MADISON- Luke Alverson is one of the leaders of the James Clemens cross country program. He leads by example on and off the race course. His recent on-course efforts elevated the outstanding junior athlete to land in the weekly AHSAA Cross Country Spotlight.

Alverson clocked a personal record of 15:13.81 to win the Huntsville Metro Championships at Palmer Park, winning the race by nearly 30 seconds. His finish time ranks the fifth best by an Alabama runner this school season. Just days later, he was at it again. Alverson finished runner-up with a time of 15:24.59 in the James Clemens’ Under the Lights Festival at Palmer Park. Alverson was second to Ethan Edgeworth of Cold Springs, who ranks among the nation’s 10 best high school runners this season with a time of 14:52.26.

The Under The Lights event featured over 240 runners among 36 schools in the boys division while another 200-plus girls representing 32 teams poured into the confines of Madison’s Palmer Park.

In boys, James Clemens was the boys winner scoring 32 points while Father Ryan High was second with 62 points and nearby Sparkman was No. 11 with 306 points. Additional Jets came across the finish line among the top 10 finishers. Those included 3. Cole Robinson, 12, 15:39.22, 6. Dylan Dryer, 12, 15:59.41 and 10. Ronan Barnes, 12, 16:19.26. Additional runners making the Cross Country Spotlight was Andrew Gohlich, 11, of James Clemens who recorded a personal-record time of 16:20.95 and finished eleventh in the Under The Lights Festival.

In girls, Kylie Gero had a spectacular week of running as the junior won the Huntsville Metro Championships with a time of 18:47.34 and finished fifth at the Under The Lights Festival with a time of 18:41.54. The girls division was won by Lydia Brunner of Father Ryan. The freshman finished with a time of 18:03.49. Additional results include 7. Samantha Menikheim, 12, Sparkman, 19:41.64, 11. Emma Bothern, 12, James Clemens, 20:05.52, 15. Ella Carter, 10, James Clemens, 20:16.89. The final team scores of 32 schools featured 1. Father Ryan 47, 2. James Clemens 75, 6. Sparkman 222.