Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Mountain Brook freshman Reagan Riley and junior Parker Balzli are the top returners for the Spartans girls and boys cross-country teams.
The Mountain Brook High School girls cross-country team placed second at last year’s Class 7A state meet. Behind Reagan Riley’s runner-up finish, the Spartans totaled 58 points to Auburn’s 25.
The Tigers took four of the top five spots and put five runners in the top 12. Such depth is hard to contend with, but Mountain Brook head coach Michael McGovern said that didn’t assuage the pain of defeat.
The Spartans haven’t forgotten it.
“I think it’s kind of got these girls — and we have a large senior class — it’s given them a bit of motivation,” McGovern said. “They want to go out with a win if possible.”
It won’t be easy to take down Auburn, which graduated only one of its top five runners, but Mountain Brook returns enough talent this season to challenge. The Spartans also lost only one of their top contributors in Mississippi State signee Anna Balzli.
Continuity has engendered encouragement.
“I don’t really think they realize how good they can be,” McGovern said. “I think if they can get that figured out, they’re going to be scary.”
Mountain Brook’s lineup begins with Riley, a freshman who has placed no lower than fourth at the past two state meets. Last November, she clocked a 5K personal-best 18 minutes, 16.88 seconds, and fell just a step shy of an individual title. Auburn’s Hannah Dyal edged her by half a second.
For the first time in her career, Riley will train with the high school team throughout the season. She spent the past two years with the junior high.
“I think it’s going to help her a lot,” McGovern said. “… She’s been by far the best person down there, so it will be good to have some people to challenge her on a day-to-day basis.”
A cast of seniors will follow in Riley’s footsteps. They include Lily Hulsey, Tessa Allen, Alex Pitts, Sabina Ortiz, Cate Jones, Cameron Hudson, Virginia Webb and Rosemary Lee.
Hulsey has impressed her coach with her work ethic over the summer, while Pitts and Ortiz represented Mountain Brook in a statewide senior all-star race in July.
“Everyone’s working pretty hard,” Allen said.
McGovern also expects junior Elizabeth Robertson to play a key role in his team’s pursuit of its first state championship since 2015.
“I think we’re right there in the mix,” McGovern said. “I think if we’re hitting on all cylinders, we should be right there to have a shot at beating Auburn.”
Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Mountain Brook freshman Reagan Riley and junior Parker Balzli are the top returners for the Spartans girls and boys cross-country teams.
The Mountain Brook boys find themselves in a slightly different position than the girls. They graduated three of their top four runners, including state runner-up and Auburn University signee Hunter Harwell, from a team that placed third at last year’s state meet.
“To say it’s a rebuilding year is obvious, but we’re rebuilding with a bunch of guys who are seniors,” McGovern said. “We have a group of seniors that just haven’t had to be counted on yet.”
Among them are Jack Bell, Tate Record, Eric Alexander and Hughes Thomas. Parker Balzli, a junior, will likely lead the team throughout the season. He placed in the top 20 at last year’s state meet and has run 16:21 for 5K.
McGovern said the team’s top priority will be qualifying for state.
“We really want to have a season we can all put our names on and just be proud of,” Record said, “because a lot of us, we really don’t have the talent that past seniors had, but we have so much work ethic.”
The Mountain Brook cross-country teams open their season Aug. 29 at Thompson’s Warrior 2 Mile Invitational.
