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  • Cross Country - Boys Varsity

    2023 - 2024
    Head Coach: Joseph Swagart

    CROSS COUNTRY DESCRIPTION AND MISSION
    With Bayside Academy’s Mission Statement and Core Values in mind, our goal through Bayside Academy Cross Country is to continue the excellence established in the past and press on to achieve our best today. Our program competes in the AHSAA at the 6A classification for athletes in the 7th through 12th grade, from beginners to multiple season performers. Each athlete should seek to do his/her best, give 100% effort in all that he/she does, and encourage one another not just in our sport. To do this, we will do all things with TEAM as our focus, although training will be individualized based on the ability and experience of the athlete. Our athletes will not only train together to become better runners, but learn how and why the training he/she does develops him/her into a stronger runner and person. We will hold to this COMMITMENT as our sense of responsibility and respect to self and others, striving for excellence in all of our endeavors.  

    These three words and descriptions will be our point of emphasis this year!
    1. Team: We will enjoy what we do with one another, building up one another through common experiences and trials.
    2. Excellence: We will do all things to the best of our ability, disciplined to do all things the right way and all the way.
    3. Commitment: We will always be there for one another, realizing this is what keeps us together and helps us reach our goals.
    LAST SEASON
    Fall 2023
    For the eighth consecutive year, our young men’s team has qualified for the AHSAA State meet. Due to the competitive balance factor enacted by the AHSAA, our cross country program at Bayside Academy competed 5A classification. With eight of our top 10 young men either graduating or not returning, our young men’s team for 2023 was very young, having five of our eight athletes in middle school. Despite of our youth, our young men qualified for 5A State
    meet, finishing third at Sections and 15th at State. Junior Nolan Tkac was our top finisher placing 77th with a time of 18:29. Seven of our eight athletes finished with a personal best time at State.

    THE HISTORY OF MEN’S BAXC
    Men's Team History
    Since 1991, our Bayside boys cross country has been one of the strongest teams in its classification, qualifying a team for State 21 times with an average finish of fifth place. Top two finishes as well as recent team accomplishments are listed below:
    • 2021 AHSAA 4A State Champions
    • 2019 AHSAA 3A State Runner-Up
    • 2018 AHSAA 3A State Runner-Up
    • 2017 AHSAA 3A Section 1 Champions
    • 2016 AHSAA 3A Section 1 Champions
    • 2007 AHSAA 1A/2A State Champions

    Men's AHSAA All-State Runners
    Since 1991, we have had 15 male athletes earn All-State honors 34 times by finishing in the top 15 of his classification, with two of those being State Champions. All-State Runners are listed below by year and finish.
    • Peter McGavin – 00
    • Sam Crosby – 00
    • Hunter Pilot – 04, 05
    • Dennis Dowd – 06, 07, 08
    • William Dorriety – 06, 07
    • Gil Walton – 07
    • Stew Shoemaker – 07, 08, 09*
    • Ryan Shankle – 10, 11, 12, 13
    • Ash Midyett – 12, 13, 14, 15*
    • Ernest Ladd – 15, 16, 17
    • Myles Cook – 17, 18, 19
    • Bradley Schmidt – 18
    • Ty Postle – 20, 21, 22
    • John Thomas Neill – 21, 22
    • Kyle Cooper – 22
    *Denotes State Champion that year!

    Men’s Top Fifteen 5K Times
    For an athlete's time to be considered for the Top 15 5K Board, the 5K course must be a course that has been competed on for at least three years without severe changes to the course so that the course can be verified 5,000 meters. Sectional and State Meet courses automatically qualify. 

    Male Athlete/Time/Year
    1. Ash Midyett 16:23 (2015)
    2. Ty Postle 16:28 (2022)
    3. Kyle Cooper 16:34 (2022)
    4. John Thomas Neill 16:35 (2022)
    5. Ernest Ladd 16:36 (2016)
    6. Stew Shoemaker 16:41 (2009)
    7. Ryan Shankle 16:50 (2013)
    8. Bradley Schmidt 17:04 (2018)
    9. Myles Cook 17:06 (2019)
    10. Nolan Tkac 17:21 (2022)
    11. William Dorriety 17:26 (2008)
    12. Ashton Rowland 17:28 (2021)
    13. Jackson Olsen 17:30 (2021)
    14. Dennis Dowd 17:35 (2007)
    15. Spencer Gaberino 17:36 (2019)
    Men’s 5K Records by Grade Level
    We keep up with the accomplishments of our athletes and recognize them when new firsts are accomplished. You will find below our best times by grade and gender for our XC program.  

    Grade
    Male Athlete/Time/Year
    Middle School
    Ernest Ladd 17:14 (2015)
    Freshman
    Kyle Cooper 16:34 (2022)
    Sophomore
    Ash Midyett 17:05 (2013)
    Junior
    Ty Postle 16:29 (2021)
    Senior
    Ash Midyett 16:23 (2016)
     
    CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL
    • Jackson Olsen ‘22: Lees-McRae College
    • Myles Cook ‘20: Spring Hill College
    • Luke Dobbins ‘18: Samford University
    • Ash Midyett ‘16: The University of the South
     
    HEAD COACH JOE SWAGART
    Through 18 seasons as a head cross country coach of young men’s and women’s cross country programs (10 years at Bayside Academy and eight years at Cottage Hill Christian Academy), Coach Joe Swagart has helped hundreds of young people develop a passion for running while also helping them develop into responsible young adults.
     
    Coach Swagart places an emphasis on team, excellence, and commitment. Success in cross country is found through commitment, discipline, and desire. Individuals on a team show commitment by attending team practices and events, by finishing what they start, and by having patience with the process. Individuals on a team show discipline by how they follow instruction, how they change the way they live (nutrition, sleep, etc.), and how they finish what they start. Individuals on a team show desire by how they compete and train, how they take care of themselves, and how they treat others. When individuals come together with the same purpose, we will compete as a team at the highest level we can. We will commit to a level of excellence that shows we are giving our best in all that we do, that we give 100% in achieving our goals, and by how we encourage each other along the way  
     
    In Coach Swagart’s first two seasons with Cottage Hill, his programs competed in the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) where his young men’s teams finished State Runner-Up both seasons, including ten All-State performers and one undefeated regular season athlete who, as a sophomore, was State Champion. In six seasons with the AHSAA, under Coach Swagart’s leadership, CHCA qualified sixteen individual athletes, five young men’s teams, and one young women’s team for the AHSAA State meet. In these six seasons, Coach Swagart’s young men’s team earned an AHSAA 1A/2A State title in 2011, an AHSAA 1A/2A State Runner-Up in 2010, and an AHSAA 3A State Runner-Up in 2013. His young men’s teams finished fourth or better each year they competed at the AHSAA State Meet. In these six seasons with the AHSAA, he has coached 14 All-State Runners and has been recognized by the Mobile Press Register as Men’s Coach of the Year three times (’10, ’11, ’12). 
     
    In Coach Swagart’s 10 seasons with Bayside Academy, eight individual athletes, nine young men’s teams, and nine young women’s teams have qualified for state. During this time, Coach Swagart’s young men and women finished as 4A State Champions in 2021. Fifteen of Coach Swagart’s athletes have earned All-State honors 34 times, including two individual State Champions and three individual State Runner-ups. In the Inaugural AHSAA All-Star XC during the summer of 2017, Coach Swagart represented the girls’ south team as head coach. After the conclusion of the 2021 season, Coach Swagart was recognized by the USTFCCA as the High School Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year for the state of Alabama.
     
    Coach Swagart attended college at the University of South Alabama, earning a B.S. in Mathematics & Statistics in 2004 and M. Ed. in Secondary Education in 2018. He is married to Nancy Swagart. He and his wife have three children: Owen, a 7th grader at Bayside Academy; Isaac, a 3rd grader at Bayside Academy; and Emersyn, a PK4 student at Bayside Academy.
Overall Statistics
Wins Losses Ties percentage
0 0 0 0

Cross Country - Boys Varsity

Home

Team Time Trial #1

League
Playing Fields - Bayside Academy - Freedom Track & Field
Home

Team Time Trial #2

League
Playing Fields - Bayside Academy - Freedom Track & Field
Home
Invitational

Admiral's Twilight Invite

League
Playing Fields - Bayside Academy - Bayside Academy Sports Complex
Away
Invitational

Starr Mill's Panther Invite

League
Fayetteville, GA
Neutral

Bayshore Invite

League
Loxley Municipal Park
Away

Early Bird Classic

League
University of Montevallo
Neutral

Daphne Invite

League
Blakeley State Park
Away

Jesse Owens Classic

League
Moulton, AL
Away

McGill Toolen Relays

League
Langan Park (Mobile Municipal Park)
Neutral

Baldwin County Championships

League
Baldwin County Bicentennial Park
Neutral
Playoff

Sectionals

League
Bicentennial Park
Neutral
Playoff

AHSAA 5A State Meet

League
Moulton, AL
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