White Plains’ Garcia and Gutierrez finish first and second, and the Wildcats dominate 3A for first state championship in cross country.
MOULTON — So many times a bride’s maid, and now White Plains’ boys’ cross country program is a state champion.
Jaiden Garcia and Jovany Gutierrez finished first and second, just six hundredths of a second apart, and the Wildcats finished first in the boys’ Class 3A championship meet Saturday at the Oakville Indian Mound and Museum Park.
White Plains finished first with 64 points, 20 points better than second-place Hatton.
The team state championship is White Plains’ first in any sport other than golf. The boys’ and girls’ cross country programs have a combined five red AHSAA runner-up trophies, all in Class 4A.
White Plains moved down to 3A starting this school year as part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s historic reclassification, which saw more than 200 schools bump down after the AHSAA eliminated Class 7A and separated public and private schools for championship competition.
White Plains’ five runner-up finishes, including three for the boys’ team, came under former head coach John Moore and current head coach Chase Cotton.
“Be...