Vestavia Runners Capture State Titles

VESTAVIA HILLS, AL — While it came as no surprise to anyone who follows high school track in Alabama that Vestavia's Ethan Strand finished first in Saturday's state cross country meet, the girls' top finisher was somewhat of a surprise. Vestavia's Crawford West captured the girl's championship just hours after Strand topped the boys' race.

Strand is now an 8-time state champion, so the big surprise would have been if he had not won Saturday's race. Strand was one of four Rebels to place in the top 13. John Ingram took ninth in 15:50.99, Andrew Precise was 10th in 16:00.28, and Alex Leath was 13th in 16:03.37. Vestavia’s fifth runner, Mitchell Knighten, placed 23rd in 16:24.36.

West, however, fought off Mountain Brook phenom Reagan Riley and Auburn star Samantha Rogers to finish the race with a 18:07.92 time.

A report by the Vestavia Voice said West, Rogers and Riley were with each other through the first 2.5 miles, before West and Rogers separated with a half-mile to go. West inched ahead of Rogers down the stretch and won by four seconds.