgomery Catholic was second with 102.
BRADLEY SCHIMIDT, BAYSIDE ACADEMY: Edged T.R. Miller runner Rider Jernigan by nine seconds to win the Battle of the Bay varsity boys’ race held at Loxley Municipal Park last weekend. Schmidt clocked 18:06.57 and Jernigan had a time of 18:15.03 in the field of 148 participants. Bayside, the host school, finished second overall with 62 points. UMS-Wright was third with 63. Pensacola Christian won the team title with 53 points.
SAM MOULTRIE, GUNTERSVILLE: The Wildcats senior crossed the finish line with a time of 16:18.77 to win the Class 5A-7A division race championship at the Fairfield Invitational. Cullman senior Will Thompson and junior Edgar Medina finished 2-3 with time of 16:32.68 and 17:13.49, respectively, in the race that totaled 97 participants. The Bearcats posted 35 points to win the team championship over runner-up Springville (59).
DAVIS HOLDBROOKS, WINFIELD: The Pirates’ senior runner won the Class 1A-4A division race at the Fairview Invitational with a time of 17:15.26. DAR’s Kyle Saylor finished second in the 173-participant field with a 17:48.33 time. White Plains won the team championship with 55 points. Senior Jake Moore and junior Luke Larson finished fifth and seventh, respectively, for White Plains.
JEAN PIERRE LeROUX, BOB JONES: Captured the Clements Invitational with a 16:33.75 time at the competition held at Blue Springs course near Athens. The junior edged two Lawrence County runners, freshman Steele Joiner (16:55.73) and senior Blake Terry (16:58.71), who finished 2-3, respectively. No other runner in the field of 186 participants cracked the 17-minute mark. Bob Jones won the team competition with 58 points and Lawrence County was second with 85.
HUNTER HARWELL, MOUNTAIN BROOK: The Spartans’ senior had the top time as Mountain Brook beat Hewitt-Trussville 21-37 in a dual match held at Trussville last week. He clocked 17:12.40 and Hewitt sophomore Aaron Himes was second with a 17:39.47 time. Eighty runners competed for the two teams with the top five finishers for each team counting in the team scoring.
GIRLS
AMARIS TYYNISMAA, MONTGOMERY CATHOLIC: The senior beat a field of 215 runners with a time of 18:49.21 to win the Spain Park Cross Country Classic varsity girls’ Top 10 featured race at a meet held Sept. 15 at Hoover’s Veterans Park. Teammate Lily Bachi, a freshman, was second at 20:06.09. Catholic won the team title as well with 43 points, and Hoover was second with 59.
SAMANTHA ROGERS, AUBURN: Clocked 19:45.49 to capture first place at the Enterprise Invitational Classic and helped the Lady Tigers win the event with a perfect score of 15. Central-Phenix City was second with 79 points and Enterprise third with 86. Auburn teammates Harper McGowan, Hallie Stewart, Sarah Parnell, Sara Pacer, Sangie Lincoln-Velez and Elizabeth Nist all finished in order behind Rogers to take the top seven places. Only the first five figured in the team scoring, however. McGowan had a 20:04.80 time, Stewart crossed 20:24.56 and the rest all completed the race with times falling below 20:48.
JULIANNE HILL, MADISON ACADEMY: The senior won the 5,000-meter title in the Class 1A/4A Division clocking 20:25.25 to win by 1:21over runner-up Haley Hughes of DAR. St. Bernard won the team crown with 85 points in the race that included a field of 149 runners.
OLIVIA BLACKMON, T.R. MILLER: Won the girls’ race of the Battle of the Bay Invitational held at Loxley Municipal Park with a time of 21:33.52 to beat the field of 123 runners. UMS-Wright’s Brenda Ellis was second clocking 22:57.77. The Tigers won the team competition with 37 points. UMS-Wright had 66 points to finish second in the 12-team field.
BIJOU PHILLIPS, GOOD HOPE: The ninth grader clocked 20:59.54 to beat a field of 101 participants for the Fairview Invitational Class 1A-4A division championship. DAR sophomore Elizabeth Stone Butler and senior Haley Hughes finished second and third respectively for the Patriots with times of 21:22.93 and 21:34.95, respectively. Brindlee Mountain placed three runners in the top 12 to claim the team title with 58 points. St. Bernard was second with 75.
EMILY DANIEL, CLEMENTS: The junior led Lawrence County to the Clements Invitational title with a 19:34.99 time to finish first in the field of 113 runners. The meet was held at the Blue Springs course near Athens. West Limestone juniorCassidy Winter was second clocking 20:30.39. The Red Devils won the team title with 42 points. Deshler was runner-up in the team competition with 137 points.
LILY HULSEY, MOUNTAIN BROOK: The Spartans’ junior finished first with a 21:01.00 time as Mountain Brook downed Hewitt-Trussville 21-34 in a dual match held at Trussville last week. Hewitt sophomore Amelia Brady was second at 21:45.26. A total of 46 runners competed for the two teams with the top five finishers for each team counting in the team scoring.
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