Performer of the Week
Every week this season we will be conducting a poll from beginning Monday and ending Wednesday to highlight the performances from the previous week. This will give us an opportunity to showcase the best talent in Tennessee. Though some athletes will likely lay down marks every meet that are worthy of being in the poll every time, our goal is to cast a wide net and showcase a vast array of athletes from all parts of the state.
Blake Brown - Beech
Blake Brown missed qualifying for the state meet in the 800m last season placing 5th in the Section 3 Championship but that does not appear to be an issue now. After two meets of windy conditions and hovering right at 2:00, the Senior Buccaneer set a new TN #1 at Scott Hartman running a 1:55.78! A near three second PR en route to his second victory of the season in the event! On top of that, he ran an 8 second PR in the 1600m which is a TN #2. After not having a great cross country campaign in which is best time was only 16:49, Brown is turning some heads in the early part of this season. Look out for his final 200 meters. Here's how it looked in his first two lap effort at Siegel.
Brody Chapman - Brentwood
The only runner ahead of Brown in the rankings is the runner who beat him in the 1600m at Scott Hartman and that's Brentwood's Brody Chapman. Brody won the event with a 4:20 which is a TN #1 and followed that up with another TN #1 performance in the 3200m with a 9:18. Chapman qualified for both events last season including the 4x800m relay but only competed in 3200m later in the evening and finished 12th. With these times he'll likely podium. It's a question of how high he'll stand on it at this point.
Brody Chapman won the 1600m run at March Madness with a 4:25.
Anthony Dodd - Franklin
Out of eight competitions last year, Franklin Senior Anthony Dodd threw over 50 feet three times. So far this season he is two for two with a new PR, School Record, and TN #2 with a toss of 54-9.5.
While he does also throw disc, this is clearly his forte between the two. He finished 7th last season in Large Division I. If he can have a good series in Murfreesboro this season, he'll definitely finish better than that.
Braxton White - Sevier County
When I saw this name as I was processing results I said to myself "Who?" Who is this senior sitting TN #2 overall right now in the 400m dash statewide and I haven't a clue who he is? As it turns out, this is only Braxton White's second season running track. Last year, he missed out on qualifying for state in the 200m dash after finishing 5th in Section 1. March 22nd was his first 400m ever and he ran a 50.89. This is why he didn't show up in any "returner rankings" we were posting in the preseason. In his second attempt at the distance, he won the Farragut Invitational with a 49.72! He's going to have a tough road ahead with the likes of Austin Rome in his section but he's laying down some times that are going to have those more seasoned runners looking over their shoulder.
Carlos Davis - Millington Central
If I were to tell you that a meet that had Bartlett, Whitehaven, Christian Brothers, and White Station in attendance that a runner from Millington Central would win an open event under 400 meters you'd probably think I was joking. That's not the case though as Senior Carlos Davis accomplished just that with an impressive final 100m kick.
His time of 42.59 on the whole is not eye popping but it was a PR and it has him ranked 3rd in Division I Class AA and a trip to Murfreesboro would probably mean a lot for someone that found themselves in Large Division I for the first three years of their career.