Pisgah teams post top-10 finishes

The Pisgah cross country teams finished their fifth-year of competition with a pair of top-10 finishes.

Pisgah started its program in 2009, and Gus Hembree’s teams have become an annual state participant.

On Saturday, Pisgah’s girls notched a seventh-place finish while the PHS boys placed eighth during the Class 3A state meet races at Oakville Indian Mounds Park and Museum.

Pisgah’s girls were hoping for higher finish, but some stellar performances from other teams prevented the Eagles from reaching the top-five for a second straight season.

“A little disappointed in that,” Hembree said. “I thought we ran a pretty strong race, but we had some real stiff competition. I thought we’d place a little higher. There were some really good times from these other schools. They just ran a little strong than us.”

Bayside won the Class 3A girls title while T.R. Miller (67 points) was a close second. Catholic-Montgomery (105), American Christian Academy (118), Winfield (139) and Sipsey Valley (152) finished ahead of Pisgah (169).

Tori Olinger was Pisgah’s top finisher, placing 13th (21:10.46) and earning all-state honors by being a top-15 finisher.

Rounding out Pisgah’s top-five scoring runners was Elizabeth Grace Wilson in 32nd-place (21:59.39), Auburn McCrary 40th (22:18.75), Cecilia Garner 52nd (22:53.36) and Aubrey Goggins 55th (22:54.14). Kelsey Draper finished 64th (23:19.48) while Dakota Ellis was 70th (23:28.13), Maaike Shelton 73rd (23:35.23) and Claire Lybrand 98th (25:14.00).

In the 3A boys division, Westminster Christian (34 points) won the state title in dominant fashion, besting runner-up Cottage Hill Christian (120) by 86 points. Sipsey Valley (126) finished third and was followed by American Christian (133), Trinity (145), Elkmont (151), Bayside (154) and Pisgah (186).

Eighth-grader Brett Roden led the Eagles with a 20th-place finish (17:44.10) while senior Jon Smith followed in 24th place (17:55.80). Rounding out Pisgah’s top-five was Todd Little in 45th place (18:26.80), Jase Moore 70th (19:07.80) and senior Bryan Amezquita 90th (19:55.10). Also for Pisgah, Tyler Emerson finished 97th (20:21.30) while Cade McClendon was 129th (22:46.20) and Hunter Hall was 138th (25:30.60). Pisgah ran without Ben Hembree, who missed the meet because of an injury.

“The boys ran a strong race. We came in short-footed I guess you’d say, missing a runner. I was definitely pleased with how they ran,” Hembree said. “One senior (Hall) is hobbled with a knee injury. (Smith) and (Amezquita) ran a good race to finish their Pisgah careers. The definitely went out on a strong note.”

Both Pisgah teams combined to lose just four seniors (three boys and one girl) from this year’s squads.

“We’ve got a lot coming back,” Gus Hembree said. “The future is bright.”