By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

DECATUR – Thompson’s McKenzie Hogue continued her dominating cross country season by picking up her second win of the year at the DEW it on the Trails event held at Point Mallard in Decatur on Saturday, Oct. 14.

One of the more impressive aspects of Hogue’s first-place finish is that it marked her fifth time in six events to finish inside the top 3. She has now finished inside the top 2 four times in six races and has yet to finish outside of the top 6 at any of her six races this season.

Hogue, just a junior, finished the event in 18:37.90 to win the race by a little less than 30 seconds over Huntsville’s Abbey Weitenbeck, who finished with a time of 19:03.40.

As a team, the Warriors finished in eighth as they only had one other top-50 finisher in Emily Allen. Allen, a freshman, finished in 46^th with a time of 21:51.30.

Jenna Mitchell, Ryleigh Easterling and Abby Grace Walker added some consistency behind Allen, however, finishing in 61^st, 63^rd and 64^th, respectively.

The highest team finish came from the Pelham Panthers in fourth place, who grabbed a total of 143 points, which was just nine points behind Lawrence County in third.

It started for the Panthers, as it does every race, with junior Katie Strozier. Strozier finished just inside the top 20 in 18^th with a time of 20:27. 70. Strozier has yet to finish outside the top 26 this season and now has three top-20 finishes.

There were some strong performances behind Strozier as well. Juniors Alex Wilkins and Meredith Bass finished in 27^th and 29^th, respectively, to give Pelham three top-30 runners.

Wilkins finished with a time of 20:55.40, while Bass finished with a time of 21:08.40. Madilyn Dubose and Sydney Stephenson both finished in the top 50 taking 47^th and 48^th, respectively.

Just behind Pelham in fifth place with a total of 176 points was Spain Park as the Jaguars picked up their second top-5 finish in as many events.

Spain Park was led by sophomore Holland Lidikay, who finished in 14^th with a time of 20:07.90. Fellow sophomore Mary Virginia McKinley was the Jags’ next highest finisher taking 33^rd with a time of 21:22.00.

Kristen Hopkins, Elizabeth DeVane and Paige Walls all finished inside the top 60 with a consistent effort. Hopkins, a junior, finished in 51^st with a time of 22:16.20.

DeVane and Walls, both sophomores, finished in 58^th and 60^th, respectively. DeVane finished with a time of 22:40.00 and Walls finished with a time of 22:47.90.

Chelsea finished 12^th in the overall team standings, but it was a highlight day for sophomore Teanna Cason, who finished in 30^th with a time of 21:12.40. According to Alabamarunners.com, that time marks the best of her young career. She now has three finishes inside the top 30 and one inside the top 10.