On Tennessee Soil
On Tuesday night, Miles Ally and Aiden Britt became just the 16th and 17th high school runners in Tennessee history to break the 9-Minute barrier. Here's how those performances match up currently and historically:
| Miles Ally | Aiden Britt | |
| Time | 08:56.3 | 08:59.4 |
| TN 2021 Ranking | 1 | 2 |
| US 2021 Ranking | 10 | 19 |
| TN All-Time Ranking | 10 | 17 |
According to sources, it was the first time two Tennessee High School Runners broke that barrier in the same race within the state of Tennessee itself! The only time this was close to occurring was in 2019 at the Section 3 Championships where Silas Winders went 8:58 and David Ahlmeyer went 9:01. Typically, the distance runners in the state flock to Eastern Relays to run a fast 3200 but in 2019 it was a monsoon and this year it occurs next week in the middle of our sub-section and section races.
As I wrote earlier this year, Section 3 at this distance is loaded. Ally, Britt, Vanderkolk, Chapman, and Hurst make up five of the top nine spots in the overall rankings and Jackson Martin (who finished 5th in Cross Country) is completely MIA. As we look at the larger landscape in the coming weeks in who qualifies and in what, I think its going to take 9:12 or better to win this event at Rockvale. In the meantime, enjoy this replay of Tuesday's historic race.