Hartselle High freshman Jonathan Duncan set his own school distance running record by one second and went on to claim first place honors in the Northwest Alabama Championships at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park on Thurs., Oct. 27.

Duncan’s time in the 5K run was 16:39. Of Hartselle top five runners in the boy’s division, three set personal best marks and helped Hartselle finish 7th in a field of 14 teams.

Runners’ times in the Championships were also used to determine placement among Morgan County teams.

Brewer senior Clay Oden ran a 16:24 to lead his team to a first place finish among Morgan County teams. Hartselle came in second with Duncan leading the way.

Hartselle’s girls finished fourth in the Northwest Championships and first in Morgan County competition.

Seventh grader Brantley Owens paced Hartselle with a time of 22:17, which was good enough for a school record. Haley Baker followed her with a time of 22:21. Other top finishers were Taylor Barnett with a time of 22:46, Rachel Robbins with a time of 22:53 and Kelsey Rae Walling with a time of 23:00.

“We had several runners reach personal records and that’s an indication that we’re peaking at the right time,” said Hartselle head coach Kenneth Lopez. “With the regular season behind us, our focus now is to maintain momentum as we prepare for the playoffs.

Hartselle will compete for regional honors at Heritage Christian College in Florence on Sat., Nov. 5.