Hutchins, Bullock Headline Huge Weekend for Distance in TN


It's time to respect Tennessee distance running.

A couple athletes put their names at the top of national leaderboards over the weekend.

Let's start in Northeast Tennessee.

Jenna Hutchins continues to put together one of the best freshman seasons in state history. On her home track, Jenna ran 4:51 over the weekend to demolish the Tri-Cities Classic meet record. That makes her seventh in the country for a mile.

Hutchins will race at Eastern Relays later this month, where she'll have another chance to toe the line against many of the best runners in the region and the country. She's shown over the course of her first high school season that she's not afraid to go after a big time. It doesn't matter what point of the season it is, Hutchins has the ability to put her name at the top of the state rankings whenever she races.

Out on the West Coast, Red Bank senior Cole Bullock had a statement race of his own.


The Ole Miss signee finished fifth at the Arcadia Invitational in 8:50 for 3200 meters. That ranks him sixth in America and No. 2 all-time in the state of Tennessee. 

Once again...how good is that D1 Large Schools state championship going to be? The distance events, featuring Bullock, Jake Renfree, David Ahlmeyer, Silas Winders and Davis Bove is going to be unreal. 

Tennessee has three runners in the top ten for two different events. Take a look at this.

Girls 1600 Meter Run

Boys 3200 Meter Run

58:49.622019
68:50.702019
78:51.092020
88:51.892019

Simply put, Tennessee distance running in on center stage. And it's still only April.

Look out.