Alabama Girls' Top 10 Performances From Week Two: A Recap
Week Two of the 2026 Alabama cross country season came down to a full Saturday slate spread across the state - the 16th Annual Pepsi XC Challenge at H.A. Alexander Park in Moulton, the Black & Gold Classic in Scottsboro, the 30th Annual Tiger Classic at Kiesel Park in Auburn, and The montgoMery trAilblazer at Gateway Park in Montgomery. Between them they produced another sub-18, a freshman debut that landed second statewide, and nine Alabama girls under 20 minutes.
Grace Goldman of Hartselle continued her junior season with her second sub-18 clocking, running 17:53.00 to win the large schools race at the Pepsi XC Challenge by 15 seconds. The runner-up was the story of the weekend in her own right: Whitesburg Christian Academy freshman Nora Allan ran 18:08.60 to open her freshman year, a time that ranks second in Alabama.
At Scottsboro, Kyndal Hughes and Banks Bradford renewed a north Alabama rivalry, with the Fort Payne senior taking it by 11 seconds. At Kiesel Park - the same Auburn course that hosts Section 2 sectionals in October - Caroline Couey ran away from the Tiger Classic field by nearly two full minutes. And in Montgomery, Saint James senior Elley Goff won the Trailblazer by better than half a minute in the only sub-20 of that meet.
Here are Alabama's top 10 girls' 5K performances from Week Two.
1. Grace Goldman, Hartselle - 17:53.00
Goldman was the only Alabama girl under 18 minutes during Week Two. The Hartselle junior won the large schools race at the Pepsi XC Challenge in 17:53.00, finishing 15.60 seconds clear of the runner-up. Hartselle placed fifth in the team standings with 136 points.
2. Nora Allan, Whitesburg Christian Academy - 18:08.60
Allan's high school debut was the underclassmen performance of the weekend. The Whitesburg Christian freshman ran 18:08.60 for second at the Pepsi XC Challenge, a mark that ranks No. 2 statewide early this season. She was also the front end of a Warriors scoring pack that went 2-4-5-6-7 to win the large schools team title with an impressive 24 points.
3. Kyndal Hughes, Fort Payne - 18:47.30
Hughes took the win in the large girls race at the Black & Gold Classic in 18:47.30, breaking away from Scottsboro's Banks Bradford over the closing stretch to win by 11.08 seconds. The Fort Payne senior led the Wildcats to third in a 10-team field with 101 points.
4. Caroline Couey, Opelika - 18:52.41
Couey was alone from early on. The Opelika senior won the Tiger Classic at Kiesel Park in 18:52.41 and crossed the line 1:58.22 ahead of the next finisher -- the only girl in the race under 20 minutes, and one of only two under 21. It was the second-largest winning margin in the state during Week Two, behind only Isabella Wright's.
5. Banks Bradford, Scottsboro - 18:58.38
Bradford broke 19 minutes on her home course, running 18:58.38 for second at the Black & Gold Classic. The Scottsboro senior anchored a Wildcats squad that scored 62 points to finish as the top Alabama team in the field.
6. Kaylie Key, Athens Bible School - 19:20.30
Key went looking for the competition. The Pepsi XC Challenge splits its fields by enrollment - 4A-6A schools of 326 students and up in the large race, 1A-3A schools in the small race, with smaller schools free to move up. Athens Bible School ran its team in the small race, where it placed fourth with 111 points. Key moved up alone, finished third in the large race in 19:20.30 and beat the next athlete by 35.00 seconds. She would have won the small race with ease.
7. Avery Daniel, Springville - 19:47.21
Daniel took third at the Black & Gold Classic in 19:47.21, the third-fastest time in the race and the only Springville mark under 23 minutes. The Tigers placed seventh with 154 points.
8. Elley Goff, Saint James - 19:52.90
Goff opened her senior season with a wire-to-wire win at The montgoMery trAilblazer, hosted by Montgomery Academy at Gateway Park. The Saint James senior ran 19:52.90 and won by 37.1 seconds over Montgomery Academy's Livia Dwyer, the only girl in the varsity field under 20 minutes and one of five under 21. Sophomore teammate Molly Phillips was third in 20:48.50, but the Trojans finished with only four varsity girls and did not score.
9. Ami Marks, Bob Jones - 19:55.30
Marks was the fourth finisher in the large schools race at the Pepsi XC Challenge and the top Bob Jones runner in 19:55.30. The senior led the Patriots to a third-place team finish with 132 points, with sophomore teammate Elise Marks adding a 21:39.90 as the squad's second scorer.
10. Isabella Wright, East Lawrence - 20:00.30
Wright won the small schools race at the Pepsi XC Challenge on her county's home course in 20:00.30, three-tenths of a second away from becoming the 10th Alabama girl under 20 minutes in Week Two. Her margin was the largest of the weekend anywhere in the state: 2:01.30 over Randolph School's Meredith Walker.
5000 METER RUN - ALABAMA GIRLS, AUG. 24-29
| Rank | Time | Athlete | Team | Grade | Meet |
|---|
| 1 | 17:53.00 | Grace Goldman | Hartselle | Jr. | Pepsi XC Challenge - 1st, Large |
| 2 | 18:08.60 | Nora Allan | Whitesburg Christian Academy | Fr. | Pepsi XC Challenge - 2nd, Large |
| 3 | 18:47.30 | Kyndal Hughes | Fort Payne | Sr. | Black & Gold Classic - 1st, Large |
| 4 | 18:52.41 | Caroline Couey | Opelika | Sr. | Tiger Classic - 1st |
| 5 | 18:58.38 | Banks Bradford | Scottsboro | Sr. | Black & Gold Classic - 2nd, Large |
| 6 | 19:20.30 | Kaylie Key | Athens Bible School | Jr. | Pepsi XC Challenge - 3rd, Large |
| 7 | 19:47.21 | Avery Daniel | Springville | Sr. | Black & Gold Classic - 3rd, Large |
| 8 | 19:52.90 | Elley Goff | Saint James | Sr. | The montgoMery trAilblazer - 1st |
| 9 | 19:55.30 | Ami Marks | Bob Jones | Sr. | Pepsi XC Challenge - 4th, Large |
| 10 | 20:00.30 | Isabella Wright | East Lawrence | Jr. | Pepsi XC Challenge - 1st, Small |
All four meets were contested Saturday, Aug. 29.
JUST MISSED
Grissom senior Kassidy Young was the next Alabama girl on the list at 20:10.24, fifth at the Black & Gold Classic.
TEAM NOTES
Whitesburg Christian Academy, 24 points at the Pepsi XC Challenge. The Warriors put five scorers between 18:08.60 and 20:27.50 for a 19:51 average and a 2:18 spread. Huntsville High was second with 103, followed by Bob Jones (132), Buckhorn (134) and Hartselle (136).
Auburn, 34 points at the Tiger Classic. Depth was the story on the home course. The Tigers scored 2-5-8-9-10, put eight girls in the top 15 and averaged 21:15 with a 0:39 spread -- the tightest five-runner spread of the weekend statewide, and they did it without the individual winner. Enterprise (91) and Central-Clay County (96) rounded out the podium, with Smiths Station fourth on a 1:29 spread of its own.
Scottsboro, 62 points at the Black & Gold Classic. Signal Mountain (Tenn.) won the race outright with 49, but the host Wildcats were the top Alabama finisher, scoring 2-6-14-17-23 for a 21:04 average. Fort Payne (101) and Hazel Green (109) followed.