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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – In a crowded field of Shelby County’s best runners, John Shoemaker crossed the finish line as the county champion and helped the Eagles win the team championship.

Oak Mountain came out on top at the Shelby County Championship at the University of Montevallo on Saturday, Sept. 23, as both the Eagles went home with both individual and team titles.

Shoemaker took the Varsity Boys 5K championship with a personal-record time of 15:30.95 to power the Eagles to a boys team championship.

The Eagles had a strong day in the Varsity Boys race, as in addition to Shoemaker’s win, Oak Mountain runners comprised half of the top 10. The Chelsea Hornets also had a solid showing, with three runners in the top 10 to finish in second place in the team standings, and Helena rounded out the top 10 with two finishers.

Chelsea’s Parker Campbell came in second with a time of 15:42.74. Oak Mountain’s Whitt Kilgore finished in third with a time of 16:07.39, which was closely followed in fourth by Chelsea’s Conner Campbell with a 16:09.39. Oak Mountain’s Bennett Phillips closed out the top 5 with a finish of 16:20.14.

In the back half of the top 10, Chelsea’s Hudson Williams finished in sixth place with a time of 16:33.53, Helena’s Drew Cook came in seventh place with a time of 16:40.46, Oak Mountain’s Cooper Jeffcoat finished in eighth place with a time of 16:48.98, Helena’s Aspen Warren came in ninth with a time of 16:49.60, and Oak Mountain’s Luke Marvin finished in 10th with a time of 16:52.51.

Westminster at Oak Mountain finished in third in the team standings thanks to three runners in the top 20. Weaver Caldwell earned 13th place with a time of 17:11.57, Charlie Davis finished in 15th place with a time of 17:18.52 and Alexander Montgomery rounded out the Knights runners in the top 20 with a time of 17:24.16.

Briarwood had two runners finish in the top 20, with Whit Thornton finishing in 14th with a time of 17:18.47 and Kolby Day earning 19th place with a time of 17:38.89.

Thompson’s two runners in the top 25 was good enough for fourth place in the team standings. Doster Robinson led all Warriors runners in 16th place with a time of 17:19.84, and Nick Zito finished in 25th with a time of 17:56.13.

As for other schools in the area, Indian Springs’ fastest runner was Quinn Conroy in 20th place with a time of 17:42.41, Pelham’s best runner was Robert Lewis in 29th place with a time of 18:13.60, and Shelby County’s top finisher was River Horton in 34th place with a time of 18:20.60.

Calera’s top runner was Cooper Manning in 71st place with a time of 20:41.51, Vincent’s fastest runner was Lyric Weaver in 88th place with a time of 21:36.47, and Montevallo’s best finisher was Aiden Glenn in 126th place with a time of 24:18.56.