North Alabama JV Gold Championships took place on October 23rd, 2021 in Scottsboro.

On the bus ride there, the morale was high and everybody was in the mood for winning. The guys at the back of the bus put “Firework” by Katy Perry on speaker and sang along to it loudly. Among other songs that they sang were “Timber” by Kesha & Pitbull, “Tik Tok” by Kesha, and “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts. 

The runners arrived at the meet to unexpected weather. It was fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit and extremely foggy! They set up the tent quickly and then put on layers and blankets to stay warm before their race. To stay warm was challenging due to high humidity.

The junior high boys 2.1 mile race was first up with two Bob Jones boys finishing in the top 15 and getting an individual medal: Eric Joy finishing 5th with a time of 12:37.89 and Jake Bryan finishing 7th with a time 12:38.64. All of the junior high boys did a great job and also got a third-place trophy with 66 points overall!

The next race was the junior high girls 2.1 mile with Abigail Bennett finishing 11th and getting a medal with a time of 15:33.12! Sadly, the junior high girls did not get a trophy.

The third race was the junior varsity boys 3.1 mile race with Nick Lozano finishing 13th and getting a medal with a time of 18:33.18. All of the boys did excellent and got a third-place trophy with 78 points.

The last and final race was the junior varsity girls 3.1 mile race. All three runners from Bob Jones made it in the top fifteen and got a medal: Mackenzie Edwards got 8th with a time of 23:37.57, Maddie McInvale got 13th with a time of 24:54.48, and Allison Van Hise got 14th with a time of 24:56.64. The junior varsity girls got a third-place trophy!

I asked McKenzie Edwards, a junior varsity girl who ran the 3.1 mile, how she felt when running in the unexpected weather. She responded, “At first, it was troubling and hard, but I got accustomed to it and ran as fast as I could. I was in the zone and I was only focused on winning and getting a trophy which I did.”

I also asked Eric Joy, a junior high boy who ran in the 2.1 mile race, if he is proud of his time and his performance at the meet despite the conditions. He stated, “Absolutely! I did great!”

The determination to finish and do great really showed out at the race. Luke Garrison’s shoe came off when he was running the 3.1 mile. It had the chip on it that recorded his time so he picked it up quickly and ran the rest of the race holding it in one hand. He finished with a time of 21:41.06, which is very impressive considering that his shoe came off! 

Only certain people made it into the JV championships since your time had to be under a specific minute, so it was an honor to be there. Congratulations to all the runners at this race!

Picture (From left to right): Jacob Uchitel, Jake Bryan, Eric Joy, Owen Johnston, Jacob Sigler, Owen Lang

Photographer: Charlotte Droege