Eagles primed for sectionals

The Oak Mountain High School boys cross-country team has hit its stride at the right time.

Ahead of Thursday’s Class 7A, Section 3 meet at Veterans Park in Hoover, the Eagles have churned out consecutive top-flight performances. They earned runner-up team finishes at the Hewitt-Trussville Husky Challenge on Oct. 21 and the Scottsboro Last Chance Invitational on Oct. 26.

The vast majority of head coach Jim Moore’s runners set personal bests at the Scottsboro Invite, which was the final pre-sectional tune-up. 

“I knew it would be fun to go up there and race against teams we haven’t seen before on a course we haven’t been on before, but really the confidence factor is what motivated me to do it,” Moore said. “The team responded just superbly, better than I expected.”

Bryce Keefover, a junior, paced the Oak Mountain boys in each race. He picked up his first career victory at the Husky Challenge with a 5K time of 16 minutes, 46 seconds. Keefover made his decisive move with a half-mile remaining and held on in the closing meters.

“It raises [my confidence] so much,” Keefover said after the race. “I didn’t know I could do this.”

Three other Oak Mountain runners — Jonah Barrett (fourth), Hansen McCown (fifth) and Walker Cole (11th) — also recorded top 15 finishes at the Husky Challenge.

Those four, along with senior Eric Marin, bettered their performances in Scottsboro.

Keefover, Barrett and McCown each shed more than 30 seconds from their previous personal bests and placed among the top five.

Keefover crossed the line in 16:11 to claim his second victory in as many meets.

“He had two great races in a row,” Moore said. “I think we figured out what his strategy is, and he’s been executing really well."

Barrett and McCown finished third and fourth. They ran 16:21 and 16:23, respectively. Marin (13th, 16:48) and Cole (16th, 17:02) rounded out the team score.  

The Eagles will look to carry their momentum into the sectional meet, where they will compete with Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Spain Park, Hoover and Thompson for a spot at the Nov. 11 state meet. Oak Mountain has clinched one of the three qualifying spots in back-to-back years. 

Given its recent success, the team has a shot to do it again. 

“I knew they were talented, but really to see them come out like this really speaks a lot of their effort and work ethic,” Moore said.

The Oak Mountain girls also have run well as of late and will vie for a ticket to the state meet.  They notched a fourth-place showing in Scottsboro after finishing second in Trussville.  

Evie Bell, a sophomore, led her team at each meet. She placed third at the Husky Challenge and sixth at the Scottsboro Invite, where she ran 19:52. Her teammate, Nicole Payne, finished one spot behind her in 19:54. Emma Grace Phillips (17th, 20:37) also placed among the top 20.

Adrienne Cooley, Anna McGowan and Olivia Hannum didn’t trail far behind.

“They’ve started to click over the last couple of weeks, racing together, just executing surges together,” Moore said. “They’re putting themselves in good position to be a contender too.”

A top three finish at sectionals would send the team to its first state meet since 2012.