Huntsville Times staff report
Bob Jones junior Hunter Spurgeon didn't have mud caked on his body after finishing third in the Randolph School Cross Country Classic on Tuesday. He just had a light coating all over his legs.
Meanwhile, Austin's 5-foot-tall Jennifer Dunn, the girls winner, was soaked from the shoulders down after running through water up to her waist in a creek dammed with hay bales on the race's course at UAH.
"It was a little tough to get out of the swamp," Spurgeon said after helping Bob Jones sweep the boys and girls races. "You try to step up to get out and you're sucked in."
Bob Jones coach Robin Gaines, who stayed dry, thought the challenging 3.1-mile course with steep hills and four crossings of the creek on the southwest corner of the UAH campus was a good change of pace.
"Every course shouldn't be flat and your PR (personal record) every week," Gaines said. "The kids love the course, going home with mud all over. The times are going to be slower, but that's OK."
Both Dunn and boys winner Cody Hood of Huntsville High were in second midway through their races after completing their first loop of the course. But Dunn finished in 19 minutes, 57 seconds - 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Adrianna Poole of Sparkman.
Hood passed Hatton's Derick Hallmark shortly before the final creek crossing to finish in 17:44, six seconds in front of runner-up Hallmark and Spurgeon. "My plan was to just have some fun," said Hood, who ran at Scottsboro last year. "With about a mile to go, it was there, so I went for it."
The Bob Jones boys had six of the top 17 finishers - all ahead of the top finisher for runner-up Lawrence County. Bob Jones had 41 points to Lawrence County's 106.
In the girls race, Bob Jones had seven runners in the top 18, led by Kristin Vaughn in fourth, and finished with 52 points. Lawrence County was second with 78. The Lady Patriots' top runner, Laura Jones, missed the race with an injury.
"I'm thrilled," Gaines said. "After about fourth or fifth (overall), we are in a stampede. That's how you want it."