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.
Ally Beneke - Warren County
In six of her nine competitions as a sophomore, Warren County's Ally Beneke cleared 5-4. It seemed to be her ceiling for last season which culminated in a 5th place finish in Large Division I. In her second meet as a Junior, she had a breakthrough series setting a new TN #1 mark of 5-7 at the Cookeville Home Meet earlier this week.
It was the first time since 2019 a Tennessee athlete jumped a height over 5-6. There's a cluster of girls at 5-4 and Elise Dobson, the defending champion lurking around, so the path to a title won't be easy but if she can consistently hit 5-6 can become her floor, she'll be in the drivers seat next month.
Alyssa Raymond - Memphis East
While the fastest girls in West Tennessee find themselves in the AAA division, horizontal jumps is not that divisions strong suit. Case and point, Junior Alyssa Raymond of Memphis East competes in Class A and won the Panther Relays this past week with a slew of large schools in attendance by almost a foot with a TN #8 jump of 17-9. She then followed that up with a third place finish in the 400m open clocking a 1:00.32. (Lane 1 Below)
Both marks are current TN #1's for Division I Class A and PRs for the Mustang who placed 2nd in the long jump in 2021. While that was her only qualifying event last season, it appears as if she'll have more on her schedule this time around if she stays on this trajectory.
Evie Culbreath - Baylor
When I interviewed Evie Culbreath at the Volunteer Track Classic on Saturday she had just won the High Jump with a PR clearance of 5-3. It was her first time competing in the event outdoors (not as part of the pentathlon) since March of last season where she only cleared 4-6.
That isn't the reason she's in the poll however considering 7 girls statewide have cleared 5-4 or higher. As she says in the interview she was running for a good time. With three Bullis girls lining up with her in the event final it's hard to have place expectations. She got both however as, already with the TN #1 in the event, placed second with a 14.21 which is the fastest time since 2018 and a PR by almost half a second.
Gabby & Reese Beaty - York Institute
There are a lot of throwers in the state we could highlight here and will in due time but I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight a couple of sisters from York Institute. In this area of the upper Cumberland the typical trajectory for an female athlete is you play basketball, then softball, then travel basketball, then travel softball or some combination of that. Track is an afterthought to most. Alvin C. York is unique in this division since, being a state funded school, it has a rubberized track. They host a lot of meets because of that which is a service the surrounding schools who do not so it doesn't surprise me that a couple of athletes from York have made their way to the track team and found success. Enter Gabby Beaty and Reese Beaty. Gabby is a junior this season and the defending state champion in the shot and runner up in the disc for Small Division I. Reese, a freshman, threw a TN #11 overall mark in shot put of 37-3 at the Cookeville Home Meet earlier this week. Gabby, on the season, has the TN #14 mark with a 35-11.75. Together, they sit #1 and #2 in the event for Class A.
Jaitlyn Ware - Memphis Central
Did you know Jordan Ware has a twin sister? Now you do and she, in her own right, is making a name for herself as well. This past week at the Panther Relays she became just the second 200m runner state wide to run sub-25 in the 200m open en route to a first place finish.
Jaitlyn Ware currently sits #2 overall in the 200m dash with this 24.99 and #13 overall in the 100m with a 12.40. Her and her Warrior teammates currently hold the TN #1 4x100m relay and did have the #1 4x200m relay prior to this weekend. They currently sit #3 and she's part of both. If everything stays as is, the Ware's could see their children atop the 200m podium for both sexes this may.