Brodey Hasty is one of the only runners in the country who can be disappointed with a sub-nine 3200.
And on Tuesday night, the top ranked runner in the boys Flo50 wanted more.
"The last mile we were supposed to hit some faster paces and I didn't quite hit, lap per lap, what I was trying to hit," Hasty said after his 8:58 finish.
UTC's John Payne was the pacer for Hasty's first mile, and the senior from Brentwood took over with about 1800 meters remaining.
While the time was a bit disappointing, Hasty feels confident and comfortable heading into Nike Regionals on Saturday.
"I think it was a pretty solid effort," he said. "I'm pretty prepared for this Saturday. Coach (Guy Avery) is pretty good at helping me through that stuff...and if he believes in me I think it's pretty good."
The meet was originally supposed to be run on Saturday. But heavy rain and wind pushed the race back to Tuesday night.
While the conditions were pretty cold, Hasty felt fine with the last minute change.
"We were able to adjust pretty well because we were going to have a workout today," he said.
Looking ahead to Nike Southeast, Hasty obviously wants to qualify for NXN once again. But he's also focused on bringing his teammates with him.
Brentwood XC Club didn't race all season in the TSSAA sanctioned events in state. But Hasty thinks they can use that to their advantage.
"Honestly, I kind of prefer it in a way," Hasty said. "It gives us a lot more freedom. We can say, 'It's really hot today. Let's wait an hour or so to do the workout.' Just small adjustments that help us more.
"I'd like to see if our team can qualify as well. That would be a really huge accomplishment."