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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

SCOTTSBORO – The Oak Mountain Eagles and Chelsea Hornets got in one last race before sections at the Last Chance Invitational on Thursday, Oct. 24 on the John R. Esslinger Trail of Champions in Scottsboro.

For many, it was a chance to continue their strong form during the 2024 cross country season, including one of the top runners in the state, Oak Mountain’s John Shoemaker.

Shoemaker won the Last Chance Invitational with a time of 15:19.88, beating out Cullman’s Andrue Barnett, who finished the race in 15:47.95.

Shoemaker’s win was his fifth of the season and came in his first start since Oct. 5, when he won the prestigious Jesse Owens Classic by just three seconds. The Ole Miss commit also won the North-South All-Star race before the start of the season.

The Eagles finished in first place in the team standings after four of their five scoring runners placed in the top 10.

Cooper Jeffcoat joined Shoemaker on the podium with a third-place finish behind a time of 15:58.11. Oak Mountain’s other top 10 runners were Whitt Kilgore in eighth place with a time of 16:12.65 and Isaac Glorioso in 10th place with a time of 16:20.43.

Sam Trammell rounded out the scoring runners with a 12th-place time of 16:24.22, which gave the Eagles the win in the team standings with 34 points.

Chelsea’s Hudson Williams finished in between Kilgore and Glorioso in ninth place with a time of 16:13.79, crossing the line just one second behind Kilgore but securing his team’s best finish.

Conner Campbell came in 18th place with a time of 16:39.34, Anden Peek earned 53rd place with a time of 17:46.09, Luke Dollar took 57th place with a time of 17:55.34 and Carson Campbell rounded out the scoring runners in 66th place with a time of 18:21.94.

Behind those times, Chelsea came in fifth place in the team standings with 165 points.

Oak Mountain also earned two more top 20 times in the boys race with Luke Marvin coming in 14th place with a time of 16:25.65 and Zack Joyce claiming 16th place with a time of 16:37.67.

The Eagles had a strong day in the girls race as well, taking home two top 10 finishes.

Ava Fields came in fifth place with a time of 19:06.38 and Catarina Williams secured a ninth-place finish with her time of 19:28.71.

Other scoring runners for Oak Mountain included Hayley Datema in 14th place with a time of 19:58.76, Faith Scardino in 16th place with a time of 20:01.91 and Joy Damron in 22nd place with a time of 20:39.50.

The Eagles came in second place in the team standings with 61 points behind only Auburn High School’s 50 points.

Chelsea’s Juliette Edwards led her team with a 15th place finish thanks to her time of 19:59.73. Like Williams in the boys race, she also finished just one second behind an Oak Mountain runner in Datema but beat out one just behind her in Scardino, this time by two seconds.

Eighth-grader Chloe Randall finished in 90th place with a time of 24:07.10, seventh grader Lauren Quick came in 121st place with a time of 25:05.99, Brooklyn Jernigan took 143rd place with a time of 25:58.35 and Avery Holland rounded out the Hornets top 5 in 185th place with a time of 27:59.95.

All cross-country teams will be in action in sectional meets on Thursday, Oct. 31 as they seek to clinch spots in the state championship. Oak Mountain and Chelsea will compete in their respective Class 7A, Section 6A, Section 4 meets at Hewitt-Trussville High School that day.