Williams, Patrick lead the Spartans’ charge
Mountain Brook High School’s cross-country uniforms have always said a lot about the team’s tradition.
This year, the Spartan green reflects heavily upon its composition.
Anchored by a nucleus of young talent, the Spartan boys and girls teams feature a flurry of rising runners with talent beyond their years.
“We treat our program, and we’re one of probably the most successful at this, as being a [grade] seven through 12 program,” Mountain Brook coach Michael McGovern said. “We don’t see us as a high school program and a junior high program. We’re in collaboration with the junior high program.”
The impact has been obvious.
At last year’s AHSAA 7A State Cross Country Championships, three of the Spartans top-five finishers on the boys team — Charlie Slaughter, Gram Denning and Jack Wedge — were eighth- and ninth-graders. All three placed in the top 30 to propel the team to a third-place finish.
On the girls side, the youth impact was even more dramatic.
Of the Spartans scoring five, four were seventh- and eighth-graders. Despite their inexperience, Lily Hulsey, Anna Balzli, Cameron Hudson and Tessa Allen all posted top-14 finishes to spur the team to its 12th consecutive state title.
With such a green core of depth returning on both sides, Mountain Brook entered the 2015 season with an elevated need for veteran leadership. Luckily for the Spartans, seniors Drew Williams and Frances Patrick have stepped up to the task.
“Since both of them were pulled up at an early age, they kind of know what to expect,” McGovern said. “They do a very good job of taking care of those younger guys and girls.”
Having been a part of Mountain Brook’s team-first culture since their junior high school years, both Williams and Patrick have directly experienced the lasting effects of positive team leadership, equipping them for their current roles.
“I think both Frances and I have grown up with teams that have had really solid leaders and have made impressions on us,” Williams said. “It was an obvious choice that we wanted to model after them.”
And the most tangible way to do that, they decided, is leading by example.
“I want to lead them in the right direction just as much as older girls led me in the right direction,” Patrick said. “It helps me, too, when I’m making decisions in life other than running to know that it’s not just me I’m making the decision for. It’s kind of like for all the younger teammates I have.”
In addition to setting an example, the seniors have also made a point to invest in the lives of their teammates, building team community from the ground up.
“It’s just important to know your teammates and to know what they’re going through,” Williams said. “That way they know that you’re really looking after them.”
Through the first month of the season, Williams’ and Patrick’s approach to leadership has yielded exceptional results on the course.
Both picked up season-opening victories at the Warrior 2 Mile Invitational on Sept. 3, leading the Spartan boys and girls to team titles, before posting personal bests at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational on Sept. 12.
Patrick raced her way to a convincing victory in the girls large school division, finishing in a state-leading time of 18:27.38, while Williams crossed the line in seventh place (16:20.96), propelling the Mountain Brook boys to their second straight team triumph of the season.
Driven by leadership and founded in youth, the Spartans’ outlook for the remainder of the fall looks intensely promising. As both teams continue to progress throughout October, a state championship sweep could be a viable outcome when the state meet rolls around on Nov. 14 at Oakville’s Indian Mounds Park.
“Ultimately our goal is to perform the best we can. At the end of the year, if that turns into a state championship, that’s great,” McGovern said, “but I tell them if we go out and compete as hard as we can, and try and take on as many challengers and see what we can do in competition, it’ll work itself out.”