Brush, Cole take home top prize at state meet

Miles Brush and Walker Cole earned individual cross-country state championships at the state meet Nov. 6 at Oakville Indian Mounds Park near Moulton.

Brush, from Chelsea High School, won the Class 6A race with a time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, more than 20 seconds quicker than his next competitor. Oak Mountain’s Cole paced the 7A boys field, beating everyone by 10 seconds with his race-winning time of 15:13. 

In the 6A race, Chelsea’s boys team finished sixth and the girls placed 10th. After Brush, Andrew Fielding (44th, 17:37), Thomas Ludwig (56th, 17:49), Luke Price (67th, 17:59) and Bay Brush (78th, 18:10) scored points for the Hornets. Alex Davis, Camden Thomas, Elijah Williams, Joseph McGaha and Jett Thomas also ran in the race.

Chelsea’s girls were paced by Cady McPhail, who earned All-State honors by placing 10th in 19:44. Avery Thompson (42nd, 21:16), Claire Neuberger (60th, 21:51), Ty Cason (90th, 22:31) and June Price (112th, 23:06) also scored points. Also running for the girls team were Joss O’Kelley, Caroline Moore, Anna Nettuno, Alana McCulla and Emma Anderson. 

Oak Mountain’s boys were sixth in the 7A race, with the girls coming home 10th. Along with Cole, Hunter Wright was an All-State runner by way of his 10th-place run in 16:05. Reese Bell (34th, 16:47), Kenny Chavez (62nd, 17:26) and Luke Black (63rd, 17:26) also made their mark on the scoresheet. Bryce Caton, Josh Stidfole, Noah Arrington, Matthew Womack and Michael Marvin ran for the Eagles as well.

The girls were paced by Lauren Cole, who finished 21st overall with a time of 20:33. Emma Grace Phillips was also strong, finishing in 26th in 20:44. Lexi Ray (66th, 21:43), Katie Wright (79th, 22:01) and Savannah Michael (92nd, 22:26) were the scorers for the Oak Mountain team. Also running for the Eagles were Avery Welch, Madeline Hubbert, Meredith Shoemaker, Sydney Heidrich and Lizzie Trammell. 

Briarwood’s teams also featured really strong runs in the 6A race, with the Lions girls finishing fourth and the boys placing fifth.

The Lady Lions were led by Mary Grace Parker, who finished fifth with a time of 19:26 and earned All-State honors. Bela Doss (29th, 20:37), Adrienne Goolsby (32nd, 20:50), Lena Anne Parker (46th, 21:26) and Brighton Bell (68th, 22:01) were the other top runners. Briarwood earned the fourth-place mark via tiebreaker over Northridge, as Sophie Galvin’s finish was better than Northridge’s sixth runner. Kelly Rollins, Anna Ferguson, Lauren Luker and Maddie Henderson also ran for Briarwood. 

Joseph Bell led Briarwood’s boys, as he ran his race in 17:04, good for 17th place. Ford Thornton (31st, 17:25), Luke Thompson (37th, 17:32), Joseph Hopkins (49th, 17:42) and Noah Williams (68th, 17:59) were the scorers for the Lions. Also running were Brandon Dixon, Patrick Hnizdil, Luke Baldwin, Jay Greene and Jackson Moore. 

Spain Park also had runners at the state meet, with Keith Warner (17th, 16:23) leading the boys team in the 7A race. Mackenzie Culpepper (eighth, 19:43) was an All-State honoree in the girls race.