Huskies girls finish 3rd at state cross-country

The Hewitt-Trussville High School girls cross country team placed third at the Class 7A state meet at Oakville Indian Mounds Park on Nov. 6. 

Sophia Knox led the team, placing 13th and finishing with a time of 19:15, and was followed by Kylee Sisk (15th, 19:19), Avery Cahoon (20th, 19:33), Maci Mills (21st, 19:33), Kinley Harris (27th, 19:43), Hannah O’Kelley (105th, 21:46) and Amberli Santiago (106th, 21:46). 

“Going back to the summer, we had a team goal for the girls of having their team average at 19:30 and having a split that was under 30 seconds,” said Matthew Michalke, head coach for the Huskies. “When we set that goal, some people on the team thought it was lofty but we felt that that was what was going to take to compete in 7A.”

Michalke said the girls team met both of those goals, with an average of 19:28 and a 27-second split. Five girls on the team ran under 20 minutes, the first time all season that has happened. 

“It was by far their best performance of the season,” Michalke said. “They raced hard, they peaked correctly, so we were really excited.” 

Hewitt’s fifth runner was absent the day of the race due to illness, but Michalke said everyone stepped up and ran a solid race.

“Every single varsity girl PR’d [set a personal record] except for our number two, and she was within a couple seconds of her PR,” Michalke said. 

The boys team placed fifth in 7A. They were led by Mitchell Phillips, who placed fourth with a 15:45 finish. Philips was followed by Tristan Teer (sixth, 15:46), Rush Lachina (43rd, 16:40), Thomas Himes (47th, 16:43), Garrett Yokeley (69th, 17:07), Jack Pate (84th, 17:28) and Brooks Maddox (86th, 17:30). 

“This was definitely [their] most complete race of the season,” Michalke said. “We were looking to have all of our five guys go sub-17 [minutes]. We didn’t quite meet that goal but we were really, really close. We had our top two go sub-16, which was huge.” 

The top four runners clocked a time under 17 minutes for the first time all season. Yokeley, the fifth runner, nearly got there as well. Yokeley missed a portion of the season due to injury but was able to come back in time for the state race, Michalke said. 

“That was big, him stepping back up and doing what we thought he was going to do in the summer [before] we lost him for about a month,” Michalke said. 

Despite the fifth-place finish, Michalke was pleased with the way the boys team performed.

“You’re always a little disappointed when you don’t come home with a trophy, but in terms of walking away for both teams and being able to say they did their absolute best, we can definitely say that,” Michalke said.