Spartans girls victorious at state indoor

The Mountain Brook High School indoor track and field team capped off the season at the state meet, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Feb. 3.

The girls team earned the Class 6A state championship, winning it all for the first time since 2019 and avenging a close loss to Northridge last winter. The Spartans scored 77 points to take home the title, more than 12 clear of runner-up Northridge, which finished with 64.5 points. Homewood was third with 61.75 points.

“This was definitely something they were gearing up for,” Mountain Brook coach Michael McGovern said. “They wanted to go out and win an indoor championship.”

Mountain Brook’s boys finished third. McGill-Toolen won state with 84 points and Homewood’s 66 points was good for second. The Spartans accumulated 54 points.

The girls showed out in the 800-meter run, as Lucy Benton and Reagan Riley claimed the top two spots. Benton ran the race in 2 minutes, 13 seconds. Riley followed a second behind her to reach the podium as well. McGovern lauded Benton and Riley as the “backbone” of the girls team.

Riley grabbed a title of her own, winning the 1,600 in 5:06. The girls also took the crown in the 4x400- and 4x800-meter relay races. In the 4x400, Callie Kent, Mary Katherine Malone, Ellie Fooshee and Benton combined to run the race in 4:05. In the 4x800, Kent, Malone, Kennedy Hamilton and Riley won in 9:45.

Riley and Virginia Averyt also reached the podium by finishing second and third in the 3,200.

One of the biggest positives for McGovern, though, is that the effort was far from just Riley and Benton.

“That’s the big thing,” he said. “This really showed off that we were able to put different girls in different events and still get the outcome we were hoping for. We’re really deep.”

Also earning points for the girls were Benton (fifth in the 400), Gracie Walker (fifth in the 1,600), KG Halsey (sixth in the long jump), Annie Kerr (sixth in pole vault) and Livy Holt (eighth in pole vault).

Julia Grooms, Anne Lawson Finch, Lea McCauley, Mary Jim Doyle and Willow Pierce also competed for the girls team.

On the boys side, Davis Lee reached the podium by finishing third in the 400, earning six points for the Spartans. The boys shone in the relays, as the 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800 teams all finished second in their races. Miller Knott, Max Kuehnert, Spence Morano and Lee ran in the 4x200. Morano, KJ Leedy, Kuehnert and Lee were the 4x400 participants. In the 4x800, Clayton Collins, Leedy, Tate Hoffman and Jack Chapman ran for Mountain Brook.

Also earning points for the boys were Collins (seventh in the 800, fifth in the 1,600 and fourth in the 3,200), Chapman (eighth in the 800), George Pelekis (sixth in the 1,600), Max Baltz (fifth in high jump) and Caleb Mumm (fourth in pole vault).

Gri Cashio, Anderson Horn and Massey Cater also competed for the team. McGovern said it is one of the best finishes for the boys team at state in a decade or so.

“We had points all over the place. It was a true team effort,” he said.

After winning the outdoor title last spring in addition to this season’s cross-country and indoor titles, the Mountain Brook girls are the current holders of all three state titles across 6A girls. They are looking to complete the calendar sweep this spring.

“State championships are hard to win in any sport,” McGovern said. “The girls are definitely shooting for a triple crown.”