Over the river and through the woods, to the top of the podium Matthew Brewer would go.

The Vicksburg resident bested 20 other runners from three states on Saturday to win the Wild Azalea Trail Challenge’s 50-mile run in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Brewer, a 17-year-old senior at Warren Central, clocked a time of 8 hours, 25 minutes and 34 seconds. He beat runner-up Michael Campos of Allen, Texas, by about 14 minutes. Daryll Cordeiro of Bay St. Louis was third in 8:42:31.

It was the second ultra running event in a row that Brewer has won and fourth in a row he has finished in the top three. He was also victorious in the Loup Garou 40 mile trail run in Ville Platte, Louisiana, in early December.

Brewer is the youngest winner in the Wild Azalea’s 10-year history, and he’s only the third teenager to compete in it.

Nearly 200 people competed in the Wild Azalea Trail Challenge’s six events on Saturday. In addition to the 50-mile run that Brewer won, there were other runs of 10 kilometers, 13.1 miles and 27 miles, as well as two mountain bike distances through the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana.