November 7, 2021
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Pleasant Valley boys pull surprise red-map finish with record-setting performance, Nelson runner-up; more boys results
MOULTON — Brad Hood was never so happy for a red trophy in his life.
Hood’s Pleasant Valley boys cross country team came into the season with only one returning regular and a bunch of runners looking to make their mark. It’s been a work in progress all season, but the Raiders responded Saturday in the biggest meet of the year to finish second as a team in Class 3A and score the individual runner-up in the AHSAA Cross Country Championships.
PV’s boys posted their fastest team average in school history (17:23) and scored 75 points to pull in behind Providence Christian – a team it was projected to finish 40 points behind — at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park course. Junior Cayden Nelson finished second individually (16:21.76).
Nine of the Raiders’ 10 runners set PRs in the race, with the other missing it by less than three seconds. Their top seven runners finished among the top 30 counters. One missed the cut to be all-state (top 15) by 0.13 seconds.
“I’ve never been so happy for a red trophy in my life,” Hood said. “For this group, we only had one top five returning from last year’s team (Nelson) and these other kids who were back of the roster or weren’t even in the top 10 stepped up.
“We set goals at the beginning of the season; they beat those goals by 45 seconds on average and that’s all you can ask. I don’t care if we got fourth today; their performance and their improvement and what they’ve shown throughout the season was worth more than any trophy to me.
“Yeah, I’d love to win the blue – the red is a great bonus – but them not just meeting their preseason goals but exceeding them (is big). A lot of times you raise the bar they’re just going to get the bar. The bar was here (at his waist), they went to here (raising his arms above his head). I’m proud of that than anything.”
Nelson was a little concerned before the race. The early morning cold prompted him to change his in-race breathing pattern and such a last-minute adjustment can be a distraction.
The junior admitted it did throw off his tempo, but he pushed through it and hit his goal of running a sub-16:30.
He was running third coming into the home stretch, but he chased down Altamont’s Harris Strang over the final 400 meters and then held him off at the wire.
“I’ve never been known for having a kick so I realized in the past few races how well I’ve been able to sprint and if I could just stay with him on that (final) 400 there’s a chance I could outsprint him,” Nelson said. “I went with my gut and whenever I saw he didn’t know I was coming and I went by him I knew if I could pick him up or hold that sprint he wouldn’t catch me.”
After Nelson’s runner-up finish, the Raiders went 16-18-19-26 in the standings, separated by only 20 seconds. Their 17:23 average beat the old school record set by the team that won two red maps and a blue by 11 seconds. Many of those former record-holders were at the race to support the current team.
Among other local runners in the boys races, Oxford’s Noah George finished fourth in 6A (15:44.68); Faith Christian’s Carson Limbaugh, running only his second race of the season, was sixth in 1A-2A (17:18.26) and Munford’s Dakota Frank was sixth in 4A with a time (16:42.03) that was his PR on the course and some 18 seconds better than his third-place time here a year ago.
George went into the Class 6A race with two definitive goals. The Yellow Jackets’ junior wanted to run a sub-16 and get a top five. He got them both.
“That makes me so happy,” he said. “I was seeded 13th going in and to get a top five in a big race like this for the first time was really great.”
George finished three seconds behind Pell City’s Jack Lowe. The two started running together at the two-mile mark and were still side by side with about 150 meters to go before Lowe pulled away at the finish.
“I was completely gassed at the end,” George said. “I pushed as hard as possibly could. He had a little bit more in the tank.”
When the race was over, the two competitors walked stride for stride as pals to the course exit.
“That’s one of my favorite things about cross country,” George said. “On the course we’re trying to beat each other, we’re trying to outrun, outthink each other and as soon as we cross that finish line we’re good friends.”
The Yellow Jackets finished 14th as a team with four runners among the top 100 counters and three running sub-18.
“I told them we could come in dead last I’m just super proud of how they finished the day,” Oxford coach Landon Delozier said. “I’ve never seen this group of guys fight as hard as they did today. I’m overwhelmed with the effort that they put out.”
This story will be updated
Here are the top results of teams in and around Calhoun County that competed in the State Cross Country Championships
BOYS TEAM STANDINGS
CLASS 1A-2A
9. Faith Christian
CLASS 3A
2. Pleasant Valley, 13. Glencoe
CLASS 4A
10. White Plains, 12. Jacksonville
CLASS 5A
5. Lincoln, 7. Clay Central, 8. Alexandria
CLASS 6A
8. Southside-Gadsden, 14. Oxford
BOYS ALL-STATE (Top 15)
CLASS 1A-2A
6. Carson Limbaugh, Faith Christian 17:18.26;
CLASS 3A
2. Cayden Nelson, Pleasant Valley 16:21.76
CLASS 4A
6. Dakota Frank, Munford 16:42.03
CLASS 5A
13. Jonah Medders, Alexandria 17:01.43
CLASS 6A4. Noah George, Oxford 15:44.68; 9. Jackson Griggs, Southside-Gadsden 15:56.07
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