The Southern Showcase 2020 - Saturday Large Schools
There was a perfect combination of factors in Huntsville early on a near perfect Saturday morning that led to some historic performances & a plethora of outstanding races throughout the day. The weather was roughly 30 degrees cooler than the previous weekend, & the humidity was a non-factor. The wind was very light, and the course, after a year of grooming, was in fantastic shape. Last but not least, the competition that showed up to race at The Southern Showcase was very high caliber.
Boys 5k Run CC LG Schools A
Through the mile Vestavia's Strand and Homewood's Hope were accompanied by a pack including Brentwood's Vanderkolk, a pair from Huntsville seniors in Danner & Scales, and Chelsea's Brush who has burst onto the scene this year. The first mile runs fast, and the front pack's split was no slower than 4:40 from front to back. The second mile is the toughest, with several hills & slight inclines throughout it. This is where Strand and Hope moved away from the pack and began a duel up front. The chase pack was led for the most part by Danner through about the 2.25 mark. After climbing the primary hill on the course, the racers are rewarded with a roughly 400 meter steady descent. Who was going to be 1 and 2 was of course never in doubt after halfway, but the two future UNC teammates battled until 100 or so meters to go when Strand made his patented big move and pulled away.
Officially, 21 boys finished under the 16 minute mark in the A race for the 5K. Two under 15, and 6 more were under 15:30. This was definitely one of the most entertaining, and competitive Alabama high school races in recent memory.
On the team side, the Huntsville boys stole the show, with a 15:29 average & a 1-5 split of only 32 seconds. Danner has been the top guy for the Panthers so far this season, but fellow senior Gabe Scales is also coming on strong. Rounding out the scoring 5: junior Will Pinson, senior Jackson Nguyen, and junior Matthew Cobb. Scottsboro's boys team, still running without their #2 returner from 2019, finished second with a very strong team average of 15:57 and scored 100 points. Franklin of Tennessee finished a close third scoring 104 points.
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Results - Men
1 Ethan Strand 12 Vestavia Hills HS 14:36.88 1
2 Crawford Hope 12 Homewood HS 14:41.63 2
3 Kevin Vanderkolk 12 Brentwood Hi 15:06.04 3
4 Jackson Danner 12 Huntsville HS 15:12.36 4
5 Miles Brush 11 Chelsea High School 15:17.91 5
6 Gabe Scales 12 Huntsville HS 15:21.36 6
7 Cooper Atkins 12 Scottsboro HS 15:24.81 7
8 Will Pinson 11 Huntsville HS 15:27.21 8
9 Brady Barton 12 Helena High School 15:34.26 9
10 Collin Mayfield 12 Geraldine HS 15:39.52
11 Jackson Nguyen 12 Huntsville HS 15:40.31 10
12 Jack Lowe 11 Pell City Hi 15:43.17
13 Hudson Hurst 12 Franklin Hig 15:43.92 11
14 Matthew Cobb 11 Huntsville HS 15:44.37 12
15 Zach Avenel 11 Scottsboro HS 15:44.94 13
16 Nate Martinez 10 Independence 15:45.83 14
17 Joseph Perry 11 Ums-Wright 15:48.66
18 Evan Hill 10 Scottsboro HS 15:49.10 15
19 Charles Perry 9 Ums-Wright 15:52.37
20 Graham Ferguson 12 Franklin Hig 15:54.05 16
Team Scores
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Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
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Results - Men
1 Huntsville HS 40 4 6 8 10 12 23 35
Total Time: 1:17:25.61
Average: 15:29.13
2 Scottsboro HS 100 7 13 15 27 38 40 70
Total Time: 1:19:47.84
Average: 15:57.57
3 Franklin High School 104 11 16 20 25 32 56 57
Total Time: 1:20:22.94
Average: 16:04.59
4 Vestavia Hills HS 149 1 17 30 46 55 101 115
Total Time: 1:20:17.86
Average: 16:03.58
5 Father Ryan High School 190 18 31 44 48 49 58 78
Total Time: 1:22:16.25
Average: 16:27.25
6 Brentwood High School 211 3 26 43 60 79 80 95
Total Time: 1:21:58.77
Average: 16:23.76
7 Cullman 229 21 33 47 52 76 106 120
Total Time: 1:23:02.64
Average: 16:36.53
8 Independence High School 234 14 24 62 63 71 97 112
Total Time: 1:22:48.88
Average: 16:33.78
9 Homewood HS 242 2 37 66 68 69 84 96
Total Time: 1:21:59.13
Average: 16:23.83
10 Beech Senior High School 243 36 39 42 53 73 74 89
Total Time: 1:23:21.35
Average: 16:40.27
Girls 5k Run CC LG Schools A
In the first high school race of the day, Crawford West of Vestavia ran away with this race early on. However, Vanderkolk of Brentwood decided to try to make it close late, and both girls ended up breaking the 18 minute barrier. The top 10 were all under 19 minutes, and the top 20 were at 19:30 or faster in a September race, which further establishes those factors mentioned above. Candy McPhail of Chelsea, and a pair of teammates in Ava Macintosh and Sarah Cobb of Huntsville were three other Alabama runners who finished in the top 10 with Crawford. Tennessee has a strong contingency of girls this season, making up 13 of the top 18 spots following up their deep showing as a state last weekend at Chickasaw Trails.
In the team battle, Brentwood of Tennessee again made the trip across state lines a worthwhile one, scoring an impressive low of 42 points by placing three in the top 5 overall. Vestavia Hills and Franklin of Tennessee rounded out the top three teams scoring 123 and 131 respectively.
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Results - Women
1 Crawford West 11 Vestavia Hills HS 17:44.05 1
2 Kaitlyn Vanderkolk 12 Brentwood Hi 17:55.35 2
3 Brooke Tyll 10 Brentwood Hi 18:12.66 3
4 Cady McPhail 10 Chelsea High School 18:28.98 4
5 Peyton Strauss 9 Brentwood Hi 18:30.05 5
6 Ava McIntosh 10 Huntsville HS 18:37.59 6
7 Mae Mae Powe 9 Baylor School 18:47.30 7
8 Jaynie Halterman 9 Independence 18:52.82
9 Emma Wilson 12 Independence 18:54.41
10 Sarah Cobb 9 Huntsville HS 18:57.44 8
11 Katie Knapp 9 Father Ryan 19:00.29 9
12 Madison Lanai 12 Franklin Hig 19:10.14 10
13 Ayers Leggett 12 Franklin Hig 19:11.83 11
14 Anna Kate Boles 12 Vestavia Hills HS 19:12.19 12
15 Veronica Beech 10 Franklin Hig 19:13.87 13
16 Eden Mittelsdorf 12 Brentwood Hi 19:19.75 14
17 Emma Pearson 10 Independence 19:23.24
18 Grace Feltner 10 Father Ryan 19:26.42 15
19 Maci Mills 11 Hewitt-Truss HS 19:27.86 16
20 Bernarda Tizapa 12 Cullman 19:30.86 17
Team Scores
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Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
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Results - Women
1 Brentwood High School 42 2 3 5 14 18 21 32
Total Time: 1:33:30.30
Average: 18:42.06
2 Vestavia Hills HS 123 1 12 25 36 49 50 53
Total Time: 1:37:48.94
Average: 19:33.79
3 Franklin High School 131 10 11 13 46 51 64 69
Total Time: 1:39:17.19
Average: 19:51.44
4 James Clemens 149 19 22 24 30 54 56 65
Total Time: 1:40:06.96
Average: 20:01.40
5 Hewitt-Trussville HS 151 16 29 33 34 39 40 86
Total Time: 1:40:25.19
Average: 20:05.04
6 Father Ryan High School 163 9 15 35 45 59 74 79
Total Time: 1:40:30.48
Average: 20:06.10
7 Homewood HS 170 20 28 37 42 43 44 48
Total Time: 1:41:14.91
Average: 20:14.99
8 Huntsville HS 175 6 8 38 55 68 72 94
Total Time: 1:40:26.27
Average: 20:05.26
9 Baylor School 192 7 23 47 57 58 82 83
Total Time: 1:41:24.22
Average: 20:16.85
10 Scottsboro HS 268 27 41 52 71 77 78
Total Time: 1:44:41.12
Average: 20:56.23
The Southern Showcase 2020 - Saturday Large Schools
There was a perfect combination of factors in Huntsville early on a near perfect Saturday morning that led to some historic performances & a plethora of outstanding races throughout the day. The weather was roughly 30 degrees cooler than the previous weekend, & the humidity was a non-factor. The wind was very light, and the course, after a year of grooming, was in fantastic shape. Last but not least, the competition that showed up to race at The Southern Showcase was very high caliber.