Meet Preview: Jesse Owens Classic

MEET STATISTICS
Teams Entered: 194
Athletes Entered: 4864

GOLD BOYS - 355 entries / 44 teams
GOLD GIRLS - 320 entries / 43 teams
SILVER BOYS - 339 entries / 50 teams
SILVER GIRLS - 279 entries / 45 teams
BRONZE BOYS - 508 entries / 43 teams
BRONZE GIRLS - 348 entries / 38 teams
GREEN BOYS -  244 entries / 26 teams
GREEN GIRLS - 184 entries / 29 teams
RED BOYS - 620 entries / 52 teams
RED GIRLS - 372 entries / 44 teams
JH LARGE BOYS - 588 entries / 33 teams
JH LARGE GIRLS - 510 entries / 32 teams
JH SMALL BOYS - 129 entries / 24 teams
JH SMALL GIRLS -  80 entries / 18 teams

The 2013 Jesse Owens Classic will again be one of the largest Cross Country meets in the southeast. Over 4800 athletes will toe the line on Saturday in what has become a yearly pre-state midseason matchup for Alabama teams.   Runners will compete in five divisions at the Varsity level and 2 divisions at the Junior High Level.  Each race is packed with athletes and should provide entertainment for fans throughout the day. 

2013 GIRLS GOLD DIVISION TEAM PREVIEW

In this year’s Gold Div Team Preview, 320 athletes are entered across 43 teams including many of the top teams from Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi as they are currently ranked in the AlabamaRunners.com database.  This will make this race one of the most competitive in meet history just off of those numbers alone. 

The top spots look like a close race between Morristown-West and Maryville, both schools making the trip from Tennessee.  Meet host Lawrence County should be the top performing local area team. 

2013 GIRLS GOLD INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW

Bailee Dean (Cane-Ridge) 17:60 avg, Emma Sloan (Ensworth) 18:24 avg, and Kaitlyn York (American Christian Academy) 18:38 avg are the top seeded runners in the division.  York, a junior, is the top ranked runner in Alabama according to the AlabamaRunners.com database.  Other girls from Alabama to watch in the race are Mary Grace Strozier (Pelham), Cele Moon (Wilson), and Emma Garner (Opelika).

2013 BOYS GOLD DIVISION TEAM PREVIEW

Chiles (FL) and Brentwood Academy (TN) are almost matched evenly with runners.  The two teams will be fighting out for the top spot.  Auburn HS and Ravenwood (TN) will be fighting to round out the top 3.  Homewood is also looking to break in to the top 5 but will need a strong showing from their 5th runner.

2013 BOYS GOLD INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW

Wesley Pectol (Greeneville HS, TN) goes in Saturday as the top seeded runner.  Pectol has gone under 16:00min several times this year and has run 15:34.  Quintin McKinnish (Morristown-West), Eric Anderson (Montgomery-Bell), and Mac Macoy (Vestavia) round out the top 5.  Macoy is the only Alabama runner in the top 10 according to the MileSplit virtual meet.  Ben Bryant (Opelika) has been knocking seconds off his time each meet this season and could possibly break in to the top 10.