photo by Wesley Hallman

Shelby County High School freshman Jackie Head turns a corner during the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 5A sectional Thursday at Veterans Park in Hoover. Head finished third overall and qualified for the AHSAA Class 5A meet Nov. 14 at Indian Mounds Park in Oakville.

Freshman leads Shelby County to first state meet

By Wesley Hallman (Contact) | Shelby County Reporter

Published Thursday, November 5, 2009

HOOVER — Shelby County High School freshman Jackie Head remembers the solitary runs during her seventh-grade year as the lone member of the school's cross country team.

Two years later, Head's decision to run can be felt across the entire Columbiana community, as she helped the school qualify for the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 5A state meet for the first time in school history.

Head led the group of Wildcat runners as she finished third overall with a time 21:05.54 at a Class 5A sectional Thursday at Veterans Park in Hoover.

"I've run individually the last three years," Head said. "This year, I've actually had a team to run with. We're building up a program."

Brookelyn Smith, Stormie Cantrell, Anna Morgan Couch and Adriane Tharp also helped the Shelby County girls qualify for the state meet. Head, who got an early start in running, said leading the Wildcats to the state meet for the first time is a huge benchmark in her running career.

"I started running with my Dad at the age of three," Head said. "It's been wonderful. I really love this sport. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Shelby County's Clint Cox and Austin Barrett each qualified as individuals for the Class 5A boys meet.

The Briarwood Christian School boys and girls teams also qualified for the Class 5A state meet.

Ramsay Ritchie, who finished second overall with a time of 17:45.45, led the boys. Robert Patrick, Ben Watson, Thomas Countess and Trey Long also helped the boys qualify for the state meet.

Lauren Mason, Mary Catherine Ellard, Kimberly Galloway, Varina Hart and Mary Cotten finished No. 3-8 overall to lead the Briarwood Christian School girls to a sectional title.

Complete results are listed below. The top three teams and top six individuals not on a qualifying team advanced to the Class 5A state meet Nov. 14 at Indian Mounds Park in Oakville.

Xpress Timing - Contractor License HY-TEK's Meet Manager

Section 3-5A Section 4-6A @ Hoover - 11/5/2009

Veterans Park Hoover High

Last Completed Event

Event 2 Boys 5k Run CC Varsity 5A

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Name Year School Finals Points

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1 Lee, Griffin John Carroll 17:45.45 1

2 Ritchie, Ramsay Briarwood Ch 18:21.90 2

3 Booth, Jacob John Carroll 18:34.01 3

4 Wallace, Curly Central Tuscaloosa 18:41.13

5 Eagar, Joey John Carroll 18:41.84 4

6 Patrick, Robert Briarwood Ch 18:47.17 5

7 Lee, Dixon John Carroll 18:49.91 6

8 Watson, Ben Briarwood Ch 18:56.40 7

9 Countess, Thomas Briarwood Ch 19:03.64 8

10 Berman, Matthew John Carroll 19:14.33 9

11 Homan, Nic Beauregard H 19:25.14 10

12 Sollie, Zack Beauregard H 19:29.91 11

13 Long, Trey Briarwood Ch 19:33.62 12

14 Darwin, Stephen Briarwood Ch 19:49.95 13

15 Mcknight, Jack Beauregard H 20:01.05 14

16 Stewart, Steven John Carroll 20:11.31 15

17 Whorton, Sam Briarwood Ch 20:22.47 16

18 Vega, Alex John Carroll 20:22.70 17

19 Spiker, Blake Moody 20:31.82

20 Jones, Nicholas Briarwood Ch 20:37.38

21 Cook, Jake Beauregard H 20:39.07 18

22 Gauldin, Will Briarwood Ch 20:56.85

23 Haley, JoJo John Carroll 21:19.76

24 Parker, Kyle Moody 21:29.82

25 Belcher, Seth Beauregard H 21:43.24 19

26 Howard, Clay Beauregard H 22:46.46 20

27 Jackson, Parker Beauregard H 22:48.25 21

28 Hunt, Race Beauregard H 23:01.13

29 Hatcher, Mikal Central Tuscaloosa 23:02.05

30 Haley, Jared John Carroll 23:32.03

31 Cox, Clint Shelby County 23:55.64 22

32 King, Andy John Carroll 24:02.83

33 Barnett, Austin Shelby County 24:35.16 23

34 Cofer, Kyle Shelby County 24:38.41 24

35 Clark, Walker Beauregard H 24:59.72

36 Gooden, Jeremy Beauregard H 25:06.64

37 Slatsky, Andrew Moody 25:16.79

38 Danner, Chris Shelby County 28:58.12 25

39 Walkup, Grant Shelby County 29:33.97 26

Team Scores

=================================================================================

Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9

=================================================================================

1 John Carroll 23 1 3 4 6 9 15 17

Total Time: 1:33:05.54

Average: 18:37.11

2 Briarwood Christian Schoo 34 2 5 7 8 12 13 16

Total Time: 1:34:42.73

Average: 18:56.55

3 Beauregard High School 72 10 11 14 18 19 20 21

Total Time: 1:41:18.41

Average: 20:15.69

4 Shelby County 120 22 23 24 25 26

Total Time: 2:11:41.30

Average: 26:20.26

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Xpress Timing - Contractor License HY-TEK's Meet Manager

Section 3-5A Section 4-6A @ Hoover - 11/5/2009

Veterans Park Hoover High

Last Completed Event

Event 1 Girls 5k Run CC Varsity 5A

=======================================================================

Name Year School Finals Points

=======================================================================

1 Roberts, Rachel John Carroll 19:26.55 1

2 Woolley, McKenzie John Carroll 20:44.53 2

3 Head, Jacqueline Shelby County 21:05.54 3

4 Mason, Lauren Briarwood Ch 22:28.69 4

5 Ellard, Marycatherine Briarwood Ch 22:28.95 5

6 Galloway, Kimberly Briarwood Ch 22:29.17 6

7 Hart, Varina Briarwood Ch 23:21.57 7

8 Cotten, Marylant Briarwood Ch 23:22.22 8

9 Handlin, Lizzie Briarwood Ch 23:22.61 9

10 Noles, Kylie John Carroll 23:44.87 10

11 Simpson, Kalynn Beauregard H 24:00.31

12 Snyder, Elizabeth Briarwood Ch 24:43.55 11

13 Smith, Brookelynn Shelby County 24:56.83 12

14 Jennings, Ally Briarwood Ch 25:07.00

15 Cantrell, Stormie Shelby County 25:16.39 13

16 Thomas, Suzie Beauregard H 25:16.63

17 Marino, Lauren John Carroll 25:45.49 14

18 Dickson, Shelby Beauregard H 26:01.83

19 Haikala, Ali John Carroll 26:22.76 15

20 Williams, Evelyn Central Tuscaloosa 26:53.22

21 Kirkland, Katie John Carroll 27:01.45 16

22 McKinney, Molli Moody 28:25.38

23 Allison, Haile Moody 28:44.27

24 Gubenski, Mariel John Carroll 28:49.77 17

25 Blakely, Brooke Central Tuscaloosa 29:35.21

26 White, Hannah John Carroll 29:46.38

27 Lopez, Nina John Carroll 30:03.59

28 Issis, Courtney John Carroll 30:06.43

29 Couch, Anna Morgan Shelby County 31:33.57 18

30 Tharp, Adriane Shelby County 32:42.34 19

31 Hall, Andrea Central Tuscaloosa 32:45.47

Team Scores

=================================================================================

Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9

=================================================================================

1 Briarwood Christian Schoo 30 4 5 6 7 8 9 11

Total Time: 1:54:10.60

Average: 22:50.12

2 John Carroll 42 1 2 10 14 15 16 17

Total Time: 1:56:04.20

Average: 23:12.84

3 Shelby County 65 3 12 13 18 19

Total Time: 2:15:34.67

Average: 27:06.94

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