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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

BOSTON – Two of the county’s top runners competed against the best athletes in the country on one of the biggest stages in track and field.

Oak Mountain’s Cooper Jeffcoat and Pelham’s Emily Wester each competed in the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston from March 13-16.

The annual showcase is one of the most prestigious events in the sport and allowed both Jeffcoat and Wester to test themselves against premier athletes from across the United States.

Jeffcoat competed in two separate events, the boys 800-meter run and the boys one-mile run, while Wester competed in the girls 800-meter run.

Jeffcoat secured one of the best finishes of anyone in the event as he came in eighth place in a field of 184 runners with his time of 1:51.42.

He finished the one-mile run with a time of 4:26.91, good enough for 144th place in a field of 170 of the best runners in the nation.

As for Wester, she finished the 800-meter race with a time of 2:19.94, which earned her 139th place in the finals, which contained 174 runners.

The performances came after a pair of strong indoor track and field seasons for each of them.

Jeffcoat won the Class 7A 800-meter run state title by setting a new school record of 1:53.06. He also finished in second place in the 1,600-meter run in a razor-tight finish with his teammate John Shoemaker.

Wester came in third place in the Class 6A girls 800-meter run state championship as she secured a new personal-record time of 2:18.55, finishing behind Chelsea’s Ty Cason, who won the event. Wester also came in third in the girls 1,600-meter state finals with a personal-record time of 5:11.78.

Both athletes have also been stellar to start the outdoor track and field season as they now set their sights on a state championship in May.