By MICKEL PONTHIEUX / Sports Reporter

OAKVILLE – Pelham freshman Mary Grace Strozier led all Shelby County runners at the 2012 AHSAA Cross Country Championships with a third place finish in the Class 6A girls’ race on Nov. 10.

Strozier finished the 5k race with a time of 18:32.99, which met the national silver standard time.

Chelsea’s Cheyenne Thompson rounded out the top-10 for area runners with an eighth place finish with a time of 19:07.01. Thomspon’s teammate Camryn Neal took 16th with a time of 19:30.95. Both runners also met the national standard.

Spain Park’s Jessica Bilek led the Lady Jags with a time of 20:30.75 for a 47th place finish out of 199 competitors.

Natalie Pugh led Oak Mountain to an eighth place finish in the team standings when she took 64th with a time of 21:06.09.

Jordan Strong’s seventh place effort led Spain Park to a sixth place team finish in the Class 6A boys race. Strong finished with a time of 16:25.27 to meet the boys’ national silver standard. Mark Ferrell took 26th with a time of 16:50.48 to help the Jaguars cause.

Oak Mountain’s Jake Van Geffen led the Eagles with a 18th place finish with a time of 16:44.24 while Pelham’s Andrew Givan was 27th with a time of 16:50.95.

Thompson’s Michael Johnson took 32nd with a time of 16.57.57.