12. Division II Class AA Girls Individual
What We Implied: A Runner In A Green Jersey Would Win
What Happened:
Even though this portion of the Preview Article transitions in to the "Nothing Will Surprise Me" section... I was indeed surprised by the outcome of this race but perhaps I should not have been. Just two weeks prior to state Maggie Slattery beat Lily Bowen at the Nashville City Championships running 18:09. Four days later, Father Ryan raced again at James Clemens where Lydia Brunner beat Slattery running 18:03. These were two runners who started racing their best when it mattered most and by the time they hit the downhill off the second lake loop, it was apparent they hit a gear no other runner in the field could match. Brunner would gradually pull away from Slattery and both would finish under 18:00 for the first time in their careers with Brunner running 17:52 and Slattery 17:59. Brunner joins Christy Csorna (1998) as just the second cross country champion for the Irish. Looking ahead, only two runners in the top twenty will graduate this season so there are certainly no guarantees as we look ahead to 2024.
13. Division II Class AA Boys Individual
What We Implied: There Would Be A Repeat Champion
What Happened:
Even though I mentioned a lot of names in this section of the preview article, I really thought either Keegan Smith or Luke Thompson would win their second title and there was enough crossover between all the major competitors to support that assumption. Smith beat Colin Eckerman twice this season and teammate Radek Molchan every meet. Thompson had head to head wins over Jack Bowen and Samuel Trumble. The first loop unfolded with all the major players in stride but by the second loop, Eckerman and Bowen would break away and pull each other to become the first two competitors in state meet history to run under fifteen minutes for five thousand meters with Eckerman narrowly edging Bowen 14:51 to 14:52.
The times would move Eckerman to #13 All-Time and Bowen to #14. The All-Time list now has nineteen boys under fifteen minutes and six of them are from this season alone.
Tennessee Boys All-Time 5K Rankings
14. Division I Class AA/A Boys Individual
What We Implied: Joshua Pote Or Ty Brown Would Win
What Happened:
Even though we featured Camden Central's Ridge Bruce as a "Runner To Watch" in the preseason, nothing really materialized in the months following that interview that led us to believe he was going to be in contention to win. In two meets in which he had opportunities to race against Signal Mountain runners, Jesse Owens and The Southern Showcase, he never finished ahead of Joshua Pote, Tynan Borders, or Diangelo Cisto. Some even beat him by over a minute. Central Magnet's Ty Brown, on the other hand, beat all three of them. But we should take this opportunity to remind ourselves of this portion of that interview from August:
As he did in 2021, he saved his best race for his last race and broke the sixteen minute barrier for the first time and won the Class AA/A State Title. DiAngelo Cisto would place runner up and MLKs Wyatt Boling (who we also failed to mention in the preview) placed third. Clearly, we got this one wrong.
15. Division II Class A Girls Team
What We Implied:
What Happened:
As stated in the preview, I didn't have a feel for this division and even as it unfolded, my tweet thread from this race completely omitted any mention of the runner up team, USN, who after winning the Middle Region by 20, likely should have been considered the favorite. There were just lot of evenly matched teams passing by in a short period of time to be able to notice and count all the jerseys from all teams while also taking pictures and shooting race video. When the dust settled though, The Webb School of Bell Buckle won it's first cross country state title on the heels of winning their first track and field state title last spring.
Their 67 points was just seven points better than USN and Columbia Academy who both scored 74. USN would have the edge on 6th runner tie-breaker 28 to 47. Defending champions Westminster placed fourth with 96. There are only six seniors in the top 40 of this race and three of them are from USN. So while there is some continuity overall, USN will have the most to backfill heading into next season but we should expect another close competition in 2024.
16. Division II Class AA Boys Team
What We Implied: McCallie Would Win
What Happened:
McCallie won their fifth state championship in row and as we alluded to in the preview, they won but less than 10 points scoring 58 to Montgomery Bell's 66. Of the five championships, it was their closest team competition yet. Jack Bowen was able to secure a runner up finish for the second year in row and the supporting cast of Evan Simpson, Grady Outlaw, Henry Edwards, and Ian Jacobs were able to stay packed up and intermixed enough with runners from MBA and CBHS to keep the title in Chattanooga. As I went through the history of this streak, I noticed something that caught my attention: the runner up team has not been the same since the competition moved to Sanders Ferry.
Year | Champion | Runner Up |
| 2020 | McCallie 58 16:51 | Father Ryan 68 16:57 |
| 2021 | McCallie 54 16:16 | Brentwood Academy 69 16:23 |
| 2022 | McCallie 34 15:47 | Christian Brothers 89 16:26 |
| 2023 | McCallie 58 15:46 | Montgomery Bell 66 15:57 |
Moreover, the averages of the top five teams from this race are better than all but two teams from Division I Class AAA. When I took over as editor in 2021, the common viewpoint was "the best team in Division II MIGHT be able to compete with the best teams in Division I." That has been reversed in the past couple of years. This division continues to elevate the standard not just with the top runners, but with overall team depth. Of the five top teams, all but Knoxville Catholic will have to backfill at least two scoring runners to graduation into next season so it should be interesting to see who can in 2024.