Strand, West capture state titles
DANVILLE — That Ethan Strand won Saturday’s Class 7A individual state cross-country title didn’t come as much of a surprise.
The Vestavia Hills High School junior, who is now an eight-time state champion, established his preeminence throughout the season.
He posted the state’s fastest 5K time, a blistering mark of 15 minutes, 3.13 seconds, and won a couple big meets, including the Jesse Owens Classic.
So when Strand crossed the finish line ahead of the pack on a chilly morning at Oakville Indian Mounds Park, defending his crown in 15:18.58, it was business as usual.
“Ethan always comes through,” said Brett Huber, the Rebels head coach.
What was surprising, though, was the outcome of a three-way battle that concluded about an hour later. In the 7A girls race, Vestavia Hills sophomore Crawford West outlasted Auburn’s Samantha Rogers and Mountain Brook’s Reagan Riley to secure her first individual state championship in a personal-best 18:07.92.
At last year's state meet, she ran nearly two minutes slower and placed 30th.
“Ever since the season started, I knew that I might have the chance to do it,” West said. “I just didn’t think I could actually execute it.”
After beating Riley to win last week’s sectional, West entered Saturday’s competition planning to go out with the leaders. She intended to hang with them as long as she could and then rely on her strong finishing kick to pull away.
That’s exactly what she did.
“She’s just a tiger, and she’s going to find a way to get it done,” Huber said.
West, Rogers and Riley shadowed one another through the first 2.5 miles, before West and Rogers separated with a half-mile to go.
West made her decisive move down the final, spectator-lined straight and won by four seconds. When she finished, she hunched over and placed her hands on her knees in a sign of fatigue.
Volunteers helped walk her through the finishing chute.
“Today, she didn’t know if she could, but she went after it, and she did exactly some things we talked to her about,” Huber said, “put herself in position to race and be in contact to make a move if she could, and she just did it all. I mean, it’s just incredible.”
Strand’s victory came in a fashion only slightly less nail-biting. He led Oak Mountain’s Walker Cole, who beat him at last week’s sectional, and Thompson’s Jace Jones through the first mile in 4:47.
Strand and Cole stuck together until a half-mile remained, and that’s when Strand opened his stride.
He created a six-second gap by the time he reached the finish line.
“I wanted to take it out a little hard,” Strand said. “I wanted to make them hurt from the beginning, just because I knew if I was still with them with 100 to go and I made them work at the beginning, I’d have hopefully a little more than they would.”
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.
Their combined effort pushed Vestavia Hills to its second straight runner-up finish. The Rebels tallied 47 points to Huntsville’s 26.
“At the end of the day, gold or silver, these guys did everything they were asked to do,” Huber said, “and they showed up big-time today.”
The Vestavia Hills girls placed fifth behind West and Katy Lambert, who finished 19th in 19:25.81.
Huber said Saturday marked the first time in school history that Rebels runners swept the individual state cross-country titles. It also was the third straight year that a Vestavia Hills boy took gold, with Strand winning in 2018 and James Sweeney winning in 2017.
Huber said this year’s athletes formed a special group.
“You really enjoy the hardware that comes with doing well,” Huber said, “but the care they show for each other and the care they show to our coaches in their zeal to train hard every day is just really commendable."