Hartselle High School Cross Country Team celebrated a successful season at the third annual Cross Country Banquet, Tues., Nov. 13 at the school cafeteria.

Team parents provided dinner. The team has grown to 39 members in seventh through 12th grades under the leadership of coach Kenneth Lopez and assistant coaches Micah Milligan and Rachelle Miller.

Special guests included State Rep. Ed Henry and Johnny Berry, HHS athletic director. A generous donation was made by Henry to purchase a team tent to be used at future meets.

Runners were recognized for their hard work and effort by Lopez and were presented with a certificate, runner’s medal and a special 2012 championship team shirt.

The 11 seniors were introduced and given special accolades.

Both girls and boys teams claimed Morgan County Championship titles at the North Alabama Invitational at Oakville in October.

This is the first for the boys team and the second for the girls team.

The girl’s team placed third to qualify for the state championship meet and two boys qualified to run at state.

This is the first cross country team to qualify at state level. Junior Aaron Davis placed 15th at the meet in November and received a State Championship medal.

He is Hartselle’s second male athlete to place at the state level. Runners were encouraged to continue running this winter, either participating in track and field or other winter sports.

Also suggested was for individuals to participate in other 5K races or half-marathons.

The cross country team continues to look for interested individuals in the 7th to 12th grades who would like to run. Cross country practices begin in May and continue through the summer months.

Meets are September through November. Contact Kenny Lopez at HHS for more information.