Spartan cross-country primed for memorable November

The Mountain Brook High School cross-country teams have traditionally fared well in the month of November. 

This one should be no different. 

Spurred by front-runners and anchored by depth, both Spartan squads look capable of winning Class 7A titles at the state meet Nov. 12. A victory would push the Mountain Brook girls to their 14th-straight championship, while a victory for the boys would end a drought that dates to 2011.

Senior Anna Grace Morgan will lead the charge for the Spartan girls. As of Oct. 17, she owned the fastest 5K time among 7A runners thanks to her personal-best mark of 18 minutes, 14.60 seconds.  

Morgan paces a contingent of six Spartans who rank among the top 20 in their classification. Ana McArdle (fifth), Tessa Allen (13th), Anna Balzli (15th), Mary Alison Anderson (16th) and Amanda Jones (19th) provide depth unrivaled by 7A opponents. 

Huntsville will likely pose the biggest threat to Mountain Brook’s reign. The Panthers have three runners ranked among 7A’s top 10, but their fourth and fifth runners trail considerably. Mountain Brook and Huntsville have squared off only once this season — at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational Sept. 10 — and the Spartans triumphed by a 25-point margin. 

Hoover will also try to dethrone Mountain Brook, but a potential Buccaneer victory represents a far less likely scenario. As of Oct. 17, Mountain Brook had won three head-to-head meetings against Hoover, with the gap growing continually. After a narrow eight-point triumph at Chickasaw Trails, the Spartans bested their rival by an average of more than 50 points at a pair of October meets. 

On the boys side, Hoover will give Mountain Brook more of a challenge. The two teams have played teeter-totter throughout the season, with Mountain Brook prevailing in two of three head-to-head matchups. 

At first, it didn’t look too promising. 

Hoover handed Mountain Brook a 47-point defeat at Chickasaw Trails, which initiated an inauspicious start to the Spartans’ campaign.

“We’re going to learn from this one; we’re going to grow together as a team,” said junior Charlie Slaughter after the meet Sept. 10. “We’re going to go hard again, get ready for the next week and just put this one behind us.”

The Spartans seem to have taken that message to heart. 

While Hoover has plateaued, Mountain Brook has progressed. At their first meeting since Chickasaw Trails, the Spartans notched a 16:13 5K team average to best Hoover by 30 points on Oct. 8 at the Dew It On The Trails Invitational. 

That’s a 77-point swing in the span of a month. 

Mountain Brook followed up its impressive outing with a three-point victory over Hoover at the Hewitt-Trussville Husky Challenge Oct. 15. 

Auburn, the three-time defending state champion, could also challenge Mountain Brook for a blue map. But unlike previous years, the Tigers lack depth. 

Mountain Brook has plenty of it. 

Sophomore Hunter Harwell and Slaughter both rank among 7A’s top 10 with season-best times of 15:50.10 and 15:52.60, respectively. The Spartans’ third, fourth and fifth runners are ranked in the top 25, more than any other team.

The AHSAA State Cross Country Championships is Nov. 12 at Oakville Indian Mounds Park near Moulton.