Oak Mountain sweeps Last Chance Invitational as Shoemaker takes fourth meet win of year

Published 12:32 pm Tuesday, October 31, 2023

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

SCOTTSBORO – The Oak Mountain Eagles continued their blazing run ahead of the postseason at the Last Chance Invitational as the boys and girls teams swept both races at the meet and John Shoemaker won his fourth meet of the season on Thursday, Oct. 26 at the John R. Esslinger Trail of Champions in Scottsboro, Alabama.

In the boys race, Shoemaker won with a time of 15:15.52, which helped him finish 14 seconds ahead of the next highest finisher. In addition to his first-place finish at the Last Chance Invitational, he also won the Shelby County Championships, Oak Mountain Invitational and St. Bernard Oktoberfest while setting a PR at the Jesse Owens Classic.

Oak Mountain’s John Shoemaker won his fourth meet of the year at the Last Chance Invitational. (Contributed)

Chelsea had three of the top eight finishers, including Parker Campbell in second place with a time of 15:57.49, Hudson Williams in fourth place with a time of 15:57.49 and Conner Campbell in eighth place with a time of 16:21.17. Wilbur Valencia Nava also finished in 30th place for the Hornets with a time of 17:11.91.

Elsewhere for Oak Mountain, Whitt Kilgore came in ninth place with a time of 16:24.65, Bennett Phillips finished in 11th place with a time of 16:29.99, Cooper Jeffcoat came in 13th place with a time of 16:33.17 and Luke Marvin rounded out the scoring runners with a time of 16:48.10

In all, the Eagles score 53 points to clinch the win in the team standings.

For Thompson, Doster Robinson came in 37th place with a time of 17:26.70 and Nick Zito finished in 55th with a time of 17:51.36.

Pelham’s top finisher was Robert Lewis, who came in 80th place with a time of 18:24.29.

In the girls race, Oak Mountain’s Lauren Cole came in second place with a time of 18:57.83 to lead all area runners. Catarina Williams came in sixth place with a time of 19:31.79, with Ava Fields finishing right behind her in seventh place with a time of 19:34.40.

Faith Scardino came in 14th place with a time of 20:03.62 and Brighton Bell finished in 19th place with a time of 20:18.19. Those five finishes gave Oak Mountain 44 points and a win in the team standings.

Chelsea’s Ty Cason came in fifth place with a time of 19:27.24, Mia Dunavant finished in 12th place with a time of 19:49.58, and Juliette Edwards came in 16th place with a time of 20:08.43.

Hannah Quick earned an 18th place finish with a time of 20:15.34, and Adeline Keith finished in 25th place with a time of 20:15.34 to round out the scoring runners. Overall, the Hornets scored 71 points and came in second place.

Janelle Ramos of Pelham was the top runner for the Panthers with a 21st place finish and a time of 20:21.59. Emily Wester came in 36th place with a time of 21:45.22 and Mikayla Leftwich finished in 49th place with a time of 22:29.05.

Thompson seventh grader Delaney Paganelli came in 33rd place with a time of 21:29.53 to lead the Warriors. Dia Montiel-Duenas earned a 37th place finish with a time of 21:45.66 and Hanna Sheffield finished in 48th place with a time of 22:25.94.