MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Defending Class 5A state girls’ cross country champion Rose Betts of Brewer High School crossed the finish line first in the 2025 North-South Girls’ Cross Country competition Tuesday morning at Gateway Park to lead the North to the team championship.
In the boys’ competition, South runners Peyton Holderer of UMS-Wright and David Layfield of Horseshoe Bend finished 1-2, but the North boys pulled out the win claiming the next six places.
The North-South Cross Country competition, held in typically very humid July conditions, opened Day 2 of the AHSAA All-Star Sports Week All-Star competition. Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis and Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball North-South events are scheduled for later today. Lagoon Park will host the North-South boys’ and girls’ tennis competition at 4 p.m., and the North-South girls’ and boys’ basketball games close out Tuesday’s slate at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex at 5 and 7 p.m., respectively. Soccer and Softball All-Star events are scheduled for Wednesday at Emory Folmar Soccer Complex and Lagoon Park, respectively. The girls’ soccer match is scheduled for 5 p.m., and the boys’ match at 7. The girls’ softball doubleheader will begin at 4 p.m. The North-South Volleyball match will close out the All-Star Week sports events at 2 p.m., Thursday at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex.
The AHSAA 2025 Summer Conference also got underway at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center Tuesday morning with more than 4,000 coaches and administrators attending this week.
The North girls won 22-25 in what was the closest race of the North-South competition. Betts crossed the finish line in 18:20.42 – which was only 26 seconds behind her 2024 Class 5A state cross country winning time of 17:54.60. Bayside Academy’s Shelby Fargason finished second overall with a time of 18:43.11. Betts and Farguson earned MVP honors in the 2025 North-South race for their teams.
In the boys’ competition, the North won 25-35 over the Soutth. The North girls and boys improved their lead in the eight-year series to 6-2 with this year’s wins.
UMS-Wright’s Holderer clocked 15:29.97 to capture the boys’ race Tuesday. Layfield crossed at 16:08.39. Both runners finished fourth in their respective races at last year’s AHSAA state meet with times of 15:37.48 and 16:44.12, respectively.
The North’s top finisher was Shawn Stephenson of Northridge with a time of 16:35.60. He was followed by North teammates Cooper Jeffcoat of Oak Mountain, Gabriel Knox of Hewitt-Trussville, Joshua Webb of Hamilton, Anglin Young of Northridge, and Brayden Chandler of Springville – all finishing in a 45-second span. Holderer and Stephenson earned MVP honors for their respective teams. Holderer’s time was just shy of the North-South record set by former Cold Spring star runner Ethan Edgeworth, who set the mark in 2023 with a 15:15.13 time. John Shoemaker of Oak Mountain won last year’s boys’ race with a time of 15:39.27. Points are totaled for each team’s top five finishers.
Coaches for the North teams were Matthew Michalke of Hewitt-Trussville (boys) and Jamie Watts of Central, Clay County. Mountain Brook’s Michael McGovern served as administrative coach. South coaches were John Brigham of St. Paul’s Episcopal (Girls) and Chris Rodgers of Enterprise (boys). Ron Peters was the administrative coach.
The NFHS Network and AHSAA TV Network (WOTM TV) is live video streaming the basketball, softball, soccer, and volleyball competitions. The remaining sports competitions will have highlights shown at the conclusion of those events. The Central-Phenix City School Broadcast Program, led by producer Tim Loreman, is producing all the events.
Complete cross-country results from Tuesday’s races include:
AHSAA North-South Cross-Country Event
At Gateway CC Course, Montgomery
GIRLS’ RESULTS
North 22, South 37
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Rose Betts, Brewer (N) 18:20.42
2. Shelby Fargason, Bayside Acad. (S) 18:43.11
3. Katie Mae Coan, Lawrence Co. (N) 19:26.97
4. Rylee Plexico, Auburn (S) 20:02.16
5. Amelia Wilbourn, Huntsville (N) 20:04.71
6. Catarina Williams, Oak Mountain (N) 20:24.83
7. Lena Anne Parker, Briarwood Chr. (N) 21:03.03
8. Natalie Schoonover, Auburn (S) 21:14.01
9. Georgia Jayne Stuckey, Mtn Brook (N) 21:18.49
10. Paizley Whitlow, Cold Springs (N) 21:32.65
11. Carmen McMaster, Springville (N) 22:02.51
12. Anna Pezent, University Charter (S) 22:08.91
13. Lynley Grace Anderson, Fairhope (S) 23:15.39
14. Calista Conway, St. Luke’s (S) 24:38.91
15. Ree Sasser, Spanish Fort (S) 24:49.20
16. Allyson Hawbaker, Enterprise (S) 24:50.78
17. Izzy Riddick, Satsuma (S) 25:06.69
18. Mattie Todd, Piedmont, (N) 26:42.30
BOYS’ TEAM RESULTS
North 25, South 25
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Peyton Holderer, UMS-Wright (S) 15:29.97
2. David Layfield, Horseshoe Bend (S) 16:08.39
3. Shawn Stephenson, Northridge (N) 16:35.60
4. Cooper Jeffcoat, Oak Mountain (N) 16:42.52
5. Gabriel Knox, Hewitt-Trussville (N) 16:53.42
6. Joshua Webb, Hamilton (N) 17.10.52
7. Anglin Young, Northridge (N) 17:14.37
8. Brayden Chandler, Springville (N) 17:38.00
9. Joshua Sasser, McGill-Toolen (S) 17:40.03
10. Travis Barnett, Holly Pond (N) 17:43.67
11. Brantley Turnham, Opelika (S) 17:55.50
12. Landon Davenport, Wicksburg (S) 18:18.49
13. Brayden Kellogg, Enterprise (S) 18:19.34
14. Carter Stephens, Marion County (N) 18:29.99
15. John Martin Stickler, Houston Ac. (S) 18:33.19
16. Bo Johnston, Montgomery Acad. (S) 19:22.37
AHSAA NORTH-SOUTH ALL-STAR RESULTS/SCHEDULE
Girls’ Golf: South 43.5, North 28.5 (North girls lead series 4-2)
Boys’ Golf: South 56.5, North 33.5 (North boys lead series 5-1)
Baseball: South 16-7, North 6-7, game 2 ended in 7-7 tie (North boys lead series 24-18-5)
Girls’ Cross Country: North 22, South 37 (North leads series 6-2)
Boys’ Cross Country: North 25, South 35 (North leads series 6-2)
Girls’ Tennis: Tuesday, July 22, Lagoon Park, 4 p.m. (North leads series 4-0)
Boys’ Tennis: Tuesday, July 22, Lagoon Park, 4 p.m. (North leads series 3-1)
Girls’ Basketball: Tuesday, July 22, Cramton Bowl MultiPlex, 5 p.m. (North leads series 24-3)
Boys’ Basketball: Tuesday, July 22, Cramton Bowl MultiPlex, 7 p.m. (North leads series 51-30)
Softball: Wednesday, July 23, Lagoon Park, 4 & 7 p.m. (North leads series 29-25-2)
Girls’ Soccer: Wednesday, July 23, Emory Folmar Soccer Complex, 5 p.m. (North leads series 19-3-1)
Boys’ Soccer: Wednesday, July 23, Emory Folmar Soccer Complex, 7 p.m. (North leads series 16-4-1)
Volleyball: Thursday, July 24, Cramton Bowl MultiPlex, 2 p.m. (North leads series 16-10)
