Spartans dialing in

The 2017 season ended on a high note for the Mountain Brook High School boys cross-country team. Last November, the Spartans won their first state championship since 2011 with an unforgettable upset of Huntsville, the favorite in Class 7A. 

Mountain Brook celebrated the conclusion of its six-year title drought by dousing head coach Michael McGovern with a cooler of Gatorade and lifting high a blue map. 

Another sports drink shower may await McGovern this fall. His 2018 squad returns a flurry of firepower and a well of desire. 

“To be honest, this is the most focused I’ve seen them during a summer, ever,” McGovern said. “I think they realize that there’s a target on their back, but they’re kind of embracing that a little bit.”

Veterans Hunter Harwell, Joseph Pitard and Gram Denning have helped set the tone since voluntary practice sessions started in June. 

Harwell, a senior, placed eighth individually at the 2017 state meet. He’s expected to be the Spartans’ forerunner this season, following the graduation of reigning state runner-up Charlie Slaughter. 

“When I talk about focus, he by far is the one that is driving the bus for these guys,” McGovern said of Harwell. “He’s the one that’s getting them motivated and telling them how good we can be, and I think he’s ready to have a breakout year.”

All signs point to a promising campaign. 

Harwell finished second in the 1,600-meter run at May’s state outdoor track meet and recently competed in the AHSAA North-South All-Star race, an event for the state’s toprising seniors. 

Pitard also garnered an invite to the showcase event. He finished 16th at the 2017 state meet, one spot ahead of Denning. Together, the duo provided Mountain Brook with a pivotal boost in its fruitful title pursuit. 

The proven contributors will again be counted on heavily, as will Nelson Fields, Eric Alexander, Tate Record, Jack Bell and Parker Balzli. 

“We lost Charlie, which obviously is a big loss, but we have a lot coming back,” McGovern said. “I think we can fill those holes.”

Mountain Brook also will benefit from an addition to the coaching staff. 

Former Homewood High head coach Lars Porter, who guided the Patriots to seven state cross-country titles, has joined the Mountain Brook program. He will be an associate head coach to McGovern. 

“It’s good for me to have somebody to bounce ideas off of,” McGovern said. “We kind of swapped training schedules right away just to see what we’ve been doing in the past. I think it’s been good for the kids.” 

Porter is uniquely familiar with the Spartans’ tradition-rich program. Before his stint at Homewood, which began in 2012, he coached at Mountain Brook Junior High while working as a youth minister.

He said he’s glad to return. 

“I’m really excited about working at Mountain Brook, but Homewood’s going to have no bigger fan moving forward,” Porter said.  “I look forward to watching them continue to be successful in 6A while we find a lot of success in 7A.”

Many teams will attempt to curtail the Mountain Brook boys’ current reign. Huntsville and Vestavia Hills are well-positioned to challenge the Spartans, who have been known to embark on years-long title runs.

Mountain Brook won consecutive state championships from 1993-95 and 2008-11. 

Those streaks fall short to the 13-year blue-map stronghold maintained from 2003-15 by the Mountain Brook girls, who enter the 2018 season eager to reestablish their supremacy. 

They notched a third-place showing at the 2017 state meet behind Auburn and Huntsville. It was the first time the Spartans finished away from the podium since beginning their historic streak so many years ago.

“I think we’re ready to look for a trophy again, hopefully,” McGovern said. “I think the pieces are in place.”

The Mountain Brook girls did not lose a single runner from last season’s top group. Reagan Riley, Lily Hulsey, Anna Balzli, Tessa Allen, Elizabeth Robertson, Amanda Jones and Anna Littleton all return to the Spartans’ deep lineup. 

Littleton, a senior, recently competed in the North-South All-Star race. 

“She’s one of those team-first kids, and she’s definitely asking all the time what we need to do to get better,” McGovern said.

Riley is one the team’s youngest runners, but she is also among the most accomplished. She burst onto the state scene last fall as an MBJH seventh-grader and led her team with a fourth-place finish at the state meet, clocking a 5K personal-best 18:33. 

Hulsey finished seventh and Balzli finished 12th in the race to join Riley as all-state honorees.

“I still believe we are one of the most talented groups as far as Mountain Brook athletes we’ve ever had,” McGovern said. “It’s just that the whole state is running really fast right now.”

Whether the Spartans can catch up will soon be revealed. 

The Mountain Brook boys and girls cross-country teams will begin the season Aug. 30 at the Thompson Warrior 2 Mile Challenge.