Monday, November 7, 2022 – The Mountain Brook boys and girls varsity cross country teams emerged victorious on Saturday in the rain at the AHSAA 6A cross country state championship meet. This marks the first time since 2011 that the two programs found themselves at the top of the podium together. The girls title is their second in a row, bringing their program total to 25 state championships (an AHSAA girls cross country record). Meanwhile, the boys hoisted the blue map trophy for the first time since 2017, making it their 15th championship in program history.

 

“Anything can happen at the state meet,” head coach Michael McGovern said. “Especially for the guys, you only get so many chances at the state meet. We definitely took advantage of that in both races.”

 

Senior, Reagan Riley, was the first place finisher in the girls race for the second year in a row, finishing five kilometers in a speedy 17 minutes and 57.30 seconds. Mary Katherine Malone, Virginia Averyt, Gracie Walker and Kennedy Hamilton rounded out the top five for the Spartans in the girls race. All five finished in the top 15 to earn All-State honors.

 

For the boys team, Clayton Collins finished second overall to lead the Spartans. He was followed by a trio of Spartan All-State finishers, Braden Little, Harry Clark and George Pelekis. Jack Chapman crossed the finish line in 16th place to give the Spartans a team score of 47 points, edging out Homewood who finished with 65 points.

 

The two state championships bring Mountain Brook Athletics’ total to 181 across the board, more than any other high school in Alabama. The girls 25th championship is the third most of all athletic programs:

This fall, every Mountain Brook cross country program won a title at their respective level. This includes junior high boys and girls, junior varsity boys and girls and now varsity boys and girls.

 

“We treat our grades 7-12 as one program,” McGovern said. “Here, cross country and track are a really important part of this community. People really emphasize it with their kids and want them to be a part of our program. That’s a key to our success and we have a very bright future.”