Short History: Recent Dominance of the 3200m from Section 3

Mar 15, 2021

In 2019, the section 3 boys swept the top 4 spots in the 3200m run at the state meet. This tweet captured that moment:

Section 3 sweep the top 4 spots in the Boys 3200. Winders of Henry County wins in 9:23 followed by Ahlmeyer of Beech, an emphatic @Dbove1017 of @wcsCHSxc and Britt of Lebanon.

Watch Live: https://t.co/BbTCCib3ru pic.twitter.com/qT85ZYocKF
-- Tennessee MileSplit (@tnmilesplit) May 24, 2019

The year before the section got close to sweeping while finishing 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th. Now I briefly dug into the history of other events at the state meet in division I and did not find an event that was so thoroughly dominated by one particular section as this one. Here's a brief history of how runners who qualify out of section 3 performed at the state meet:

I should also point out that in 2017 and 2018, one of the best distance runners in the nation, Brodey Hasty formerly of Brentwood High School, opted not to compete scholastically but even without Hasty, the section was still loaded and it seems to be a family affair. You may be asking, "What's with the colors?"

Each color represents sets of brothers as follows:

Blue - Javan, Titus, and Silas Winders (Henry County High School)

Orange - Aiden and Mark Britt (Lebanon High School)

Grey - Jackson and Taylor Vroon (Brentwood High School)

Yellow - Alec and Aaron Thomas (Brentwood High School)

The other runners are David Ahlmeyer, Davis Bove, Brodey Hasty, Joel Barlow, Quinn Avirom, and Davis Holliday.

Brentwood's Trio of Alec Thomas, Aaron Thomas, and Taylor Caldwell finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the 3200m at the TSSAA State Championships in 2014.

Looking ahead to this spring, it's not looking to be a sweep but if we use the State Cross Country meet as a predictor it still appears section 3 will dominate this May. Fringe competitors like Kaden Keller, Andrew Schultz, and Landen McNair will be looking to spoil the party but Aiden Britt, Kevin Vanderkolk, and Miles Ally swept the top 3 spots in Hendersonville in November with Creekwood's Jackson Martin finishing 5^th. If all 4 runners attempt to qualify in the event and other runners like Brody Chapman (who missed the state meet due to injury) get healthy and in the mix, that sectional qualifying race is going to be a must watch.

Keep an eye on this race as the season develops.