The Columbia Academy Lady Cougars cross country team wrapped up a record-breaking season by winning the MAIS 3A State Championship Oct. 27 at Choctaw Trails in Clinton.
The Lady Cougars placed all five of their scoring runners in the top-10. Team Captain Briley Speights took the gold to become the first Lady Cougar to win an individual cross country state championship. Her teammate, Kortlyn Bracey, took the silver medal. Sixth-grader Ava Hamilton finished a strong fourth, with Ainsley Armstrong in eighth followed by Selia Kilpatrick in ninth. These five runners earned All-MAIS honors. Emmi Burrell just missed the cut with a strong 11th place finish.
“I am extremely proud of these girls,” coach Duane Powell said. “They have done everything I’ve asked all season, and I couldn’t be prouder. I knew we had a good chance to win today if we were healthy, and they pulled it off in style.”
The Cougars, after running most of the season without the required five runners to make a full team, placed three runners in the top-15 to pull off a third-place finish.
Team Captain and senior Braden Ladd had the best run of his career, finishing third with a personal record of 18:09. Aiden Livingston finished 12th with Ethan Armstrong in 14th.
“I told them before the race that third was probably the best they could do, and they did all they could and made it happen. I’m very proud of them,” Powell said. “I’m just sad we didn’t have enough runners to compete until the end. We brought up seventh-grader Parker Livingston to make a five-man team. Beau Bracey, who also played football, was our fourth runner. Parker Coker, a sixth-grader, joined us mid-season and ran a few middle school races. He showed improvement at every meet.”
The Lady Cougars had an amazing season, setting a school record by winning eight out of 10 regular season invitationals. The championship made a total of nine wins for the season, a feat no other Mississippi team accomplished. CA’s old record was five wins for a season.
The Lady Cougars finished the season with a flurry of seven consecutive wins, with Briley Speights collecting five consecutive individual wins including the championship in that span. Her five wins is also a CA record for individual wins in a season.
CA hosted the 17th annual Caleb Coleman Invitational on Oct. 14. This year’s meet drew 31 schools and 430 runners, making it the biggest Caleb Coleman Invitational ever. The Lady Cougars placed five runners in the top-12 for a big 38-point win over MHSAA Class 7A Oak Grove. Speights won the gold medal with Bracey finishing third, followed by Hamilton in forth, Armstong in ninth and Kilpatrick in 12th.
The biggest win of the regular season came on Oct. 18 at the prestigious “The Watson” hosted by Mississippi College in Clinton. “The Watson” is the largest meet held in Mississippi and one of the largest in the Southeast. It featured nearly 100 schools and more than 1,900 runners. The Lady Cougars scored an eight-point victory over the MHSAA Class 4A state champion Choctaw Central Lady Warriors to win the Blue Division. The Blue Division consisted of schools from across the state in the 4A and under classification.
A determined Speights took the lead at the gun and was never challenged as she crossed the finish line in 19:46 for a CA record. Bracey used her blazing kick to hold off Choctaw Central’s No. 1 runner to take the silver with an awesome personal record of 20:26. This ranks her as the second fastest seventh-grader in the state.
Hamilton finished fifth with a personal record of 21:32. Armstrong missed her PR by less than a half second, finishing 12th with 22:29. Kilpatrick sealed the win, finishing 22nd with a 23:16.
Other notable wins include the Jackson Academy/Jackson Prep Invitational, Simpson Academy Invitational and Cathedral Invitational.
“These young ladies had an amazing season,” Powell said. “They have surprised me from day one. I was very concerned after two All-MAIS runners graduated last year. We had a solid top-3, but we needed a couple more to step up. I knew Speights was championship material and that Bracey and Armstrong were strong. However, I didn’t expect them all to step up, and that’s basically what they did. Most all stepped it up a couple notches.
“Speights did what she does and won. Bracey made a huge move. Armstrong stayed strong and improved her PR with a 22:28. The biggest surprise came from sixth-grader Ava Hamilton, who was our third runner most of the season. Another huge surprise was seventh-grader and first-year runner Selia Kilpatrick coming in as our solid fifth runner with a PR of 23:00. Sophomore Emmi Burrell, who has been fighting a breathing disorder for two years, had her best run in over a year to be our sixth runner with 23:23, and freshman Alli Burrell was our seventh runner. Losing Speights, who has committed to run cross country and track at Mississippi College, will leave a huge hole to fill. However, these ladies are young and fearless, and I have a feeling we’ll still be in the running next year.”
