The Frontrunner Invite and Big 11 Conference Meet both gave good barometers of where East Tennessee teams are with a few weeks left in the season.
They also provided area competition that won't play a role in the state meet. But gave bragging rights to a few teams in Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities.
In Chattanooga, two Division II powers claimed the team titles in the Front Runner Meet. The hosts Baylor took the girls title, while the cross-town rival McCallie Blue Tornado won the boys meet.
Here's what the top 25 runners ran.
BOYS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS
PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT POINTS 1 Cole Bullock 11 Red Bank High School 15:39.98 1 2 Chase Faudi 10 CSTHEA Patriots High School 16:00.39 2 3 Jonathan Boyd 12 CSTHEA Patriots High School 16:08.31 3 4 Walton Bedell 11 McCallie School 16:36.19 4 5 Jasper Wilson 11 Gordon Lee High School 16:50.22 5 6 Duke Richey 10 McCallie School 16:56.39 6 7 Silas Gartman 10 Baylor School 17:03.02 7 8 Garrison Wheeler 12 Signal Mountain High School 17:05.30 8 9 Lane Hollis 9 Coahulla Creek HS 17:13.29 9 10 Max Blevins 11 Soddy Daisy High School 17:18.43 10 11 Chris Duncan 10 McCallie School 17:20.09 11 12 Samuel Ligon 10 McCallie School 17:21.86 12 13 John Arrowsmith 10 McCallie School 17:25.43 13 14 Eric Martinez 11 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 17:26.68 14 15 James Post 12 Baylor School 17:30.76 15 16 Kaigen Mulkey 10 Chattanooga Central High School 17:31.89 16 17 Jackson Collette 11 Baylor School 17:34.73 17 18 Oscar-Diego Guzman 11 Southeast Whitfield High School 17:36.28 18 19 Christopher Alex Carroll 12 Southeast Whitfield High School 17:37.37 19 20 Alec Bloomer 12 Sweetwater High School 17:38.02 20 21 Ian Goodwin 10 Gordon Lee High School 17:39.54 21 22 Nathan Wagoner 11 McCallie School 17:41.45 22 23 Cole Millard 11 Cleveland High School 17:42.04 23 24 Davis Latimer 12 Baylor School 17:45.12 24 25 Grant Johnson 10 Baylor School 17:46.56 25
| TEAM SCORES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES | |||
| 1 | McCallie School | 46 | 4+6+11+12+13 (22+27) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 17:07 Avg | |||
| 2 | Baylor School | 88 | 7+15+17+24+25 (29) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 17:32 Avg | |||
| 3 | Signal Mountain High School | 161 | 8+28+35+38+52 (55+107) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 17:59 Avg | |||
| 4 | Southeast Whitfield High School | 181 | 18+19+39+47+58 (59+103) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 18:08 Avg | |||
| 5 | CSTHEA Patriots High School | 182 | 2+3+44+49+84 (157+161) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 17:40 Avg | |||
McCallie showed once again that it wins with a tight spread. The Blue Tornado got its top five runners in the top 13 of the race, which made the difference against Baylor.
For Cole Bullock, that was his first race of the season. And it wasn't a bad opener. He took the meet in 15:39, and he was the only runner to break 16 minutes.
Bullock won the region 3-A-AA title last season, and with this opener, looks ready to repeat as the individual champion. Full results from the meet are listed here.
The girls meet was a similar story, with Baylor's front pack finishing in the top 15 to secure the victory.GIRLS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS
PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT POINTS 1 Kathryn Vradenburgh 11 CSTHEA Patriots High School 19:00.41 1 2 Gracie O'Neal 10 Gordon Lee High School 19:03.31 2 3 Lesley Green 11 Rhea County High School 19:34.06 3 4 Carley Braman 12 Girls Preparatory School 19:54.03 4 5 Jane Eiselstein 9 Girls Preparatory School 19:58.30 5 6 Grace Pippin 10 Baylor School 20:08.53 6 7 Janie Pippenger 9 Baylor School 20:15.91 7 8 Sydney Tabor 12 Cumberland Co. High School 20:22.70 0 9 Emrick Garrett 9 Baylor School 20:39.24 8 10 Rachel Ward 12 Coahulla Creek HS 20:53.19 9 11 Mattie Parker 11 Signal Mountain High School 20:58.26 10 12 Sydney Cansler 11 Baylor School 21:04.77 11 13 Bailey Mullett 12 Walker Valley High School 21:13.15 0 14 Tara Jessen 9 Signal Mountain High School 21:18.88 12 15 Julia Agan 12 Signal Mountain High School 21:24.53 13 16 Merrit Newton 11 Baylor School 21:29.08 14 17 Caylee Carpenter 12 Heritage HS, Catoosa 21:30.84 15 18 Allison Craft 9 Heritage HS, Catoosa 21:35.59 16 19 Sarah Welch 12 Rhea County High School 21:39.91 17 20 Gabrielle Beckett 11 Soddy Daisy High School 21:45.19 18 21 Alex Gass 12 Heritage HS, Catoosa 21:52.29 19 22 Gia Smithwick 12 Rhea County High School 21:53.04 20 23 Lindsey Guess 10 Northwest Whitfield High School 21:54.76 21 24 Kate Umbarger 12 Signal Mountain High School 21:56.81 22 25 Ashtyn Frazier 12 Walker Valley High School 22:03.13 0
CSTHEA junior Kathryn Vradenburgh was able to barely edge out Gracie O'Neal for the individual championship. But Baylor's front pack, led by Grace Pippin and Janie Pippenger, stuck together well.
| TEAM SCORES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES | |||
| 1 | Baylor School | 46 | 6+7+8+11+14 (39+46) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 20:43 Avg | |||
| 2 | Signal Mountain High School | 81 | 10+12+13+22+24 (36+60) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 21:34 Avg | |||
| 3 | Girls Preparatory School | 99 | 4+5+26+29+35 (42) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 21:32 Avg | |||
| 4 | Heritage HS, Catoosa | 125 | 15+16+19+27+48 (65+66) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 22:12 Avg | |||
| 5 | Rhea County High School | 135 | 3+17+20+33+62 (81+107) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 21:59 Avg | |||
Baylor's average time was nearly a minute better than the closest team. And that average was led by a young group of athletes. Baylor's top five was made up of two juniors, two freshmen and a sophomore.
This team is here to stay.
Big 11 Conference Championship
Sasha Neglia was able to pick up her fourth win of the season in the Big 11 meet against area competition. Neglia recovered well from her victory just last weekend at the Trailblazer Invitational, pacing the field to a 18:09 winning time.
1 Sasha Neglia 10 Dobyns Bennett High 18:09.51 1 2 Breanna Roy 12 David Crockett High 18:58.47 2 3 Gabrielle Mardis 12 Science Hill High Sc 19:47.07 3 4 Taylor Roy 11 David Crockett High 19:55.49 4 5 Rachel Dulaney 9 David Crockett High 19:58.08 5 6 Emma Russum 10 Dobyns Bennett High 20:10.23 6 7 Ellie Hall 9 Dobyns Bennett High 20:26.95 7 8 Maria Chellah 12 Daniel Boone High Sc 20:33.27 8 9 Gracie Murray 11 Daniel Boone High Sc 20:34.24 9 10 Meg Davis 12 Dobyns Bennett High 20:56.25 10 11 Judy Chellah 10 Daniel Boone High Sc 20:59.45 11 12 Erin Bruce 11 Daniel Boone High Sc 21:01.84 12 13 Abbi Rountree 10 Science Hill High Sc 21:04.44 13 14 Marley McCoy 11 Daniel Boone High Sc 21:04.68 14 15 Patricia Chellah 9 Daniel Boone High Sc 21:13.25 15 16 Emmaline Hulse 11 David Crockett High 21:19.00 16 17 Ashley Doyle 9 Science Hill High Sc 21:29.96 17 18 Gracie Allen 10 Dobyns Bennett High 21:42.05 18 19 Kyley Carlsen 9 Science Hill High Sc 22:09.12 19 20 Grace Krell 9 David Crockett High 22:17.40 20 21 Emma Davis 9 Tennessee High Schoo 22:22.28 21 22 Sydney Smith 9 Tennessee High Schoo 22:23.79 22 23 Cheyenne Wilson 10 Unicoi Co. High Scho 22:28.84 24 Lauren Pilkton 11 Elizabethton High Sc 22:46.87 25 Halle Scott 9 David Crockett High 22:58.81 23
With Neglia's win, her Dobyns Bennett team was also able to come away with a championship. But it was a close battle with David Crockett and Daniel Boone.
David Crockett put three runners in the top five and Daniel Boone had a 1-5 split of just 32 seconds. But in the end, that wasn't quite enough to knock off Neglia's Indians.
1 Dobyns Bennett High 42 1 6 7 10 18 - -
Total Time: 1:41:25 Average: 20:17.00 1-5 Split: 3:33
2 David Crockett High 47 2 4 5 16 20 23 25
Total Time: 1:42:29 Average: 20:29.69 1-5 Split: 3:19
3 Daniel Boone High Sc 54 8 9 11 12 14 15 24
Total Time: 1:44:14 Average: 20:50.70 1-5 Split: 32
4 Science Hill High Sc 78 3 13 17 19 26 27 -
Total Time: 1:48:52 Average: 21:46.36 1-5 Split: 4:35
5 Tennessee High Schoo 138 21 22 30 32 33 34 36
Total Time: 2:04:44 Average: 24:56.80 1-5 Split: 4:58
6 Volunteer High Schoo 160 28 29 31 35 37 38 39
Total Time: 2:12:36 Average: 26:31.07 1-5 Split: 4:06For Breanna Roy, that was the second best race of her career. The TN No. 5 runner broke 19 minutes for the second time in her career on Thursday. Her 18:21 earlier this season at the Cherokee Classic keeps her in the top five at the moment.
Jeb Jones has been one of this year's breakout performers for Science Hill. And on Thursday, he secured another victory against local competition.
His 16:25 was enough to edge out teammate Aaron Jones for the individual title.
1 Jeb Jones 11 Science Hill High Sc 16:25.72 1 2 Aaron Jones 10 Science Hill High Sc 16:36.93 2 3 Mason Lewis 10 Daniel Boone High Sc 16:40.34 3 4 Matt Huff 11 Daniel Boone High Sc 16:47.29 4 5 Zach Johnson 12 Sullivan South High 16:52.60 5 6 Chance Bowman 11 Daniel Boone High Sc 17:12.81 6 7 Ray Richardson 10 Science Hill High Sc 17:18.16 7 8 Max Austin 10 Daniel Boone High Sc 17:27.38 8 9 Dylan Pogue 10 Science Hill High Sc 17:41.93 9 10 Carson Walls 12 Daniel Boone High Sc 17:46.21 10 11 Hank Lowe 11 David Crockett High 17:49.25 11 12 Austin Galloway 10 Daniel Boone High Sc 17:54.84 12 13 Joey Carrier 10 Dobyns Bennett High 17:56.22 13 14 Noah White 12 Daniel Boone High Sc 18:02.57 14 15 Ethan Tilley 10 Tennessee High Schoo 18:06.00 15 16 Tony Smith 10 Science Hill High Sc 18:12.74 16 17 Dillon Youngblood 10 Sullivan South High 18:13.76 17 18 Gavin Ledford 12 Science Hill High Sc 18:16.69 18 19 Bryson Livesay 9 David Crockett High 18:19.24 19 20 Joseph Fry 12 Dobyns Bennett High 18:20.24 20 21 Tyler Mays 11 Dobyns Bennett High 18:26.77 21 22 Alex Crow 12 Dobyns Bennett High 18:32.09 22 23 Will Everette 9 Dobyns Bennett High 18:38.81 23 24 Justin Canfield 12 Science Hill High Sc 18:41.86 24 25 Connor Mcreynolds 12 Dobyns Bennett High 18:51.26 25
Jones now has three wins on the season at the Eye Opener meet, the Tennessee Classic and now the Big 11.
But not far behind him was a tight pack of Daniel Boone runners. Boone was able to put all of its top five in the top ten of the race, and that was enough. They edged out Jones' Science Hill team for a narrow victory.
1 Daniel Boone High Sc 31 3 4 6 8 10 12 14
Total Time: 1:25:55 Average: 17:10.81 1-5 Split: 1:06
2 Science Hill High Sc 35 1 2 7 9 16 18 24
Total Time: 1:26:16 Average: 17:15.10 1-5 Split: 1:48
3 Dobyns Bennett High 99 13 20 21 22 23 25 -
Total Time: 1:31:55 Average: 18:22.83 1-5 Split: 43
4 David Crockett High 136 11 19 30 35 41 43 52
Total Time: 1:35:24 Average: 19:04.64 1-5 Split: 2:28
5 Sullivan South High 138 5 17 31 40 45 48 50
Total Time: 1:35:07 Average: 19:01.21 1-5 Split: 3:50
6 Tennessee High Schoo 140 15 26 27 33 39 47 49
Total Time: 1:35:04 Average: 19:00.79 1-5 Split: 1:43
7 Elizabethton High Sc 174 29 34 36 37 38 53 -
Total Time: 1:38:04 Average: 19:36.61 1-5 Split: 44
8 Volunteer High Schoo 192 28 32 42 44 46 51 54
Total Time: 1:40:11 Average: 20:02.16 1-5 Split: 1:54Both teams had similar averages, but Boone's ability to keep a small 1-5 split was the difference in the end.
As conference meets wrap up, region competition will begin next week to begin qualification to the TSSAA State Championships on November 5th. As always, keep it right here for all the coverage you need leading up to the state meet in Nashville.