TSSAA State Preview: A Look at the Memphis Area Top CC Girls

Division II Class A

St. George's Independent's Lauren Rutlin (19:08) and Megan Yost (20:40) make up the two fastest girls in the DII-A (D2 small school) division with each ranking in the top 10 across the state. And maybe not so coincidentally, other than Harding's Andrea White (22;16) and ECS's Betsy Nearn (22:20), the rest of this Gryphon team fills in the remaining top spots from the Memphis area.


In a way, Lauren has run under the radar for a few years. Having had to run behind former standout distance athlete, Allison Newman, Lauren has quickly become the front runner in the area and kept the Gryphons in the news for this division. With only a few races under her belt this season, you might have a tendency to say she is off her best by about 40 seconds. I set that comparison using the Frank Horton - even though her finishing spot matched last year's 6th place, the time this year was off. However, the course this year has changed a bit and it is, well let's say, more of a Championship level course than in the past (and it was tough even then). So, there you have it - the nuances of cross country. Unless you take the time on one course, in exactly the same weather conditions, you cannot logically and analytically compare times on different courses. Even the same course can be different from one day to the next. We still use time as a metric in cross country, but the best metric is those head to head battles.

Ok, now that I've bumped off my soap box on the CC ranking, let's see who else in this division stands out. Jackson Christian's Alli Hylkema is the one that could possibly top Lauren this season. If you saw Ben Thompson of TN Mile Split's interview with Alli the other day, you can tell immediately she has the energy, knowledge, and understanding of how to race cross country! This being her senior year is likely to be that extra advantage that could bring her over the top. Alli had a top ten finish at the Frank Horton. At that race, she was exactly 3 seconds behind Lauren. Exactly 3 seconds. Could be an eternity... but somehow, with Alli's attitude, it's nothing but a foot or two away.



Both Lauren and Alli are low 19 runners. The next closest in this Region would be Westminster's Sarah Catherine Donavan who ran a PR of 20:02 at the Frank Horton. She was in the top 10 at the MYA Championships just last week. She's also run sub 12 on the track in the 3200, so she is highly capable of posting a low time for the 5K.

Having six girls ranked in the top 10 for D2A in the Memphis area, St. George's would almost seem to have a lock on the team standings again this season. Rounding out the St. George's squad is Megan Yost (20:40), Sienna Lightman (21:19), Mary Frances Forbes (21:32) Emma Claton (21:56) and Gracye Thompson (22:19). A couple other athletes to look for in this division would be ECS's Betsy Nearn and Harding's Andrea White. Setting a PR (22:16.00) late in the season is probably a good sign that Andrea is peaking at the right time.