HUNTSVILLE- Regarded as among the 10 best cross country meets in America, Huntsville High was host to the annual Southern Showcase Invitational held at John Hunt Park in Huntsville. Eight states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee) were represented with 158 schools in the meet, which featured several divisions, and included Jesuit High of Louisiana with its boy’s squad ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Thirty-nine schools pre-qualified for the “Champions Division.” Included in the elite grouping was James Clemens, which was seeded No. 10 in the boys and No. 25 in girls.

In the Boys Championship Division, James Clemens put together its best team performance of the season. The Jets finished in ninth out of the 39 elite teams among 300 runners in the 5K race. The Jets were once again led by the school record holder Luke Alverson who finished No. 40 with a time of 15:55; 64- Cole Robinson, 16:11; 92- Dylan Dryer, 16:29; 98- Garrett Gallagher, 16:32.10; 100- John Luke Stovall, 16:34.22. The Jets posted their best team time average of the season of 16:20 with a 37-second spread from their first to fifth runners. The Jets’ other scorers were 121- Ronan Barnes, 16:45 and 252- Andrew Golich, 18:17.

Top 10 Team Scores:

1. Jesuit, LA. 70 #2 in the Nation
2. Farragut, TN. 150
3. Belen Jesuit, FL. 154 #13 in the Nation
4. Brentwood, TN. 180 # 128 in the Nation
5. Wando, SC, 214 # 82 in the Nation
6. Huntsville, AL. 250 # 56 in the Nation
7. Carrollton, GA. 329 #73 in the Nation
8. North Atlanta, GA. 339
9. James Clemens, 394 #89 in the Nation
10. Loveland, OH. 412 #88 in the Nation

In the girls Championship Division, the Lady Jets finished No. 25 out of 36 Schools. There were 264 runners in the 5K race. James Clemens was led by 61- Emma Bothern, 19:53; 72- Kylie Gero, 20:02; 121- Makenzie Parker, 20:41; 169- Kayla Willett, 21:30; 194- Claire Colo, 21:53. James Clemens’ other scorers were 203- Brooke Bogardus, 22:09; 220- Molly Herndon, 22:48. The Jets had a 20:48 average and a 1:59-second spread between their first and fifth runners.

In the Jr. High Championship Division, both the James Clemens girls and boys squads claimed the third place team trophies and ran their best races of the season by posting 20 personal records in the competition. The boys were led by 8- Hudson Parker, 11:47.30 (ALL ELITE TEAM); 12- Luke Bogardus, 11:57.56 (ALL ELITE TEAM); 14- Robson Chambless, 12:03.86 (ALL ELITE TEAM); 15- John Howard, 12:14.10 (ALL ELITE TEAM); 16- Brennan Ragsdale, 12:14.64; 19- Will Davidson, 12:20.84; 37- Thomas Freeman, 12:56.04. The girls team was led by 13- Adriana Gadomski, 14.42 (ALL ELITE TEAM); 18- Veera Maan, 14:37.46; 20- Ivana Rubio, 14:43.21; 24- Amaris Gilman, 14:54.89; 40- Jasmine Phillippi, 16:35.24; 45- Susannah Sorensen 16:56.22; 48- Olivia Stovall 17:16.19.