Brentwood Academy and Brentwood High School will look a lot different this year than they did last year.
Both teams have a variety of new faces ready to score points. And they'll have the chance to get off on the right foot this weekend at the Voyles Classic in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Saturday's meet will feature a young, but talented BA team, looking to replace its top two runners, Carter Cheesman and Davis Holliday. Both of those guys have transferred elsewhere. But the Eagles still have plenty of firepower up front.
Junior Matthew Porter has the top time coming into the season on the Eagles' deep squad. As a sophomore, Porter was a second away from breaking 16 minutes.
But he's joined by a deep top five. In the virtual meet, the Eagles would place their entire top five in the top fifteen of the preseason conference meet.
Championship Meet - 79 Teams
| Place | Athlete | Yr | Team | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Titus Winders | 11 | Henry County High School | 15:21.15 | 1 | |
| 2 | Davis Bove | 10 | Centennial High School | 15:54.78 | 2 | |
| 3 | Matthew Porter | 10 | BrentwoodA Academy | 16:01.50 | 3 | |
| 4 | Baylor Franklin | 11 | Wilson Central High School | 16:09.75 | 4 | |
| 5 | Matthew McMillan | 10 | BrentwoodA Academy | 16:13.40 | 5 | |
| 6 | Silas Winders | 9 | Henry County High School | 16:21.50 | 6 | |
| 7 | Diego Zuazua | 10 | Nolensville High School | 16:25.59 | 7 | |
| 8 | Quinn Heithcock | 10 | BrentwoodH High School | 16:28.40 | 8 | |
| 9 | Fuji Anday | 9 | Central Magnet High School | 16:34.58 | 9 | |
| 10 | Dalton Kerschieter | 11 | Oakland High School | 16:35.32 | 10 | |
| 11 | Ryan Phillips | 11 | Oakland High School | 16:35.60 | 11 | |
| 12 | Eli Cramer | 9 | Riverdale High School | 16:36.52 | 12 | |
| 13 | George Payne | 10 | BrentwoodA Academy | 16:36.90 | 13 | |
| 14 | Eddie Lunn | 10 | BrentwoodA Academy | 16:38.20 | 14 | |
| 15 | Jackson Gregory | 11 | BrentwoodA Academy | 16:38.6 | 15 |
Brentwood Academy will be challenged by an old MSCCA rival this season -- Oakland High School. The 1-2 punch of Dalton Kerschieter and Ryan Phillips will make things interesting in the front pack of that race.
Henry County's Titus Winders is the favorite to win the individual competition. Winders was 5th at this meet last season, running 16:11. As the top returner in this competition, he'll look to build on his success last year in his final race in this competition.
Last year's girls competition was dominated by another Brentwood Academy star, Claire Cheeseman. But the Lady Eagles will need a big day from the defending Division II-AA individual state champion, Meredith Helton, against the likes of Brentwood and Ravenwood.
Ravenwood comes in as the clear favorite to win this competition. And that should be a theme for the entire season.
The Raptors have four of the top ten fastest returners in the field. They're led by Annika Sleenhof (17:22) and Jamie Blaylock (19:15).
Here's what the field looks like going into the weekend:
Championship Meet - 79 Teams
| Place | Athlete | Yr | Team | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annika Sleenhof | 11 | Ravenwood High School | 17:22.95 | 1 | |
| 2 | Meredith Helton | 11 | BrentwoodA Academy | 18:32.80 | 2 | |
| 3 | Jalyn Jenkins | 9 | Mt. Juliet High School | 18:43.72 | -- | |
| 4 | Faith Brown | 10 | Station Camp High School | 18:59.27 | 3 | |
| 5 | Taylor Cuneo | 11 | Central Magnet High School | 19:08.70 | 4 | |
| 6 | Jamie Blaylock | 11 | Ravenwood High School | 19:15.72 | 5 | |
| 7 | Ella Kuban | 10 | Ravenwood High School | 19:18.30 | 6 | |
| 8 | Caroline Cherry | 10 | BrentwoodH High School | 19:18.41 | 7 | |
| 9 | Luke Freeman | 9 | Beech Senior High School | 19:18.50 | 8 | |
| 10 | Alex Rosen | 10 | Ravenwood High School | 19:27.29 | 9 |
Throughout the season, it'll be tough for anyone to break up Ravenwood's narrow 1-through-5 split. It'll be interesting to see just how fast those athletes can run in their first big competition of the season.