Voyles Classic Highlights First Weekend of Racing


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

PlaceAthleteYrTeamTimePoints
1Titus Winders11Henry County High School15:21.151
2Davis Bove10Centennial High School15:54.782
3Matthew Porter10BrentwoodA Academy16:01.503
4Baylor Franklin11Wilson Central High School16:09.754
5Matthew McMillan10BrentwoodA Academy16:13.405
6Silas Winders9Henry County High School16:21.506
7Diego Zuazua10Nolensville High School16:25.597
8Quinn Heithcock10BrentwoodH High School16:28.408
9Fuji Anday9Central Magnet High School16:34.589
10Dalton Kerschieter11Oakland High School16:35.3210
11Ryan Phillips11Oakland High School16:35.6011
12Eli Cramer9Riverdale High School16:36.5212
13George Payne10BrentwoodA Academy16:36.9013
14Eddie Lunn10BrentwoodA Academy16:38.2014
15Jackson Gregory11BrentwoodA Academy16:38.615


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

PlaceAthleteYrTeamTimePoints
1Annika Sleenhof11Ravenwood High School17:22.951
2Meredith Helton11BrentwoodA Academy18:32.802
3Jalyn Jenkins9Mt. Juliet High School18:43.72--
4Faith Brown10Station Camp High School18:59.273
5Taylor Cuneo11Central Magnet High School19:08.704
6Jamie Blaylock11Ravenwood High School19:15.725
7Ella Kuban10Ravenwood High School19:18.306
8Caroline Cherry10BrentwoodH High School19:18.417
9Luke Freeman9Beech Senior High School19:18.508
10Alex Rosen10Ravenwood High School19:27.299


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.