County XC

Eighth-grader comes through to give Oxford girls tiebreaker, first title since 2023. Oxford boys make it five county titles in a row, and Jacksonville’s Mathis, Sloughfy repeat as individual champions.

By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today

MCLELLAN — Wednesday’s Calhoun County cross country championship took on a dyanastic feel, with Jacksonville’s Rua Mathis and Rachel Sloughfy sweeping individual titles for the second year in a row and Oxford’s boys winning their fifth consecutive team title, but there was a breakthrough.

Thanks to eighth-grader Hannah Harper coming through in a sixth-runner tiebreaker, Oxford’s girls won for the first time since 2023.

The Yellow Jackets tied Jacksonville with 54 points in a race where four points separated the first four teams. Points factor in finishes for a team’s top five runners, but tiebreakers start with each team’s sixth-place finisher.

Harper finished 28th overall in 23 minutes, 54.13 seconds, five spots ahead of Jacksonville’s Lily Law.

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