Winders vs. The Field:
This year's race is the exact opposite of last year's race. Last year we had a coin toss in the Individual Title while the Team Title seemed decided in advance. This year the Individual Title seems decided while the Team Title is somewhat up for grabs.
Silas Winders finished 2nd in 2017 only to his brother Titus. Last year he finished a disappointing 14th running a season's worst by almost 30 seconds. This year, after a season opening 6th place finish he's been full throttle ever since beating every in state competitor he has raced while posting a US #5 14:29 in the process. It's his to lose but there is no shortage of competitors who are looking to play spoiler.
Of those competitors is Chester County's Evan Allen. The fellow senior opened his season winning Memphis Twilight while Winders got 6th. The two went head to head again at the Tennessee Classic where Silas beat Evan:
Evan finished 7th at this race last year and is 2nd among returning runners. The only higher finisher than him from last year's race is Lebanon's Aiden Britt. He will also be in the mix but after two tries this season has not beaten Silas. The only other in state competitors who have are MLK's Miles Ally and Arlington's Jackson Williams who both did so at Memphis Twilight. If Silas pulls away, the race to round out the Top 5-10 will be similarly as exciting and unpredictable as the girl's.