Spartans take state
The night before the AHSAA state cross-country meet, Mountain Brook High School head coach Michael McGovern rewinded his team’s season.
But he did not backtrack to September, when the Spartans opened in Oakville at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational. Nor did he jump to June, when they initiated summer training.
Instead, McGovern took his runners, particularly his boys team, back to the 2016 state meet.
One year ago, the Spartans walked away from Oakville Indian Mounds Park with hardware in their hands but disappointment in their hearts. They had placed second for the second straight season, falling to Auburn by 10 points. In 2015, they had lost by eight.
“I think it really hit me home,” said Hunter Harwell, a junior, of his coach’s pre-meet address. “People are talking about how our season started in June and how some people’s seasons started in August. Our season started last year on this day when we got second again.”
Revisiting the past pain provided the Mountain Brook boys with added fuel entering the Nov. 11 state meet. They needed every ounce of it.
Led by senior Charlie Slaughter’s runner-up finish, the Spartans nipped top-seeded Huntsville, 74-78, to capture their first state title since 2011. Mountain Brook celebrated its upset victory in the Class 7A boys race by dousing McGovern with a cooler full of iced-down blue Gatorade. The color choice was appropriate, as the Spartans hoisted a blue trophy no more than 30 minutes after the triumphant cooldown.
“I wanted it to be their year, I really did, because I felt like they put the work in, and they deserved it,” McGovern said. “I never gave up faith in them that they were going to get it done against Huntsville.”
It would have been easy for his faith to fold when considering the various hurdles his team was forced to overcome. Harwell, who placed ninth at state, missed a portion of summer training as he recovered from a stress fracture in his foot. Slaughter, meanwhile, sat out from running all summer after undergoing May surgery to repair the torn labrum in his right hip.
Doctors told him before the operation that he would most likely miss his final high school cross-country season due to the need for extensive rehab.
At state, Slaughter completed the 5K course in 15 minutes, 50 seconds — a personal best.
“It means the world,” he said. “Senior year, to come out on top like that and to do it with this team — I love those guys to death — I can’t put into words how grateful [I am] and exciting it is.”
Slaughter earned his second-place finish by outkicking a crowded pack that spent much of the race chasing Vestavia Hills’ James Sweeney, who won in 15:38. Slaughter’s dash to the finish exemplified the type of hate-to-lose attitude that McGovern also made a focal point of his pre-meet speech.
“I told them every place counts,” he said.
His runners embraced the mentality.
Harwell sprinted through — not to — the finish line, which he crossed in 16:02. Joseph Pitard, a senior, and Gram Denning, a junior, raced down the chute with equal effort, securing top 20 finishes as a result. Pitard placed 16th in a personal-best 16:19, while Denning placed 17th in a season-best 16:21.
Mountain Brook’s fifth runner, sophomore Eric Alexander, broke 17 minutes for the first time in his career to round out the team score. He finished 41st in 16:51.
“We definitely raced our best at the end, and that’s always kind of my goal,” McGovern said.
Upon learning of their triumph, the Spartans huddled near the start line and soaked in their achievement. James Pitard, Brooks Reddy, John Galloway, Nelson Fields and Harrison Clark — Mountain Brook’s five other state competitors — locked arms with their teammates.
The runners’ mix of smiles and tears revealed the magnitude of the moment. Then, they went searching for the Gatorade.
“I mean, it just shows how much of a team sport that cross-country actually is,” Harwell said. “Being able to come back and run as a team and win as a team, that’s the emotional part, about how much we worked and how much we had each other’s back all season. It’s just incredible.”
The Mountain Brook girls also emerged as the top local team in the 7A standings, as the Spartans finished third with 62 points. Auburn (40) and Huntsville (57) claimed the top two positions.
Seventh-grader Reagan Riley paced Mountain Brook with a fourth-place showing in 18:33. Riley attends Mountain Brook Junior High and spent most of the season competing at the middle school level. But she didn’t shy away from the high school stage.
“Pretty crazy for a seventh-grader,” McGovern said.
The Spartans’ Lily Hulsey and Anna Balzli joined Riley as All-State performers. Hulsey, a sophomore, placed seventh in 18:40, while Balzli, a junior, placed 12th in 19:03.
Sophomores Tessa Allen (23rd, 19:28) and Amanda Jones (27th, 19:42) completed the team score.
“They ran the best they could today,” McGovern said. “Things look good for next year though. I mean, all of our top five returns, and I think we’ll be in good shape.”