The Brentwood High School Girls Varsity Cross Country team has not been beat by another school from Tennessee yet this season. They, like a lot of other top programs you'll read about as this preview progresses, raced outside of the state several times this year (Chickasaw, Jesse Owens, Louisville, etc...). Even though it shows a "varsity" team entered at this year's Tennessee Classic, that morning the actual varsity ran a workout on the steeple chase course before the meet began. I expect this kind of training with the long-game in mind to pay off for this squad on Saturday. They may not have a "star" that will vie for a top 5 spot but they have a pack that has the ability to put their 7 ahead of every other team's 5. That kind of depth on what looks like will be a sloppy course is why I won't be surprised to see them atop the podium for Large School - Division I at the end of the day.

Siegel High School Boys:

The Siegel High School Stars are looking to repeat as Boys Large School - Division I Champions this year and have a good chance to do so. They, like the Brentwood Girls, have not been beat by another Tennessee High School team and are also dependent on the spread of their runners 1 to 5 rather than a star that is expected to get top 5. Last year's championship squad that was led by senior Dawson Reed only graduated one other senior, Luke Cassidy. This year's team has NO SENIORS and when I say no seniors that's varsity down to JV. Junior Canaan Anderson stepped into the lead role while freshman Dylan Bennet has been able to backfill the void that Luke Cassidy left. This season's team is as good as last year's. Next year's will be even better.

Franklin High School Boys:

The only teams to have beat Franklin this season are two that we're expecting to win state titles in their divisions, Siegel and Brentwood Academy, and region foe Independence at the season opener (Voyles Classic). More recently at the Region 6 Championship the squad posted an impressive 16:53 average of scoring runners at Steeplechase while beating Independence by 40 in the process. A month or so earlier at Steeplechase Siegel posted a 17:03 scoring runner's average. Senior Max Zani will likely be in the "chase pack" with the likes of Siegel's Canaan Anderson and Lebanon's Aiden Britt vying for a top 10 placement but where it will get interesting is how their pack and Siegel's stack up. Both teams on average have a spread of a little over a minute 1 to 5. If one of Siegel's runners has a bad race... look for Franklin to be next in line to sneak into the number one spot on the podium.

Brentwood Academy Boys and Girls: 

The Eagles boys have been excellent this season. And they're getting healthy at the right time. New Tennessee commit Matthew McMillan is healthy again. He'll be pushed by his teammates Matthew Porter and George Payne, who might be his biggest competition for the individual state title. McMillan won last year's meet and also the State 3200 last spring. The Eagles boast a strong front pack, which is important this time of year. Cayden Durrough and Eddie Lunn will also be in the mix for All-State positions. Expect BA to put five in the top 10-12 runners. The BA girls are just as strong. Coco Holliday, Kylie Wittman and Elizabeth Heckman are ranked 1-2-3 in the division entering the meet. On paper, the Eagles are a 30-point favorite over local rival Harpeth Hall. If they can go 1-2-3, they'll have a chance to score under 30 points.