CULLMAN, Co. Ala. — Four Cullman-area programs competed across three cross-country meets Saturday, Aug. 29, with Cullman’s girls earning a runner-up finish at the Wildcat Invitational and Cold Springs placing both varsity teams among the top seven at the Pepsi XC Challenge.
West Point joined Cold Springs in Moulton, while Holly Pond competed in the small-school races at the Black & Gold Classic in Scottsboro.
Wildcat Invitational
Cullman competed in separate varsity girls and boys 5K races at the Wildcat Invitational at David Crockett State Park in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
Varsity girls 5K
Cullman finished second in the girls team standings with 70 points. Summit won the team championship with 25 points.
Madeline Stidham paced Cullman with a third-place finish in 20:35.61. Addison Vogelaar followed in 10th with a time of 21:47.12.
Khloe Nalley placed 18th in 22:32.09, Tinley Alldredge finished 20th in 22:43.27 and Aubree Lawrence crossed the line 23rd in 23:23.50 to complete Cullman’s scoring five.
Victoria Waldrop placed 25th in 23:40.98, Mabry Free finished 27th in 23:51.61, Sophie Robinson was 32nd in 24:28.17, Katie Richter placed 38th in 25:04.79 and Avery Laney finished 45th in 25:19.45.
Varsity boys 5K
Cullman scored 58 points in the boys race. The Bearcats tied Endurance XC on points, but the official results awarded Endurance third place and listed Cullman fourth following the tiebreak.
Henry Crocker led Cullman with a runner-up finish, completing the course in 16:45.94. Mason Gobble placed ninth in 17:52.01 and Benjamin Stidham followed in 10th with a time of 17:53.27.
Thatcher Lucas finished 19th in 19:15.86 and Connor Robinson placed 20th in 19:19.74 to round out Cullman’s scoring five.
Sean Gilfoyle placed 30th in 20:20.33, Lincoln Medina finished 37th in 20:37.71, Sawyer Eifert was 82nd in 22:28.19 and Ian Quick placed 163rd in 29:15.60.
Pepsi XC Challenge
Cold Springs and West Point competed in the varsity 5K races at the 16th annual Pepsi XC Challenge at H.A. Alexander Park in Moulton. Cold Springs fielded complete scoring teams in both varsity races, while West Point recorded six individual varsity finishes.
Varsity girls 5K
Cold Springs placed sixth in the girls team standings with 157 points.
Kynzlie Myrex led the Eagles with a 12th-place finish in 20:43.14. Claire Hancock placed 32nd in 22:47.24 and Ally Mavers finished 35th in 22:58.54.
Leslie Jones crossed the line 48th in 24:31.56 and Allison Rice placed 52nd in 24:44.13 to complete Cold Springs’ team score. Lila Cates finished 87th in 27:31.69.
West Point had two runners in the girls race and did not receive a team score. Raelynn Lindley led the Warriors with a 33rd-place finish in 22:50.40, while Judy Salter placed 39th in 23:15.65.
Varsity boys 5K
Cold Springs finished seventh in the boys team standings with 225 points.
Logan Perdue recorded the Eagles’ top boys finish, placing 31st in 18:30.28. Samuel Hunt and Carson Rice finished consecutively, with Hunt placing 38th in 18:49.74 and Rice taking 39th in 18:50.87.
Caleb Dill finished 59th in 19:26.30 and James Baggett placed 69th in 19:40.71 to complete the Eagles’ scoring five.
Easton Freeman placed 170th in 23:26.08, Lucas Freeman finished 176th in 23:53.53 and Jacob Winfrey followed in 177th with a time of 23:55.77.
West Point recorded four boys finishers and did not receive a team score.
Griffin Jones led the Warriors in 80th place with a time of 20:07.38. Collin Clark placed 104th in 21:06.27, Ayden McGhee finished 159th in 23:02.05 and Brandon Salter placed 212th in 27:55.12.
Boys 2-mile race
Cold Springs’ Riley Adams competed in the separate boys 2-mile race, placing 181st with a time of 18:56.85. The 2-mile race was separate from the varsity 5K and did not affect the Eagles’ varsity team score.
Black & Gold Classic
Holly Pond competed in the small-school girls and boys 5K races at the Black & Gold Classic at the John R. Esslinger Trail of Champions in Scottsboro.
Small-school girls 5K
Addison Gambrill led Holly Pond with a 19th-place finish in 25:37.1.
Kynleigh Wood placed 24th in 26:51.4 and Kyleigh Floyd finished 37th in 29:09.2.
With three finishers, Holly Pond did not receive a girls team score.
Small-school boys 5K
Levi Redd paced the Holly Pond boys, placing 53rd with a time of 23:26.7. Xander Lambert finished 99th in 34:20.3.
Holly Pond did not receive a boys team score because it had fewer than five finishers.
Across the three meets, Crocker recorded the highest local boys placement with his runner-up finish, Stidham led the local girls by placing third and Cullman’s girls produced the area’s best team finish.
Cold Springs completed the day with full scoring teams in both varsity races, while West Point and Holly Pond established their opening individual marks of the season.
