Four local student-athletes commit to NWSCC cross country

Four Franklin County student-athletes signed to continue their cross country careers at Northwest Shoals Community College recently. Three runners from Russellville High School and a runner from Tharptown High School made their intention to compete at the junior college level for the Patriots known with official announcements over the last couple weeks.

From Russellville, Airielle Cooper, Jassenia Mateo, and Emily Martinez signed with the Patriots with Angel Garcia from Tharptown inking his signature, as well.

Cooper and Mateo both competed for the Golden Tigers at the AHSAA Class 5A Cross Country Championships at the end of the season. Cooper finished 77th in the state 5k race with a time of 23:59.55, while Mateo placed 100th with a time of 25:49.28. The performances by the duo helped the RHS girls to a seventh place finish overall.

Martinez’s final race of the season came at the Northwest Alabama Championships where she finished her 5k race 109th with a time of 27:06.45, helping Russellville claim second place.

Garcia also raced in the AHSAA Cross Country Championships. He finished just outside the top 10 at 11th overall in the Class 1A-2A boys’ 5k race, completing it in 17:44.37. The Wildcats finished 12th overall as a team in the championship standings.

The four student-athletes are joining a Northwest Shoals Community College cross country program that likes to pull from the talent in Franklin County. The Patriots 2023 men’s and women’s cross country squads featured six student-athletes that hail from Franklin County.