BREMEN, Ala. – Cold Springs will run for two more pieces of county history Tuesday when the Eagles host the 2026 Cullman County Cross Country Championship.
The Cold Springs boys will pursue their 23rd consecutive county championship, while the Lady Eagles will seek their 21st straight title.
The varsity girls race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., followed by the varsity boys at 11 and the combined junior varsity races at 11:30. Awards will follow.
Cold Springs, Fairview, Good Hope, Hanceville, Holly Pond, Vinemont and West Point are registered for the meet at Cold Springs High School.
The Eagles scored 34 points to claim their 22nd consecutive boys’ championship last season at Fairview.
Vinemont finished second, Good Hope placed third and West Point, Fairview and Holly Pond completed the team standings.
Cold Springs produced a perfect score of 15 in the 2025 girls race, placing all five scoring runners among the first seven finishers. Holly Pond placed second and Fairview finished third.
The Lady Eagles went on to win the 2025 AHSAA Class 1A-2A state championship, while the Cold Springs boys finished as the state runner-up.
Reese Swidecki returns as the defending county girls champion after winning last year’s race in 20 minutes, 27.81 seconds. She later won the 1A-2A state championship in 19 minutes, 20 seconds.
Cold Springs enters Tuesday after winning the Valley Cub Twilight Under the Lights in Anniston on Thursday. Swidecki won the girls race in 19 minutes, 23.52 seconds, Gemma Swidecki placed second in 19 minutes, 31.44 seconds and Kynzlie Myrex finished fourth in 20 minutes, 19.83 seconds.
Claire Hancock and Ally Mavers completed the Lady Eagles’ scoring five in Anniston. That group gives Cold Springs five runners who finished among the first 18 in its final race before the county meet.
Vinemont’s Aurellia Powell is the top returning challenger from last year’s girls championship after placing fourth.
Holly Pond returns Kynleigh Wood and Bella Gambrill from its 2025 runner-up team, while Fairview, Good Hope and West Point also bring runners with recent varsity 5K experience.
Holly Pond placed second in the 1A-3A girls division at the Hay of a Run with 34 points. Fairview posted a winning team score of 15 in the meet’s 4A-6A girls division.
The boys individual championship will change hands after 2025 winner Brady Johnson of Vinemont graduated.
Good Hope senior Drake Nichols enters as one of the leading contenders after finishing second at last year’s county meet. Nichols placed sixth at Saturday’s Randolph Invitational in Huntsville with a time of 17 minutes, 8.64 seconds.
Cold Springs counters with Logan Perdue and Carson Rice. Perdue led the Eagles at Thursday’s Valley Cub Twilight, placing 12th in 17 minutes, 37.19 seconds, while Rice finished 18th in 17 minutes, 58.62 seconds.
Vinemont’s Anakin Powell placed sixth at the 2025 county championship and finished second at the Vinemont Invitational earlier this season.
West Point’s Lincoln Parker, the defending county junior varsity champion, has moved into the Warriors’ varsity lineup and ran 18 minutes, 51.55 seconds at the Hay of a Run on Oct. 1.
West Point won the 4A-6A boys team division at the Hay of a Run with 39 points. Good Hope placed third with 70 and Fairview followed with 73, giving all three teams a recent head-to-head comparison entering Tuesday.
Holly Pond’s Eli Morrow and Hanceville’s Ely Stinson have led their teams in recent varsity competition. Vinemont also returns Anakin Powell and Abram Powell from last year’s county runner-up lineup.
The county meet begins the final championship stretch before AHSAA sectional competition Oct. 29. Cold Springs will host the Class 1A-2A Section 3 meet, Hanceville, Holly Pond and Vinemont will compete in the Class 3A Section 3 meet at Munford and Fairview, Good Hope and West Point will run in the Class 4A Section 4 meet at Scottsboro.
Tuesday’s meet will be held at Cold Springs High School, located at 9010 County Road 109 in Bremen. Parking is $5 and official results will be provided by Xpress Timing.
