Chattanooga teams had amazing success last fall when the State Cross Country meet was held at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville for the first time, but they had more tough luck on Friday as there was only one team champ and no individual winners.
Last year, it was GPS and McCallie in D-II-AA while Signal Mountain won both titles in A-AA. And Baylor’s Mae Mae Powe posted an outstanding time of 19:02 in winning the individual title in the D-II-AA event.
McCallie was able to win again, taking its third straight title and eighth overall, but both Signal Mountain teams finished as runner-up and GPS was third.
And if you really want to talk about heart-breaking news, Baylor’s Powe was tripped and took a hard fall in the first mile of the race and did not finish.
"It was just awful and just a freak accident," related Baylor coach Heather Ott, who said that she had never seen anything like it in her 35 years coaching high school cross country.
"She was ready to go, but just got tripped and went tumbling over to the side. It was a heartbreaker for her, but she was hobbling once she finally got back up and couldn't put any weight on that leg. We thought she may have broken her leg, but thank goodness, that wasn't the case.
"Mae Mae is such a gritty competitor and a true champion. I'm sure she will keep her head up and I know our motto for next year is unfinished business, but I have confidence that she will be back," Ott said, noting that none of her top seven runners are seniors.
Evan Simpson had the best time for McCallie as he posted a 15:59 for the 5K distance to lead the Blue Tornado by finishing fourth.
Jack Bowen, Hugh Carlson and Grady Outlaw all claimed All-State honors by finishing ninth, 11th and 13 respectively as the Blue Tornado totaled 54 points and beat Brentwood Academy by 15 points.
Garrison Corley also finished All-State with his sixth place to lead Baylor with a time of 16:04 as the Red Raiders were sixth with 133 points. Carson Turner finished 21st in 16:50 as Chattanooga Christian was 11th in the team standings.
“That was a lot of fun. Our goal is to always have fun and we do that by winning, but the guys ran a great race and I’m proud of the way they handled the pressure. Brentwood Academy was gunning for us,” McCallie coach Mike Wood said while traveling back to Chattanooga later in the afternoon.
“Evan Simpson really stepped up and had the race of his career, but our depth really helped and placing four on the podium as All-State performers made a huge difference. We beat some kids we had never beaten before, but they all ran a smart race and didn’t go out too hard at the start. The kids were ready to take care of business and they did an excellent job of following the instructions we gave them,” Wood added.
The Signal Mountain teams were both shooting for repeat performances with the girls looking for number five while the guys were looking for their third straight championship. It simply wasn’t meant to be as Central Magnet of Murfreesboro won both titles, by a scant two points in the boys race and only three points in the girls.
“We were in it in both races and even had the lead at the halfway point, but Central Magnet was just too strong and we couldn’t hold them off,” said Signal Mountain coach Dustin Carpenter later.
“Our kids showed up and gave it everything they had, but that’s just the way it goes at times. We knew it would be a tough race in both cases, but I’m sure this will do a nice job of keeping my kids inspired for next season. We had a few personal bests with three girls making All-State.
“It was just so tight in both races. Most had really good days, but Central Magnet was just a little bit better. We ran with a lot of heart and intensity. I loved our effort, but I don’t always like the results. Our guys got punched in the mouth, but I promise you that we’ll be back and we’ll be in the mix again next year,” Carpenter added.
Maxine Richards was the best Signal Mountain girl as she was fifth overall in 19:19. Kelsey Thompson was 10th in 19:57 while Ada Boyd was 14th in 20:19.
Joshua Pote finished seventh to lead the Signal Mountain boys with a time of 16:16. Jack Gibby and Noah Shriner were 16th and 17th overall with times of 17:00.72 and 17:00.84, respectively, while Kaid Boehm was 21st in 17:12.
Signal Mountain was second with 76 behind Central Magnet’s 74 while Sequatchie County was 16th with 403 points. Carter Bradford, who won the region at Woodland Park last week, suffered a stress fracture and didn’t even make the trip.
Grayson Kennedy was Sequatchie’s leader by finishing 14th in 16:52.
Mariah Ivery, Frances Bohner and Gilly Shumate finished 10th, 11th and 12th for GPS with times of 19:44, 19:51 and 19:55 as the Bruisers claimed third place with 80 points.
Harpeth Hall was the winner with 69 points while Knoxville Webb was runner-up with 73. Baylor’s Addi Greene had a great race and finished second overall in 18:34 while Helen Webb earned All-State honors too by taking sixth in 19:20.
GPS coach Katie Outlaw was pleased with the way her Bruisers raced, but she fully expects her team to be right back in it next fall as five of her top seven runners are freshmen.
“I’m pleased with how we did as they did about what I was expecting,” she expressed later.
“We ran well for the most part, but we have a really young team and they’re still trying to figure out how to race in a big meet like this. Mariah Ivery was our leader today while Frances also had an outstanding race. But we had three girls make All-State and I’m really proud of that,” Outlaw added.
Lucy Horne finished 16th overall in 20:11 as Chattanooga Christian was sixth with 188 points.
Silverdale’s Gabe Placer finished 18th overall in the D-II-A race as the Seahawks were ninth as a team.
Savannah Inman was 11th overall in 20:40 as the Silverdale girls finished sixth. Notre Dame’s Sophie Welch was 12th in 20:41 while Ashley Young was Boyd Buchanan’s top finisher after taking 42nd in 23:10.
Willa Barnes of East Hamilton was 23rd in the A-AA race with a time of 20:47 as the Lady Hurricanes finished 11th.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)