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. Polls open Monday and close Wednesday at midnight.
Kavan Reynolds - McCallie
As a freshman, Kavan Reynolds won the DII Class AA State Championship in the 400m dash posting a 49.03. He's still a second off of that mark but slightly ahead of schedule from where he was at this point last season. Through four races, he's undefeated at the distance including this race from Saturday.
His 50.39 ranks him 20th overall and 5th in his classification. Though he's the defending state champion in the quarter, his better seeded distance currently is the 200m (2nd in DIIAA with 22.72) which he also won on Saturday. We caught up with him before that event.
If he peaks at the right time like he did last season and hits his goal of sub-48, he may see himself at the top of the podium again. Based on everyone he'll be competing against, he's probably going to need a number close to that to win.
Andy Westbrook - Milan
All of last season, only six jumpers cleared 6-6 state wide and only one cleared 6-8. So far this season we have eight over 6-6 and two over 6-8. Jeremiah Flemmons was the first (a first year jumper and performer of the week nominee) and Andy Westbrook of Milan is the second.
Class AAA has 3 above 6-6, AA has 2, Class A where Milan competes has Westbrook and he's put himself six inches between himself and his next closest competitor.
Jaxon Toney - Harding Academy
On the topic of high jump, Harding Academy's Jaxon Toney is an inch from joining the eight jumpers mentioned above at 6-6 or better. On Saturday at the Dragon Relays he won the High Jump competition with a new PR of 6-5 which beat his previous best of 6-2. He also won the long jump competition with a 22-0.5 and placed second in the triple with a 42-10. He currently ranks first in both the High and Long in Division II Class A. He placed 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in four individual competitions at state last season and if Harding is going to repeat as team champions he's likely going to have to carry a similar load this season as well. I couldn't find any track related content on twitter to embed in here but this tweet of him playing basketball should help illustrate his jumping ability. 6-6 is clearly on the horizon with a little more technical training.
Kylan Bernard - Bartlett
The defending 110m Hurdle state champion has been in consideration every week for this poll but I've been waiting on him to lay down a WOW performance before doing so. On Saturday at Eastern Relays Kylan Bernard did just that by running a new TN #1 37.82 in the 300m Hurdles en route to his second victory of the day in Louisville. His first was in the 110m Hurdles where he ran a 14.80 into a -3.1 m/s wind reading. Brutal.
Bernard placed 3rd in the event in Large Division I in a season which had six of the Top 50 All-Time marks in the event. This season, though he returns ranked #2, he finds himself in the drivers seat with over a second lead over the next best time in the state.
Keegan Smith - Knox Catholic
As you saw already in a previous article after it happened, Keegan Smith ran a freshman true distance record in the 3200m run on Saturday with an 8:52.95. It was clearly a targeted effort and since I don't know when he plans on doing so again until post-season, this seems like a good opportunity to include him in the poll this week.
This race and last week's two mile at Volunteer Track Classic are very similar. Smith pushes the pace, gets challenged in the final lap, and outkicks his competitor. I'm not sure what his plan is for state since we're still a month away but it'll be interesting to see if he tries all three distances. Will anyone go with him or just race for second like what occurred in cross country? Does his strategy change in a race where he just needs to win and he sits and kicks to conserve energy for the sweep? It'll be interesting to monitor as we enter the final month of the season.