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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – Shelby County runners were at the front of the pack at the Early Bird Twilight as both the girls and boys turned in strong performances in the varsity races.

In the end, Chelsea’s Ty Cason led the way as she crossed the line first at the University of Montevallo’s cross-country course on Saturday, Sept. 7, and county runners swept the podium as Briarwood’s Mary Grace Parker and Pelham’s Janelle Ramos finished second and third.

Cason won the race with a time of 18:28.99 to finish in first place. Parker took second with a time of 18:46.08 and Ramos came in third behind a time of 19:15.32.

Chelsea also had three more runners finish in the top 15 to claim the team title. Juliette Edwards came in sixth with a time of 20:07.19 and Hannah Quick was right behind her in seventh place with a time of 20:15.83. Emily Davis finished in 15th with a time of 21:35.79. Sydney Johnson rounded out the scoring runners with a 35th-place time of 23:07.37.

Briarwood secured three total top 15 finishes to go with Parker’s second-place time. Allie Hale came in fifth with a time of 19:41.41 and Lena Anne Parker finished 13th with a time of 21:05.98.

Anna Veal and Blakely Margene were the Lions’ other two scoring runners, finishing in 37th and 38th place with times of 23:19.90 and 23:37.82, respectively, as Briarwood came in third in the team standings.

Pelham’s Emily Wester joined Ramos in the top 10 thanks to her ninth-place time of 20:32.05. Other notable times for the Panthers included Julia Reese Davis with her time of 26:15.28 in 72nd place and Chloe Pearson finishing 100th with a time of 30:49.19.

Thompson took fourth place as all five scoring runners placed in the top 25. Hanna Sheffield came in eighth with a time of 20:26.73, Ansley O’Neal finished 18th with a time of 21:44.57, Alyssarae Bustamante came in 21st with a time of 21:54.98, Christina McKinley took 22nd place with a time of 22:00.54 and Addison Zoebelein came in 25th with a time of 22:16.45.

Helena snagged a top 10 finish after Aldrie Ridgon crossed the line in 10th with her time of 20:40.21. Other finishes from the Huskies included Aubrey Kennedy in 49th place with her time of 24:39.49 and Jaid Spears in 52nd place with a time of 24:43.51.

Montevallo’s best time came from Fatima Martinez who posted a time of 31:58.71.

As for the boys race, Conner Campbell of Chelsea finished with the best time of any county runner as he came in fourth place with a time of 16:11.98.

The Hornets as a team finished in fourth as Hudson Williams came in 11th with a time of 16:54.82, Carson Campbell finished in 21st with a time of 17:51.01, Luke Dollar took 29th place with a time of 18:20.95 and Anden Peek came in 43rd with a time of 18:51.88.

Briarwood’s Whit Thornton led the Lions with a ninth-place finish behind a time of 16:49.29. Kolby Day came in 14th place with a time of 17.09.50, eighth grader Lucas Meservey took 23rd place with a time of 17:52.75 and seventh grader Noah Genin came in 25th place with a time of 17:56.67.

Those times helped Briarwood come in fifth place in the team standings.

Josh Howard led the Helena Huskies with a time of 17:31.34 in 17th place. Camp Herndon came in 27th place with a time of 18:08.64, William Trippany took 70th place with a time of 19:53.73 and Caleb Williford came in 76th place with a time of 20:10.69.

Pelham had three runners finish in the top 75, including Levi Clardy in 48th place with a time of 19:09.23, Robert Lewis in 52nd place with a time of 19:20.25, and Alex Cruz in 71st place with a time of 19:55.49

Thompson’s Colby Prosser was the Warriors’ top finisher with a time of 19:35.25 in 61st place and his teammate Tanner Paganelli came in 83rd place with a time of 20:23.53.

Montevallo’s best finish came from Crimson Hill who placed 102nd with a time of 21:18.32.