From staff reports

Elkmont High’s Tyler Helms crossed the finish line in first place Thursday at Cold Springs, leading the Red Devils to the Class 3A, Section 3 boys championship.

Helms finished in 16 minutes, 44.42 seconds.

Winfield finished second in the team standings, while West Morgan took third place. The top three teams qualified for the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s cross country state championships, which will be next week at the Oakville Indian Mounds.

Elkmont’s Adam McMahan finished fourth individually, while Clements’ Mack VanWagnen and Richard Hodges finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Chance Bailey finished eighth for Elkmont, while Uriel Marcelino was West Morgan’s top finisher at 11th place.

Clements’ Jay shines in 3A, Section 3: Clements runner Allison Jay crossed the finish line in second place at the 3A, Section 3 girls meet, securing a spot in next week’s AHSAA state championships.

Jay was the top local finisher at 20:15.53.

Winfield won the team championship, while Elkmont and Deshler finished second and third, respectively. All three teams earned state meet bids.

West Morgan’s Whitney Hall finished seventh at 22:21.15 to earn a state meet bid as an individual. Clements’ Brooklyn DeVaney and West Morgan’s Selena Hernandez also qualified as individuals.

Class 1A-2A

Five Falkville boys qualify for state: Blake Bradford led all Falkville runners with a sixth-place finish in the Section 3 boys meet. He crossed the finish line at 18:12.70.

Falkville’s Brian Bradford finished 10th, while Brendan Shadden (19th), Drake Hamilton (20th) and Caleb Ward (33rd) qualified as individuals.

Three Falkville girls qualify for state meet: Patrica Kilgore finished ninth as an individual, while Anna Faulk and Rachel Davis finsihed 27th and 28th, respectively, at the Section 3 girls meet.

All three Falkville runners qualified for the AHSAA state meet as individuals.

Class 4A

Two Priceville boys qualify for state: Priceville’s Tyler Johnson finished eighth at the Section 5 meet in Scottsboro to qualify for the AHSAA state meet individually.

Priceville’s Will Dotson also earned a state meet bid with a 26th-place finish.

Priceville’s Plemons qualifies for state: Priceville’s Brittney Plemons finished 30th at the Section 5 meet to earn a state meet bid.

Class 6A

Decatur’s Hardiman qualifies: Victoria Hardiman finished 16th at the sectionals at Bob Jones High to earn a spot at the state meet. Hardiman covered the 5-kilometer distance in 21:02.64.

Austin’s Miranda Jones was 63rd.

In the boys race, Decatur’s Ian Yarbrough was 28th with a 17:58.27 time. Austin’s Esteban Lagunas was 32nd with a 18:05.52 time.