Cross Country Midseason Report

Ben Thompson

Individual Boys

For the first time in what seems like a decade, a runner with the last name Winders will not be in contention for the top spot at State but that doesn't mean the field lacks talent. The top returning finisher from last year's state meet is MLK's Miles Ally who, like some of the top returning girl runners, has raced only once this season so far. His 15:10 in Memphis last weekend is classified as "unattached" since MNPS at the time had not permitted schools to resume athletic competitions. This designation is just temporary. He'll log his second race in Memphis again this weekend at Horton and will go head to head against the competitors that are directly above and below him on the rankings, Brentwood's Kevin Vanderkolk and Bartlett's Landen McNair. While there are other fringe contenders on the rankings, (Britt, Kennedy, Wingfield) these three appear to be the "class" of the boys division. After this weekend, Large School Boys Individuals may be the clearest picture of any of and division we have.



Team Boys

While the boys individuals will not have a Winders to worry about, it appears the boys team race will not have a Siegel either. They'll likely be in Hendersonville in November but Phil Young is rebuilding a team that graduated four scoring seniors from last year's squad and left high school with back to back to back State Championships.In those three seasons, Bartlett finished 4th, 2nd, and 2nd quietly solidifying themselves as the second best program with the least amount of notoriety. This year again, they're good. Are they good enough to finally reach the top of the podium? Hard to say. This weekend they'll run against a Brentwood squad at Horton and based on those results we may have a better gauge as to how they'll stack up to the likes of Franklin who are probably going to be #1 in our rankings but like I said when talking about the girls, rankings can be a mirage.


While Franklin claimed the early top spot in the rankings, they've also raced quite a bit comparatively to other teams in the state and at one of the faster courses out of state but I know Coach Carolan is not letting them fall into that trap. As I approached their team camp for an interview at the Sanders Ferry Showdown I heard him say to his team "Hardin Valley is the best team in the state." An important message to reiterate considering going into last year's state meet the rankings had them ranked first while they finished 6th.The east, west, middle showdown in Division I in November is going to be a good one.

In Division II, after McCallie took the mantle from the Brentwood Academy Dynasty last year, it looks to be Father Ryan's turn at the top. All 5 boys are in the Top 10 of the Division II rankings. On their heels, McCallie and MBA will be on the outside fighting for finishes in the top 3.