The Columbia Academy cross country teams held their annual qualifying time trial Friday, kicking off CA’s 2023 season.
The Lady Cougars put up some impressive times. Three-time All-MAIS runner Briley Speights turned in the best time with a strong 21:17 on the challenging, redesigned CA cross country course. Two-time All-MAIS runner Madelyn McKenzie also had a great run with a sub-22-minute performance of 21:47 to come in second. Macy Robertson, Emmi Burrell, Blair Pounds, Mendi Stringer and Ainsley Armstrong rounded out the top-seven.
The Cougars also ran some strong times with Braden Ladd taking the top spot with a solid 20:02. He was followed by Ethan Armstrong and Jaxson Speights with sub-21-minute performances and Aiden Livingston.
With the conclusion of the trials, the 2023 CA cross country roster has been set. The Lady Cougar squad will consist of 11 members, all veterans of the 2022 team. The team members are eighth-graders Ainsley Armstrong, Emmi Burrell, Bryleigh Robertson and Mendi Stringer; freshman Crimson Hawkins; sophomores Caitlin McMichael and Briley Speights; and juniors Madison Bond, Madelyn McKenzie, Blair Pounds and Macy Robertson.
The boys squad will consist of only five runners, which is the minimum needed to be scored as a team. The team consists of eighth-graders Ethan Armstrong and Jaxson Speights; freshman Aiden Livingston; junior Braden Ladd; and senior Casey Haddox-Harvey.
“I was extremely proud of the kids today,” CA cross country coach Duane Powell said. “They performed very well. Today finished our fifth week of training, and they looked very strong.”
The Lady Cougars, even though all veterans, are relatively young with no seniors. The Boys are also all returners from last year and have one senior.
The Lady Cougars are a very talented squad with a combined total of 10 All-MAIS awards, and they had quite a successful 2022 season. Despite losing All-MAIS runner Madison Bond to an injury, and five of their top-7 runners coming down with the flu 10 days before the championship, they tied for the 2022 MAIS 5A State Championship. However, they had to settle for the runner-up trophy on the tie-breaker.
Looking forward, they are poised for another strong run at the state championship. Milesplit, the nation’s premier online cross country source, ranks the CA Girls number five overall in Mississippi out of 154 ranked teams. Milesplit also listed MAIS 5A as the toughest division in the state with three teams (East Rankin Academy No.1; CA No. 5; Simpson Academy No. 7) in the top-7 statewide.
Over the past five years, the Lady Cougars have been one of the state’s most dominant teams. They have won three MAIS State Championships, a runner up and the overall Mississippi State Championship.
“Being ranked fifth in the state is an honor, but we’re also No. 2 in MAIS 5A. I personally think rankings are just numbers on paper. They mean very little when it comes time to perform,” Powell said. “I think our girls can compete with anybody, and if we stay healthy, we’re going to be in the mix for the championship. Our classification is the toughest in the state, and the team that wins it will probably win overall as well.”
The Cougars will be in pretty good shape with all their top five runners returning. Four-time All-State runner and team captain Haddox-Harvey will be the only returning All-State runner. He will be joined by a much improved crew of young runners. Their main drawback is they only have the minimum five runners to be scored as a team. The Cougars had good showing last season with a third place finish in 5A. Milesplit has them ranked third again this season.
Powell said he’s excited about the progress the boys have made.
“They are ahead of where they were last year at this point and look very strong. However, we must stay healthy,” Powell said. “If we lose one kid, we’re out as a team. It will be very tough for us to win the championship, but stranger things have happened. I do know we will compete at a high level, and if all goes well we have a shot.
“I’m very proud of all these kids. While most kids are still dreaming, they’ve been at the track at 7 a.m. for the past five weeks putting in miles, speed work, ab work and hill repeats. These kids are super tough, and I wouldn’t trade them for any team. They are winners in my book, no matter how the season turns out.”
CA’s first cross country meet will be the Simpson Academy “Early Bird 2 Miler” in Magee on Saturday, Aug. 12. CA will then host the “Columbia Academy Caleb Coleman Invitational” on the CA campus on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
