TN Classic Meet Review
The 37th annual TN Classic started out with a bang… yep, I actually said that. After hearing the race instructions, the gun went off on a very nice and soon to be warm Saturday morning at the Steeplechase course. As always, Jim Kaiser and AllTrax timing did a great job getting the meet to run on time and with accurate results. Not sure AllTrax had anything to do with it, but I believe this will be two years in a row without any rain or any real weather issues. If only there was something to do to make that narrow old hickory road leading to the course just a little wider. I didn't follow that suggestion to get there early, so I suppose it's my fault I had to sit in the traffic for a while before finding a parking place at the park. I'll remember that for the November 7th meet at the steeplechase course. But anyways, on to the meet review.
If you read my race preview and were watching the girls Gold race, then you know I was expecting it to be an all Houston High race this year! And so it was. Houston girls took the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 9th positions to handily take the team title. Actually, eight of their varsity athletes came in the top 18th overall!
A tightly grouped pack of five were cruising into the mile maker with Tates Creek athletes Jenna Strange and Shae Robertson leading the way. Houston's Ella Baran and Michelle Myers were tucked in the back of that pack and the fifth of the group was Mount Juliet's Hailey Parker. For the most part, the top three kept that position throughout the race. Following that lead pack was two Memphis area athletes in a shoulder to shoulder race to make up that small chasing pack. Sammy Brainard (Collierville) and Meghan Underwood (St. Benedict) ran through that first mile pretty much step for step.
Then the packs started stretching out just a bit. Well, expect for Ella and Michelle who were still going stride for stride as they pulled a bit further ahead just past the second mile maker. Jenna Strange holding steady and strong at the third spot and Shian Mallory coming up slightly on Shae's fourth place spot at that point. Claire Anna Lusk of Dyer County made a move to fill up the fifth spot and change the look of that lead pack again.
Ella Baran ran this course in 19:21.20 which was a few seconds shy of what she ran at the state championships last year, but all in all, she ran comfortably with teammate Michelle Myers (2nd in 19:29.90) to take a one-two sweep for the team. Jenna Strange was third in 20:03.50 to keep the top three positions pretty much in-tact from the very start of the race. The next finishing positions made for an interesting finish though. Shian Mallory pulled ahead of Tates Creek to hold onto the fourth place finish. Then it came down to a final push for the fifth place spot with Meghan Underwood and Sammy Brainard still going stride for stride and trying to catch up to Claire Anna who was ahead of them by about ten meters. After making the turn past that last cedar tree, Meghan began what is fast becoming a trademark of her runs, a "Nick Symmonds" style kick that is difficult to respond to late in the race. So Meghan pulls ahead of Sammy and overtakes Claire Anna up the hill to get the fifth place finish just two seconds ahead of Claire Anna and a couple more seconds ahead of Sammy. Very tight finish for this top 7 group for sure. Meghan ends up with a 20:22.10, Anna Claire a 20:24.10 and Sammy finishing with 20:27.50. The way it looks, these girls are very much going to be ready for the State championships in November if they can pull off an early season race like this one!
This course is about 30 to 45 seconds slower than most of the other cross country courses ran across the state. It's a tough course, with some gradual and some steep hills to climb. And throw in some side hill sections to add to the challenge and you end up with a difficult course to get a PR time. I suppose that's why the State Championship is run on this same course, it brings out the best in the athletes for sure!
As the gun went off everybody surged to the front and within about a half mile, a lead pack began to form and pull ahead of the rest of the runners. Houston's Christopher Rayder decided to take the lead through that first mile. A step or two behind Christopher was Tates Creek's Alex Mortimer, Wilson Central's John Elrod, and Ben Tabor of Cumberland County. And just behind these guys was Terrell Jackson of Memphis University School, Collierville's Adam VanDeren, St. Benedicts Ray Wynne and a few others just past them. So from the first mile, the group was establishing some packs.
By the second mile, Christopher was doing the work for the lead pack and keeping his lead. Of course, the lead was only a short stride over Wilson Central's John Elrod and Alex (Tates Creek) and Ben (CC) forming a line right behind each other. Cresting the final hill on the course (not counting the finish line hill), the red headed Christopher was still holding strong but the pack was now tighter and down to three athletes. Christopher, John Elrod and Alex Mortimer came over the hill and started on the last 600 meters very close to each other. And so the sprinting began. Rounding the last curve and heading into the final few meters of the race, John Elrod took the lead with Christopher right on his tail and Alex a couple of seconds behind. They finished the race in that order with a wild finish!
As I said earlier in the article, this course is slower and more difficult than some. But somehow nobody told John Elrod about that theory on this course. He ran about 40 seconds faster than his time last year and improved from a fourth place finish in 2014 to the overall win in 16:31.80! Christopher clocked a 16:35.90 and Alex crossed in 16:38.30 to make up the top 3. Nathan Wilson of Station Camp was the last sub 17 finisher posting an impressive 16:57.40 which was only about 2 seconds slower than his time on the course at the state championships last year. Then Ben Tabor of Cumberland County finished off the top 5 with an almost 17 flat time of 17:00.10.
I missed Wilson Central in my preview article for some reason (not intentional) but no matter, these athletes made themselves known at this race with John winning and leading the team to the overall title. Wilson Central garnered a pretty impressive 90 points well ahead of Tate Creeks runner up spot with 128 points. Houston made a strong run but with Tates Creek's Kyle Sprague finishing in the top 15 spot for their second runner, pretty much sealed their fate to the #3 team spot.
The girls Silver division wasn't a big surprise on the winner with favored Niamh Schumacher of Kings Academy taking the top overall Silver spot with a 19:42.60. Niamh's time was a pretty impressive and a minute and a half faster than her time at this event last season. And about ten seconds faster than what she ran at the state championships last season. Running this strong at this stage of the season is certainly going to have people looking at this athlete as a favorite come the state championships in November. And I'm sure Niamh is shooting to post a better spot than her notable third place finish at the championships too!
Runner up in the Silver went to Shila Kapaya of Knoxville Catholic with a 19:55.00. That too was a faster time than her state run last season, so she is gearing up for a strong finish to the season with her performance here this weekend. Rounding out the top 5 was third place finisher Taylor Luthringer of Signal Mountain with a 19:57.10. Addison Smith of Baylor was the lead runner for her team with a 20:07.20 fourth place finish that began Baylor's capture of the Silver team title. In fifth overall was Signal Mountain's Stephanie Peterson running a 20:12.20. With Baylor having 3 finishers in the overall top ten that ended up being the deciding factor on them squeaking out a five point win over Signal Mountain. Baylor scored 54 point to Signal Mountain's 59. Baylor averaged their time only 0.02 of a second over Signal Mountain. Very tight race for these teams.
The boys Silver race had the usual groups forming during the race, very similar to the other races held this past Saturday. One difference though, the first pack was in the lead. Sam Wehner (South Gibson County) jumped to the front and by the second mile mark was a comfortable 20 seconds ahead of the pack chasing him. Another interesting point, all the athletes in the pack trying to chase down Sam had the same uniforms. They were from a strong McCallie team and made up of eventual second place finisher Nelson Eiselstein (17:44.40), third place finisher Kevin Wagoner (17:50.60) and in fourth overall Parker Marshall (17:56.80). King Harrison of Christ Presbyterian Academy (18:01.20) surged in the last half mile of the race to take the fifth overall spot in this silver division. Sam Wehner, the leader from start to finish clocked a 17:16.70 as he crossed the finish line to get the overall win.
McCallie tallied 40 points for the team to take a clear lead, however Madison Academic gave a pretty good push with their 64 points lead by senior Adam Joyner with his 18:13.30. And to be sure Madison Academic stays near the top, Lucas Tilleros followed Adam with an 18:16.10. Lucas is a freshman so look for him to improve and help the team for a few more years! George Arrowsmith (18:45.90) and Athley Crump (18:48.00) made up the fourth and fifth place finishers for the blue McCallie team at this meet.
As always, the Junior Ward TN Classic was another race that pulled out some impressive performances and gave us a good view of how well some of the state's runners are doing at this stage of the season. So let's look forward to the 38th annual run of this well-seasoned event!
See you on the track… and the grass!
Coach Ted