Spartans with lofty goals for outdoor season
The Mountain Brook outdoor track and field team has big plans this spring.
Based on early returns in the outdoor season, the Mountain Brook girls have a legitimate chance to win the Class 6A state title, while the boys are looking to break into the trophy conversation.
Mountain Brook’s girls have a little added motivation this spring after falling two points short of Northridge in the 6A state indoor meet, and the Jaguars appear to be the main competition this outdoor season as well.
“Take some momentum, take a chip on our shoulder from losing in indoor by two points, all of that,” Mountain Brook track and field coach Michael McGovern said.
Everyone knows Mountain Brook’s prowess in the distance running events, which will certainly carry the weight of the scoring for the Spartans at meets this spring. But in order to win it all in May, they will have to earn plenty of points in the other events as well.
“Obviously, we’ve got to have our distance points, but we’ve got to pick up points in other places,” McGovern said.
One thing McGovern knows he won’t have to worry about is the dynamic tandem of Reagan Riley and Clark Stewart, two of the state’s best runners. Riley and Stewart are in the midst of tremendous junior seasons, having finished first and second in the state cross-country meet, and in the one- and two-mile runs at the state indoor meet. They’ve earned All-American honors as well and are certain to add more hardware to their trophy cases before their high school days are done.
Stewart and Riley have run together since their kindergarten days and have run together on the high school team for the last four years, with Riley being pulled up to the high school team in seventh grade and Stewart following a year later.
They realize the benefits of having a teammate and a close friend that can truly push them to be their best every single day. Riley mentioned a similar dynamic between Lucy Benton and Hunter Anderson, who are two of the top runners in the 400- and 800-meter distances.
“It has pushed me to become the runner that I am right now,” Stewart said. “I’ve talked to other girls on other teams that don’t have somebody pushing them and it’s such a blessing to have somebody that can push me to not only become a better runner, but a better person.”
The duo works together during races as well. In some, Riley will lead the way. In others, Stewart sets the pace. Their ability to work together has made them nearly unstoppable.
“We do similar events, but we work as a team,” Riley said.
Both have begun thinking about what’s next in terms of running at the college level. But they are focused on the present, aiming to get the Mountain Brook girls their first outdoor state title since 2011.
“We have a great team all around,” Riley said. “We’re a distance-based team, but we have the full circle. All our points aren’t just scored in one event. The key to our team is the team. We’re about our team and what we can do together.