Wolfe, Hall pace Huskies at home meet

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TRUSSVILLE — Thomas Wolfe wore a brace over his left knee on Saturday morning at the 26th Annual Husky Challenge. But he didn’t allow it to slow him down. 

Wolfe, who has been nursing an injury in recent weeks, shot to the front of the pack with about a mile to go in the varsity boys race, then held on for a second-place finish. The Hewitt-Trussville High School senior completed his home 5K course in 16 minutes, 47 seconds, one tick behind Oak Mountain’s Bryce Keefover.

“I just wanted to stick in the pack as long as I could and just stay with the top, front guys,” Wolfe said. “I just stuck with them and then I ended up taking the lead after the 2-mile mark.”

Wolfe’s runner-up performance propelled the Hewitt-Trussville boys to a third-place team finish behind Hoover and Oak Mountain. The Huskies tallied 66 points to Hoover’s 39 and Oak Mountain’s 42.

Wolfe was one of three Hewitt-Trussville runners who earned top 15 finishes at the meet. Freshman Aaron Himes placed ninth in 17:13, and senior Josh Jenkins placed 15th in 17:28.

“We talked all week about pride on the home course and what it means to be here,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach David Dobbs said, “so we were going after Hoover.”

Himes led the first half of the race as he and his fellow competitors ran two short laps around the HTHS campus. But his edge disappeared on the back half of the course, which circled the athletic fields at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School. That’s when Keefover, Wolfe and few other runners took over.

“I was just kind of doing me because I didn’t want to go out too fast, but I didn’t want to go out too slow either,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe trailed Keefover by about 15 meters when they reached the HTHS track for the finishing lap. Wolfe closed the gap as they sprinted around the oval, but Keefover held on for his first-ever varsity win.

Behind Wolfe, Himes and Jenkins, the Huskies also received strong performances from Mac Brooks and Aaron Dykes. Brooks finished 21st in a personal-best 17:40, and Dykes finished 23rd in 17:47.

“Mac really stepped up at number four for us,” Dobbs said. “He’s never even been in our top seven.”

Sydney Hall, on the other hand, stepped up for her Hewitt-Trussville squad. The junior placed fifth in the varsity girls race with a time of 20:05, leading her team to a third-place finish. The Huskies totaled 84 points to Hoover’s 29 and Oak Mountain’s 75.

“I’m very pleased with that,” Dobbs said of Hall’s showing.

Hall was joined in the top 20 by teammates Amelia Brady and Helena Steen. Brady, a freshman, ran alongside Hall for the first half of the race before a pack of Hoover runners moved past her. Brady placed 11th in 20:23, while Steen placed 17th in 21:14.

The Huskies’ fourth and fifth runners crossed the finish line two minutes later. Olivia Guarino (30th, 23:13) and Sarah Cannon (31st, 23:14) rounded out the team’s scoring.

John Carroll’s Lindsey Granier won the race in 19:54.

“Overall I’ve been pretty pleased with everything today,” Dobbs said. “We’ve got a little work to do on the girls side. We don’t have any depth, and that’s getting to us. But the boys, I was very, very pleased with today.”

The Hewitt-Trussville cross-country teams will return to action on Thursday at the Scottsboro Last Chance Invitational. It will be their final race before the Class 7A, Section 4 meet in Huntsville on Nov. 2, when trips to the Nov. 11 state meet will be on the line.

Top 5 Individuals | Boys

1. Bryce Keefover (Oak Mountain), 16:46

2. Thomas Wolfe (Hewitt-Trussville), 16:47

3. Jonah Barrett (Oak Mountain), 16:52

4. Will Couch (Hoover), 16:56

5. Hansen McCown (Oak Mountain), 17:01

Top 5 Individuals | Girls

1. Lindsey Granier (John Carroll), 19:54

2. Ava Weems (Hoover), 19:55

3. Evie Bell (Oak Mountain), 19:59

4. Sydney Steely (Hoover), 20:04

5. Sydney Hall (Hewitt-Trussville), 20:05