Jets’ Cross Country Open With A Bang!

MONTEVALLO- The start of the 2018 high school cross country season began with a rousing start for the James Clemens Jets. Each of the program’s squads finished among the top five in the 20 school competition held at the University of Montevallo. The Jets are coached by Drew Bell.

In the girls varsity purple division the Lady Jets finished one-two as sophomore Sarah Shirley posted a 5K race time of 22 minutes, 24.54 seconds. In the runner-up spot was Jets’ teammate Sydney Freeman. The freshman finished at 23:06.51 with the team overall finishing second with 47 points just behind Hoover with 39 points. Senior Liz Holcomb (20:43) took runner up in the gold division.

In boys, the Jets took third place (100) behind division winner Hoover (44). Matthew Hill, sophomore and new comer to the Jets’ program, was fourth overall with a time of 16:55.

The junior varsity squad also finished among the elite five teams in the competition.

Both the James Clemens/Liberty Middle School squads finished runner-up in the 3200-meter meet. The Jets/Lions finished with 71 points while division winner Chelsea scored 52 in girls. They were led by Harley Samsil (15:09). She was followed by Katie Gudgen (15:12). In boys, the Jets/Lions finished fifth (121) while Bumpus (41) took first place. The squad was led by Dylan Templet (12:27).

The cross country season runs through mid-November.