Photo by Alex Chaney
By Chris McCarthy/Publisher
Evan Christopher isn’t used to running from behind.
Out of 10 meets this year, the Southside High senior finished in the top 10 eight times, including three first-place showings. The two races in which he failed to break into the top 10 were the Southern Showcase and Jesse Owens Classic. Christopher came 11th out of 271 runners at the latter competition and 20th out of 275 runners at the former race.
Christopher (pictured below) won his third straight Etowah County Schools championship in October before finishing first at the Class 5A Section 3 Meet and placing sixth out of 250 runners at the Class 6A state meet. He currently holds the school 5K record with a time of 15:29 and is a three-time AHSAA All-State selection.
Christopher’s production was rewarded with his third straight selection as Runner of the Year for the All-Messenger boys cross country team.
“Evan has been a tremendous runner for us for several years,” said Southside cross country coach Kim Nails. “For many years, we have been blessed to have had some pretty strong cross country runners, but Evan has set the bar. His passion for the sport and his work ethic are contagious, and his hard work, commitment and determination have given him the opportunity to reach so many milestones during his high school career. Evan has truly been a leader, and to say we will miss him is an understatement. What he has brought to the team is hard to replace. We can’t wait to see what he does on the next level with the opportunities he has been presented.”
2024 All-Messengere boys cross country yeam
Runner of the Year: Evan Christopher, Southside
Coach of the Year: Kim Nails, Southside
First team
Evan Christopher, senior, Southside: 15:34.30
Ethan Patterson, senior, Hokes Bluff: 16:55.94
Tanner Griggs, junior, Southside: 17:10.10
Dakota Ensminger, sophomore, Glencoe: 17:45.60
Levi Kay, freshman, Southside: 17:59.03
Second team
Jackson Brown, senior, Southside: 18:13.90
Luke Pilotte, junior, Westbrook: 18:26.36
Coby Caswell, junior, Ashville: 18:29.78
Braxton Jones, sophomore, Sardis: 18:37.71
Aidan Pierce, junior, Sardis: 18:43.71
Third team
Adam Ghomin, junior, Gadsden
City: 18:51.02
Joseph Minkin, sophomore, Westbrook: 18:51.17
Jonathan Russell, senior, Southside: 18:54.20
Keaton Yingling, junior, Southside: 19:01.64
Pranjal Sharma, senior, Southside: 19:20.00
Honorable Mention
Owen Beason, sophomore, Glencoe: 19:22.00
Drew Gargone, freshman, Ashville: 19:26.36
Fredy Hernandez-Perez, junior, Gadsden City: 19:32.74
Justin Smith, sophomore, West End: 19:34.62
Mason Borgersrode, eighth grade, Southside: 19:40.01
Editor’s note: Selections to the All-Messenger cross country team were based on season PRs. Not all schools in The Messenger’s coverage area had runners who qualified.
