SPARTAN CROSS-COUNTRY TRIUMPHS

Over the course of the year, Village Living will keep you up to date on the various Mountain Brook High School athletic teams. Here's the second installment. If you missed the first edition last week, click here. FOOTBALL The Mountain Brook High School football team took to the road on Friday, but were beaten by Thompson, 40-13. Click here for a full recap of the game. The Spartans will look to bounce back this week, as they host Spain Park in a critical Class 7A, Region 3 matchup. VOLLEYBALL The Mountain Brook High School volleyball team had its first home match of the season last Thursday, coming away with a 3-1 win over James Clemens (25-27, 25-20, 27-25, 25-22). The Spartans dropped a tight first set, but stormed back to win the final three, avenging a loss to James Clemens the weekend before at the Ironman Tournament. In the match, Libby Grace Gann finished with 48 assists and six digs. Grace Carr had 17 kills, seven digs, three blocks and two aces. Liz Vandevelde racked up 22 digs and three aces. Ellie Dayhuff finished with eight kills and seven blocks. This week, the Spartans host Bob Jones and Tuscaloosa County in a tri-match that begins Thursday at 5 p.m. CROSS-COUNTRY The Mountain Brook cross-country teams trekked north on Saturday for the Scottsboro Invitational. It was worth the trip. The Spartan boys and girls captured team titles at the meet, which featured close to 20 high schools. Anna Balzli paced her Mountain Brook girls to a 25-76 victory over runner-up Fort Payne, while Gram Denning led his boys squad to a 60-63 triumph over Cullman. Balzli placed third in the varsity girls race with a 5K time of 19 minutes, 25 seconds. She led a contingent of five Spartans who finished in the race’s top seven. Tessa Allen, Lily Hulsey, Mary Alison Anderson and Elizabeth Robertson crossed the finish line in succession behind Balzli. Denning (fourth, 16:35) and Hunter Harwell (sixth, 16:42) paved the way with top 10 finishes for the Mountain Brook boys. Both teams will return to action this Saturday at the TCBY Invitational in Tuscaloosa. GOLF Mountain Brook High golfer Ford Clegg committed to Mississippi State last week. NOTABLE ALUMNI Birmingham-Southern freshman Emmy Kilgore had a solid week, as the Panther volleyball team went 2-1. Kilgore combined for 22 kills and 21 digs over the three matches. The Emory University volleyball team picked up a pair of wins last week, with sophomore Sara Carr posting a 13-kill, seven-dig performance in a win over Claremont. Rutgers senior golfer Tatum Jackson finished 15th overall in the Rutgers Invitational Sept. 9-10. She shot 74, 79, 78 to finish with a three-round total of 231. Rachael Reddy, a University of Alabama junior, competed for the Tide this weekend at the UC Riverside Invitational in Riverside, California. She completed the 6K course in 21:20 and finished 37th overall.

SPARTAN CROSS-COUNTRY TRIUMPHS

Photo Credit: Frank Couch