Eighth Grade Athlete Kylie Gero Earns All-State Honor At State Cross Country Championships
MOULTON- More than 2,000 runners took to the trail course at the Oakville Indian Mounds and Museum State Park in Moulton and for the local teams, youth was the mainstay in the 65th AHSAA Cross Country State Championships.
James Clemens eighth grade sensation Kylie Gero, who actually attends Liberty Middle School, continued her race to prominence in cross country by posting a 15th place time of 20 minutes, 11.22 seconds to place among those awarded All-State for a top 15 finish. She was the only runner from the local schools to earn the honor.
James Clemens finished among the top 10 schools in both boys and girls for the best performance in school history. In boys, Huntsville High repeated as state team title winners scoring 36 points while James Clemens was ninth with 266 points and Bob Jones a No. 10 finish with 285 points. The Lady Jets of James Clemens finished sixth with 163 points as Auburn won its fourth straight 7A state championship totaling 62 points.
Individual results were spectacular for James Clemens with a mere 24 seconds separating its top five finishers in boys, while Bob Jones had two athletes finish among the top 50. James Clemens had three runners among the top 30 in girls with Kayla Williams and Ella Carter finishing behind Gero, all of whom have yet to become among the upper classes in high school. The final individual results for the four local schools were:
Class 7A Boys- 26. James Garrison, 11, Bob Jones, 16:37.40, Ryan Bender, 11, Bob Jones, 17:03.31, Matthew Hill, 12, James Clemens, 17:07.60, 59. Dylan Dryer, 9, James Clemens, 17:23.07, 61. Isaul Rubio Montano, 11, James Clemens, 17:26.23, 66. Aidan Brinkley, 11, James Clemens, 17:30.45, 67. John Luke Stovall, 9, James Clemens, 17:31.77, 69. Isaac Allen, 10, Bob Jones, 17:32.05, 77. Tyler Gohlich, 11, James Clemens, 17:40.14, 80. Brexton Hathaway, 9, James Clemens, 17:41.59, 90. Max Shah, 11, James Clemens, 17:55.00, 95. Mateo Santiago, 11, Bob Jones, 18:00.14, 109. Wade Bucy, 10, Bob Jones, 18:23.27, 116. Jackson Lozano, 12, Bob Jones, 18:29.16, 119. Owen Crow, 9, Bob Jones, 18:30.24, 125. Collin Spindle, 11, Bob Jones, 18:38.34, 128. Ryan Goldsmith, 12, Bob Jones, 18:45.02, 171. Zach Williams, 11, James Clemens, 22:09.19.
Class 7-A Girls- 15. Kylie Gero, 8, James Clemens, 20.11.22, 19. Kayla Willett, 9, James Clemens, 20:23.31, 30. Ella Carter, 7, James Clemens, 20:53.93, 46. Sydney Freeman, 11, James Clemens, 21:17.10, 55. Emmy Mattingly, 12, James Clemens, 21:27.26, 63. Ashlyn Diehl, 9, James Clemens, 21:41.90. 65. Sarah Vaughan, 11, James Clemens, 21:43.68, 73. Claire Deston, 10, James Clemens, 21:54.00, 76. Samantha Menikheim, 9, Sparkman, 21:56.41, 82. Hannah Thuss, 12, Bob Jones, 22:05.28, 95. Sarah Shirley, 12, James Clemens, 22:28.32, 98. Lorin Carter, 12, Bob Jones, 22:32.60, 106. Ria Sethi, 11, James Clemens, 22:40.35, 107. Kricket Johnston, 9, Bob Jones, 22:41.98, 118. Baily Wallace, 12, Sparkman, 23:10.94.
Class 4-A Boys- 30. Sam Hall, 9, Madison Academy, 18:33.90, 68. Carter Busby, 11, Madison Academy, 19:39.12.
