St. Paul’s Sweeps Class AA Section 1 in Daphne as Private School Cross Country Teams Set Up State Meet in Moulton
St. Paul's Episcopal won both Class AA Section 1 titles in Daphne, and Providence Christian won both Class A Section 1 titles, as teams across Alabama qualified for Saturday's private school state meet.
DAPHNE, Ala. — St. Paul’s Episcopal had the kind of day every cross country program wants before a state meet, winning both the boys and girls titles at the Class AA Section 1 meet at the Bayside Academy Bayside 64 Sportsplex.
Private school sectional competition for Class AA and Class A was held Oct. 29 in Daphne, Munford and Huntsville, ahead of Saturday’s state championships at Oakville Indian Mounds Park in Moulton. Based on the sectionals, St. Paul’s, UMS-Wright and Randolph look like the teams to watch in Class AA, while Providence Christian, St. James, Westminster School at Oak Mountain and Whitesburg Christian stand out in Class A.
Class AA, Section 1 (Daphne)
William Gill won the boys race in 16 minutes, 9.96 seconds, leading St. Paul’s past UMS-Wright, 34-54. McGill-Toolen Catholic placed third with 90 points, and Houston Academy was fourth with 97.
The girls race was much tighter. St. Paul’s relied on good pack running to hold off UMS-Wright, 40-43, with McGill-Toolen third at 62. St. Michael Catholic’s Emily Friedel took the individual win in 19:05.88.
“I don’t think we had our best race on the boys’ side, but we had some boys come through for us to help the team scoring,” St. Paul’s coach John Brigham said. “We’re looking to improving on that next week. Our girls ran great today, particularly our number four and five runners (Frances Inge and Cam Wrights). They came through in the last half mile, and I think that’s what made the difference for us points wise.”
Class A, Section 1 (Daphne)
Providence Christian swept this division as well. Its boys defeated St. Luke’s, 46-57, despite a winning individual time of 16:45.30 from St. Luke’s Zachary Robinson. St. Luke’s and Montgomery Academy both scored 57 points, with the Wildcats taking second on a tiebreaker based on a higher-finishing No. 6 runner. Prattville Christian was fourth with 99.
Providence Christian’s girls edged Montgomery Academy, 65-69. St. James, led by Elley Goff’s winning time of 18:56.30, placed third with 74 points, and St. Luke’s was fourth with 80.
“The Lord blessed us with some great weather,” Providence Christian coach Cliff Carter said. “We were on a mission, the young men especially. They did a good job of executing the game plan and pulling the guys together for a tight pack, which was number one for us. We believe that sets us up for success going into the state championship.”
Carter also praised his young girls team, noting that seventh-graders Janie Dykes and Grace Payne finished in its top five.
Goff had a stiff challenge from Friedel, as Class A and Class AA runners competed at the same time.
“I was feeling so nervous, but once I settled into a pace and it was a good day,” she said. “We just had a bunch of our guys PR today, so I was actually feeling confident. I got out really quickly, and I had my teammate (Molly Phillips) right behind me, and having Emily with me the whole race. We were running together for the first two miles, and we were keeping each other going until mile three, and then I had a little kick.”
Class AA, Section 2 (Huntsville)
At John Hunt Running Park, Brooks Johnson won in 16:12.1 to lead Randolph to a 30-72 victory over St. John Paul II Catholic. Westminster Christian (87) and Briarwood Christian (99) rounded out the top four.
St. John Paul II took the girls title by beating Randolph, 25-61. Briarwood Christian, led by Allie Hale’s winning 19:12.0, was third with 61, and Westminster Christian was fourth with 108.
Class A, Section 2 (Munford)
Westminster School at Oak Mountain won both races at Munford High School. Its boys scored just 19 points behind a 1-2-3 finish from Quinn McCurry (17:02.5), Josiah Currier (17:02.6) and Aiden McEachran (17:06.5), placing five runners in the top 10. Altamont was second with 73, followed by Westbrook Christian at 80 and Holy Spirit Catholic at 81.
Westminster’s girls won with 38 points despite a 1-2 finish from Holy Spirit’s Chloe Moore (21:22.5) and Mary Besanceney (21:26.1). Altamont was second with 45, Holy Spirit third with 54 and Faith Christian fourth with 100.
Class A, Section 3 (Huntsville)
Whitesburg Christian dominated at John Hunt Running Park. Its boys placed five runners in the top 10 behind Joseph Bolton’s winning 17:08.3 and beat Athens Bible School, 27-38, with Mars Hill Bible third (67) and Shoals Christian fourth (126).
The Whitesburg Christian girls were even stronger, as Nora Allan won in 19:21.0 and all nine runners placed in the top 10 in a 19-63 win over Athens Bible. Shoals Christian was third (79) and Mars Hill Bible fourth (103).
State championship schedule
The private school championships are Saturday at Oakville Indian Mounds Park in Moulton:
- 7:50 a.m.: Class A girls
- 8:10 a.m.: Class AA boys
- 9:10 a.m.: Class A boys
- 9:30 a.m.: Class AA girls
