Tennessee had a good weekend at the 2018 New Balance Indoor Nationals.
Lots of athletes from many different disciplines finished off their seasons well. But of course, you have to start with Brentwood's historic weekend.
Brodey Hasty was one of the headliners of the meet, bringing home two national championships. His 4:09 anchor leg brought home the gold for Brentwood's DMR. Then his tactical 9:00 two mile was enough to win his fourth career national championship.
Despite not running the two mile all season, Hasty was prepared for a challenging race. 9:06 was the time to beat out of the first section, and Hasty knew he'd have to keep the pace relaxed since he had just run the mile two days before. Given his career accolades and 8:45 personal best, the rest of the field keyed off him.
And he handled it perfectly. Hasty stayed relaxed enough early to control the tempo at his pace. He was also aware of the times in the first heat ahead of him.
Over the final thousand, Hasty broke away. His last five laps were 33-33-32-30-29 for a 2:37 final 1k and 2:04 final 800m. No one else could match that kind of finishing speed.
Since the second section was so tactical, times weren't as fast as they could've been for the rest of the field. Only three runners in heat two beat the winning time from the first section in the morning.
(Related: Brentwood wins the Distance Medley Relay at New Balance Nationals)
Carter Coughlin still ran close to his season-best, despite the slow early pace. He finished 19th overall in 9:18. Jake Renfree's 9:28 was good for 26th.
In the throws, Tennessee was represented well with another top performance from Joshua Sobota. The Bearden senior saved his best throw for last, launching a 65-07.5 throw on his final attempt to place second.
He's been in the top five nationally all season long. His performance last weekend once again proves that he's one of the best throwers in the country heading into outdoor season. The way he's improved over the past year, throwing 70 feet this outdoor season is certainly a solid possibility for the Kentucky signee.
On the girls side, Brentwood sophomore Beth Donnelly had quite an impressive performance in the two mile as well. Running out of the first section on Sunday morning, Donnelly placed second with a personal best time of 10:35. That was good for eighth.
At the end of the season, Donnelly finishes with the 10th-fastest two mile time in the country. She's the fourth-fastest sophomore at that distance as well. After bursting on the scene last cross country season, Donnelly followed that up with an exceptional indoor campaign. She'll have fiercer in-state competition come indoor season from the likes of Rebecca Story and Sasha Neglia.
Hardin Valley Academy took a large crew up to New York. Their 4x400 relay made the most of the trip, showing why they'll be a top team in Tennessee all outdoor season.
The Hawks placed seventh overall with a time of 3:20.57. It was anchored by senior Willington Wright, who has been one of the fastest 400m runners in Tennessee for the past year.
Wright had some of the best breakout performances of the indoor season. And the fact that he just ran 47.24 to finish it out means that his outdoor season may be even bigger. Look out.
Early Saturday morning, Oakland's Brady Fry had an impressive performance in the boys 60 meter hurdles. Fry advanced to the semifinals with an 8.07 in the preliminary round. That personal best moved him up to 22nd place by the end of the competition.
This will be an excellent experience for Fry, who just finished his first career indoor track season. Last year was just his first outdoor season with Oakland. At the end of the year, he finished fourth in the AAA 110 hurdles at state. He could be ready for a big breakthrough.
We finally close the book on indoor track with this weekend's competition in New York. It's time to move things outdoors at last.