Photo: Southside’s Evan Christopher (pictured above) and Lydia Kay (below) enter the home stretch of the Etowah County Schools boys cross country meet on Oct. 22 in Glencoe. (Courtesy of Alex Chaney)
By Chris McCarthy/Publisher
In an autumn ritual that is as familiar as the change to Daylight Savings Time, the Southside High School cross country teams finished first at the Etowah County School Meet on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Glencoe. The boys won their 11th straight championship, while the girls captured their sixth title out of the past seven seasons.
Sparked by Evan Christopher’s third straight individual title, the SHS boys bested runner-up Hokes Bluff by nearly 10 minutes in overall time. Christopher’s time of 15:53 was 95 seconds faster than Hokes Bluff’s Ethan Patterson, who clocked in at 17:27.
Five other Panther runners finished in the top 10 – Levi Kay in fourth place at 18:40, Jackson Brown at in fifth place at 18:54.55, Jonathan Russell in seventh place at 19:09, Keaton Yingling in eighth place at 19:14.2 and Pranjal Sharma in ninth place at 19:20. Glencoe’s Dakota Ensminger came in third with a time of 18:10, while Sardis’ Braxton Jones finished sixth at 18:59.4 and Glencoe’s Owen Beason in 10th place at 19:22.
“Our hard work during the summer and throughout the season is really paying off,” said Southside cross country coach Kim Nails. “Having so many kids who are working hard towards the same goal gives you chance to be successful. Our seniors and even the kids who have graduated invest in the next class coming up, and that’s a cycle that’s been repeating itself over the last several years.”
Christopher, who finished runner-up at last year Class 6A state cross country meet, bettered his 2023 county run by 75 seconds.
“Last year at county, I kind of paced with the other guys and didn’t think about my time that much,” he said. “This year I had a little bit different strategy in going out a little slower than I usually do. I wasn’t the best time ever, but it got the job done. I never really expected to win the first [county title], so to win three in a row against some pretty good runners is special.”
The Lady Panthers finished one runner short of a sweep by placing five runners in the top six spots. Southside topped runner-up West End in overall time 1:46.34 to 2:01.41. Seventh grader Lydia Kay crossed the finish line first with a time of 20:17.7, followed by Marlee Tucker at 20:51.6, Payton Ridley at 21:13.9 and Taylor Dortch at 21:28.3. Completing the top 10 were West End’s Kennedi Nix in fifth at 22:35.3, Southside’s Lucy Valentine in sixth at at 22:42.7, Southside Riley Hulsey in seventh at at 23:27.7, West End’s Kenzli Nix in eighth at 23:59.5, Southside’s Mallory Tucker in ninth at 24:11.8 and West End’s Jada Wright in 10th at 24:24.3.
Christopher’s current season PR of 15:34.30 puts in him third place in Class 6A behind Hazel Green’s Bryce McCleary (15:00.1) and McGill-Toolen Catholic’s William Porr (15:07.53).
“I’ve just to stay mentally focused for sectionals and state,” said Christopher. “There’s a couple of guys ranked ahead of me right now, so I’ve got to stay on top of things.”
The sectional meets are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31, while the AHSAA state meet will be held Saturday, Nov. 9 at Indian Mounds Park in Oakville.
“Winning county three years in a row speaks well of Evan and the hard work he puts in,” said Nails. “You don’t finish with times like he does without putting in the miles.”
