Hewitt-Trussville High School head cross-country coach David Dobbs said 2015 marked the first season in nearly 40 years that he did not qualify a team for the state meet.
This fall, the Husky boys and girls will have a good shot at reestablishing the streak.
Thanks to the most recent wave of AHSAA realignment, Hewitt-Trussville shifts from Class 7A, Section 3 to 7A-4. The shake-up moves Dobbs’ squads out of what is widely considered the most competitive section in the state, regardless of classification.
“The three girls teams that went 1-2-3 here, went 1-2-3 at state,” Dobbs said in regard to the 2015 7A-3 sectional meet. “The boys teams went 2-3-4.”
He’s right.
The girls from Mountain Brook, Hoover and Spain Park high schools duplicated their sectional performances at the state meet, placing first, second and third at both. Likewise, the boys from Mountain Brook, Hoover and Oak Mountain high schools placed second through fourth at state after sweeping the sectional.
With only the top three teams from a section advancing to state, the Huskies found themselves on the outside looking in.
“We knew we had to contend with Mountain Brook, and we knew we had to contend with Hoover, and we concentrated on Mountain Brook and Hoover,” Dobbs said in regard to the boys competition. “We forgot about Oak Mountain, and Oak Mountain got us right at the end.”
The shortcoming ended the Husky boys’ run of consecutive state championship appearances that Dobbs said had spanned almost 15 years.
In 2016, the veteran coach said he expects a rebound.
The switch to 7A-4, a traditionally slower section, should ease Hewitt-Trussville’s path to state. Grissom High School is the top returning boys team, and finished seventh in 7A last season.
Although Dobbs said he liked to see his boys team duke it out against top-notch competition in 7A-3, the Huskies won’t lack motivation facing a less competitive section, he said.
“They’re hungry and they were embarrassed they didn’t make it last year,” Dobbs said. “I think that embarrassment is going to fuel the fire for them.”
With the graduation of former standout Benjamin Knox, the Huskies will be led by seniors John Ngaruiya and Austin Atkinson.
Ngaruiya qualified individually and placed eighth at last year’s state meet. He holds a 5K personal best of 15 minutes, 53.46 seconds and is coming off a stellar outdoor track season.
“I think it’s wide open as to what he can do,” Dobbs said. “I think he’s very capable of going one of the fastest times in the state. It’s just him deciding to do it.”
Dobbs said junior Josh Jenkins will also play a key role as the team’s projected No. 3 runner, but the fourth and fifth scoring spots are up for grabs. Any number of guys could step into what Dobbs said he considers his team’s most critical position.
“The most important guy on the team is your number five best runner,” Dobbs said.
The Hewitt-Trussville girls enter 2016 looking for their first state meet appearance since making the jump to 7A in 2014. Sophomore Sydney Hall, who qualified as an individual for the state meet last season, will pace the Husky team.
“I think the girls, if they stay a little hungry, I think they’ve got a shot at qualifying out of Huntsville, and that would be huge,” Dobbs said of the possibility of his team advancing to state.
The Hewitt-Trussville boys and girls cross-country teams will kick off the 2016 season at the Thompson High School 2 Mile Invitational on Thursday, September 1.
