North-South All-Star Rosters Released for 2022 All-Star Week Cross Country Teams

Story and photos by AHSAA Staff

     MONTGOMERY – North-South all-star squads for the upcoming 6th annual AHSAA North-South All-Star Cross Country races have been selected. The 2022 North-South All-Star Week is scheduled for July 17-22. The two 10-member teams comprised of 2023 rising seniors were announced by Brandon Dean, Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA) Thursday. 
     The AHSADCA, which operates under the auspices of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) will also host North-South all-star games in baseball, softball, volleyball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ tennis, boys’ and girls’ golf during the All-Star Week in Montgomery.  The boys’ and girls’ basketball all-star teams have already been released. The remaining all-star teams will be announced at a later date.
   The 63rd annual North-South All-Star Football Game was played last December at Mobile with the North winning 14-10. The South now leads that series 32-28-2. The North-South Football All-Star Game is the oldest all-star game in the AHSAA. It was first played in 1948.
Coaches for the 2022 All-Star Cross Country squads include: (North Girls) Trent Dean, Cullman; (North Boys) Chris Schmidt, Hoover; Michael McGovern, Mountain Brook, administrative coach for both teams; (South Girls) Courtney Page, McGill-Toolen Catholic; (South Boys) Jonathan Fischer, Opelika; Ron Peters, Smiths Station, administrative coach for both teams.

      Leading the North boys’ team is Clayton Collins of Mountain Brook, who finished seventh in the Class 6A State Cross Country Championships last November clocking 15:48.10 over the 3.1-mile course. That time was the best time in last fall’s state meet of any runner selected to the 2022 North squad. Ashville’s Joe Stevens is also on the North team. He won the Class 4A state title last November with a time of 16:23.88. North all-star Pleasant Valley’s Cayden Nelson was second in the 3A state last season with a 16:21.76 time.  Southside-Gadsden’s Jackson Griggs and Will Jordan of Vestavia Hills, each clocked under 16 minutes at the AHSAA State Cross Country Championships. Griggs finished ninth in Class 6A with a 15:56.13 time, and Jordan was 13^th in Class 7A with a 15:58.93 time.
    St. Paul’s Episcopal’s duo of Mac Conwell and Stone Smith, who finished 2-3 in the 2021 Class 6A state meet with times of 15:22.25 and 15:44.77, respectively, headline the South All-Star squad. Both times are the best among all North-South participants selected for this summer’s competition. Five others, however, ran times of 16:54 or lower with Auburn’s Thomas Parnell clocking 16:20.05 to finish 26^th in last year’s 7A state meet race.
     On the girls’ side, Mountain Brook’s Reagan Riley and Clark Stewart finished 1-2 in the 2021 AHSAA Class 6A Girls’ Cross Country Championships with times of 17:39.62 and 18:13.50, respectively, to headline the North roster. Both times are by far the best among the North-South girls selected.  Lawrence County’s Savannah Williams won the Class 5A girls’ individual championship with a time of 18:56.04. She and her twin sister Taylor Williams, who finished eighth at the state meet with a 19:54.17 time, were also selected for the North squad. Both helped the Red Devils of Coach Stanley Johnson win the 5A girls’ state crown.
     Headlining the South girls’ roster is Auburn’s Olivia Tole, has the top time from last season’s state championships for her team. She finished sixth overall in the 2021 Class 7A State Championship race with a time of 18:57.48. Central-Phenix City’sAbigail Garner and Adley Burkes also had top 20 finishes with times of 19:11.35 and 19:29.08, respectively, last November. McGill-Toolen’s Elizabeth Porr, also on the South roster, clocked 19:31.42 in the 6A Championships to finish 19^th.
     The North girls won last year’s North-South competition at Montgomery’s Gateway Park 15-42 to take a 3-1 lead in the series which got underway in 2017. The South boys won a close 28-29 decision to even the boys’ series at 2-2. There was no competition in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

The complete 2022 rosters include: