Scottsboro- Youth certainly has its advantages and that fact was no more evident than at the season-opening cross country meet in Scottsboro. The James Clemens Jets were led by underclassmen in winning both the boys and girls trophies at the Scottsboro Invitational, which featured 36 schools participating.

In girls, the second ranked Lady Jets finished with three girls placing in the top 10 including a one-two finish. Ninth grade athlete Ella Carter took first place with a finish time of 19-minutes, 22.85-seconds. She won the individual title over teammate Emma Bothern, a junior, who was runner-up with a time of 19:41.04. Add in the mix of fourth place finisher Kylie Gero, 10, with a time of 19:46.34 and Claire Colo, 9, who finished No. 13 at 20:40.12 and the Jets earned the title trophy scoring 40 points. Sparkman’s Samantha Menikheim, 11, was fifth at 19:51.44. Overall, James Clemens posted two individual personal records in the meet.

“We’ve been working on being strong up front this year and having no fear,” said Drew Bell, head coach of the Jets. “

In boys, the Jets scored 46 points to earn the title by having four runners finish among the elite top 15. The four were 4. Luke Alverson, 10, 15:52.41, 6. Cole Robinson, 11, 16:21.17, 10. Garrett Gallagher, 12, 16:36.10 and 13. John Luke Stovall, 11, 16:41.53. Among the boys squad, James Clemens had eight runners post personal records.

“After 10 weeks of running two-a-day practice runs averaging 40-60 miles per week and attending the largest distance running camp in America, the Jets were ready for take off,” added Bell. “It was time to fly, and fly they did.”

The final team tallies included: Boys- 1. James Clemens 46, 2. Hewitt-Trussville 61, 8. Sparkman 223; Girls- 1. James Clemens 40, 2. Hewitt-Trussville 58, 7. Sparkman 154.

In the junior high meets, the final individual tallies included: Boys- 5. Will Davidson, 8, James Clemens, 12:45.11, 6. Hudson Parker, 9, James Clemens, 12:46.32, 13. Robson Chambless, 8, James Clemens, 13:12.44. Girls- 3. Isabel Jones, 8, Sparkman, 14:19.32, 7. Adriana Gadomski, 7, James Clemens, 14:51.42.