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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

OAKVILLE – As the top talent from around the Southeast gathered for the Chickasaw Trails Invitational, area runners turned in some of the fastest times at the annual meet on Saturday, Sept. 9.

That included runners from Briarwood, Chelsea, Oak Mountain and Spain Park, who all placed runners in the top six of the Varsity Boys and Girls races.

In the Varsity Boys race, John Shoemaker of Oak Mountain finished in fourth place with a time of 15:33.31 to lead all area runners.

He was followed closely behind by Chelsea’s Parker Campbell, who earned sixth place with a time of 15.44.48.

Oak Mountain placed four additional runners within the top 75, including Whitt Kilgore in 32nd place with a time of 16:27.58, Cooper Jeffcoat in 45th place with a time of 16:40.03, Bennett Phillips in 65th place with a time of 16:59.03 and Zachary Joyce in 74th place with a time of 17:08.69.

Chelsea landed two more runners in the top 40: Hudson Williams in 38th place with a time of 16:33.01 and Conner Campbell in 40th place with a time of 16:35.29.

Spain Park’s Eian Phillips secured 35th place with a time of 16:30.35, and Brody Ahlemeyer was the next best finisher for the Jags with a 17:02.82, which was good enough for 69th place.

Helena also had a pair of solid finishers thanks to Drew Cook in 49th place with a time of 16:46.56 and Aspen Warren’s time of 16:59.36 in 66th place.

Briarwood’s highest finisher was Whit Thornton in 62nd place with a time of 16:56.81.

Pelham’s best finish was by Levi Clary with a time of 20:21.54.

In the team standings, Oak Mountain finished in 3rd place with 204 points behind meet winner Huntsville. Chelsea finished in 11th place, Helena finished in 19th place, Spain Park finished in 20th place, Briarwood finished in 38th place and Pelham finished in 47th place.

For the Varsity Girls race, Briarwood’s Mary Grace Parker finished in fourth place with a time of 18:34.31, and her teammate Bela Doss finished just behind her in sixth place with a time of 19:01.12.

Finishing in between the two Briarwood runners was Spain Park’s Delaney Vickers, who completed the course in 18:55.23 to earn fifth place.

Chelsea freshman Mia Dunavant secured a strong finish with a time of 19:24.20 to earn 14th place.

Other notable Briarwood runners included Allie Hale in 62nd place with a time of 20:57.07 and Luci Williams in 66th place with a time of 21.04.45.

Spain Park’s next two best finishers were Madison Harvey in 11th place with a time of 19:51.51 and Remy Richards in 77th place with a time of 21:24.77.

For Chelsea, Ty Cason finished in 42nd place with a time of 20:22.68, with Brylee Bennett shortly behind in 45th place with a time of 20:25.37.

Juliette Edwards finished in 54th place for the Hornets with a time of 20:43.87, Kylie Jones was in 65th place with a time of 21:01.53 and Adeline Keith had a time of 21:10.97, which was good enough for 70th place.

Helena’s highest finisher was Ashlynn Beery in 63rd place with a time of 20:57.70.

Pelham’s fastest runner was Emily Wester in 86th place with her time of 21:42.90.

Chelsea finished in front of all area teams in sixth place with 211 points. Briarwood finished in eighth place, Oak Mountain finished in eleventh place, Spain Park finished in 13th place, Helena finished in 29th place and Pelham finished in 33rd place.