Georgia Schools Dominate at Mobile Challenge of Champions

Marietta Walton and Atlanta’s St. Pius X Catholic win big in prestigious meet

By Arthur L. Mack for DyeStat 

MOBILE, Ala. — It was a good day for Georgia schools Saturday at the Mobile Challenge of Champions meet held at Langan Park.

Solid performances by the Walton High of Marietta boys and St. Pius X Catholic of Atlanta girls led to team titles for both teams in the 27th edition of the meet. Walton, led by a 1-2 finish from Connor Old and Zac Shaffer, won the Invitational Boys title with 41 points, with St. Pius X Catholic taking second with 55 and Mobile’s St. Paul’s Episcopal finishing third with 68.

Defending boys champion Mobile Baker was fourth with 103, while Pensacola Christian Academy FL rounded out the top five with 138 points. Old, who overcame a bout with the flu, won the Invitational Boys race in 16 minutes, 34.24 seconds, while Shaffer ran 16:38.79. Baker’s Carson Barlow was third (16:41.97).

Walton boys’ coach Travis Gower was pleased with the results.

“We had a couple of good weeks to get 5K ready,” he said. “I was very pleased with our performance. We ran smart early and finished strong. As for the course, the grass was tall in some places, but I wanted something that would challenge them mentally, because we’ll need that late in the season.”

St. Pius X Catholic won the Invitational Girls division with 23 points, with Walton taking second with 61 and defending champion Baker third with 68. St. Paul’s was fourth with 108 and Spanish Fort was fifth (142).

Last year’s individual Invitational Girls’ winner, Brooklyn Biancamano of Long Beach MS, successfully defended her title with ease, winning in 18:36.88, with three St. Pius X runners — Mary Brady (19:13.73), Catherine Breault (19:17.99), and Morgan Vaden (19:22.59) — going 2-3-4.

St. Pius X Catholic’s win was all the more remarkable becasue the girls, along with the boys team, were scheduled to compete in a meet held at Jekyll Island in Florida, but because of the threat from Hurricane Dorian, that meet was cancelled. As such, the team managed to grab a spot in the Challenge of Champions meet at the last minute.

“The hurricane forced us into making a decision,” coach Mary Pat Martin said. “This meet was run so well, and the competition was really good. We didn’t know what to expect. Today was a good day, and we were definitely interested in coming back.”

Old used patience and maturity to win the boys race. He was content to follow the field, which included St. Paul’s John Michael Romanos and Mobile’s UMS-Wright’s Joseph Perry. Gradually, though, Old worked his way through the field and eventually caught the front-runners, as did Shaffer, and were able to separate themselves from the rest of the field.

“I saw the first-place guy, and then I initiated my move,” Old said. “There were a couple of guys who went out too fast, and I didn’t want to waste energy. I knew this course was going to run slow because of the time, and I would have rather ran at seven, but it would have been the same outcome.”

For Biancamano, defending her title was especially sweet, as she won the race the same way she won last year’s — taking it out from the beginning. Despite an early challenge from Brady and St. Paul’s Isabel Valenzuela, Biancamano stayed relaxed and gradually increased her lead. By the two-mile mark, she was virtually running alone.

“It really feels good,” said Biancamano of repeating as champion. “There were a couple of Atlanta girls pushing me early, but I think it helped me because running by myself is more difficult.”

St. Pius X Catholic swept the Open Boys and Girls divisions. The girls scored 33 points to defeat Walton, which had 41 points and was led by Riley Michaud’s first-place finish (21:21.19), with Baker placing third with 112. St. Pius X Catholic’s boys were even more dominant in the Open Division, as Eamonn Kenah (17:34.11) led a 1-2-3-4-5 finish for a perfect score of 15 points. Walton was second with 62 points while Fairhope’s St. Michael Catholic was third with 88.