Boys cross-country eyes ‘unfinished business’

Even with the loss of a reigning state champion, the Vestavia Hills High School boys cross-country team faces a bright future. 

That’s because the Rebels, who will miss the legs and leadership of Butler University signee James Sweeney, return two of the top runners in Class 7A for the 2018 season. 

Senior Bryce Hutchinson and sophomore Ethan Strand are coming off breakout track and field seasons. Both should contend for Sweeney’s crown this fall, barring unforeseen setbacks. 

The pair's championship potential has head coach Brett Huber feeling optimistic about his team’s prospects of improving upon its third-place finish at last year’s state cross-country meet.

“Based on where we are now, and with the depth of our team, we just kind of feel like there’s some unfinished business with this group of runners,” Huber said. “We say this all the time: No one’s going to hand them a championship. They’ve got to get it done and stay healthy, get their training in. We feel like we have a really good group returning.”

Hutchinson and Strand highlight a talented contingent of runners who could propel Vestavia Hills to the sport’s pinnacle this fall. The group also includes juniors John Ingram, Mitchell Lee, Andrew Precise and William Morrison. 

All contributed to the Rebels’ success a season ago, but they will now be asked to do even more. Including Sweeney, the team graduated three of its top six runners. 

“He’s really been a leader for our team since his sophomore year,” Huber said of Sweeney. “It’s really hard to replace someone that stepped into that role and did an outstanding job with it.”

Already, Huber has noticed Hutchinson and Strand attempting to fill the vacuum. They certainly possess the requisite credentials. 

Hutchinson followed an all-state cross-country campaign with a pair of runner-up finishes in the 3,200-meter run at the state indoor and outdoor track and field meets. 

Strand won the 3,200 meters at the state outdoor meet, where he also prevailed in the 1,600 meters. 

The precocious runner finished the spring ranked among the fastest freshmen in the nation. 

“Ethan’s super talented,” Huber said. “He has almost a closing instinct that is very unique compared to a lot of the runners you see out there. Wherever Ethan is in a race, you know to look for him at the end of the race because he will find a way to be in position to make a run for it.”

Huber remains hopeful that his Vestavia Hills girls cross-country team will be positioned to make a charge of its own this fall. The Rebels have not qualified for state since 2014, falling just short at the sectional meet the past few seasons. 

“We’ve been one of the best teams to not qualify for several years in a row now,” Huber said.

Cat Yeilding and MaryGriffith Lytle will do their best to help snap the skid. The seniors bring a veteran presence to a team flush with untapped potential. 

“What’s going to be special about this group is we have the most incoming runners that we’ve had in a long time that are very competitive,” Huber said. “This may be the best young group we’ve had, ever.” 

Time will tell. 

The Vestavia Hills boys and girls cross-country teams will open the season Sept. 8 at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational.