Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville will be buzzing this weekend as the KYA state Elementary and Middle School cross country championships will come to town. The festivities are slated to get underway at 10 a.m. with the elementary girls junior varsity one-mile race. The last race of the day is scheduled to go off at 2:45 p.m. The following is a brief look at each of the varsity races.
Rewatch the 2021 Elementary Girls Varsity Championship race here.
ELEMENTARY GIRLS
On the individual side, Karns' Shiloh Mays has the fastest time coming into the meet with a 5:43.1 one-mile time so far this season as a fifth-grader. Her teammate Haylee Gasparic is not far behind with a 5:49.0 back in September. The fastest individual outside of the Knoxville entries is from Grandview's Molly Easterling, who posted a 6:06.0 back in September at Victor Ashe.
ELEMENTARY BOYS
Just like the girls, the team races will be between the Knoxville schools as Knoxville Ambassadors has a slight edge over Hardin Valley. Farragut is in the hunt, but is going to need some big-time help on the back end to make up the near 25-point deficit.
The individual race has the potential of being one of the more intriguing races of the day. Knoxville Ambassadors fifth-grader Hudson Mueller has the best time coming into the meet with a 5:28.3, but Hardin Valley's Scout Arehart is two-tenths of a second behind. Don't count out Karns' Reed Bowin, who has a best of 5:29.0 this season.
Rewatch the 2021 Middle School Boy's Varsity Race Here.
MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS
Zara Kocak of Station Camp has one of the strongest performances on the season, running 12:02.6 earlier this season. She and Libby Helmer of St. Matthew lead the charge for the individual battle, which should be a dandy.
Station Camp is the overwhelming team favorite going into the meet as Kocak, Anna Taylor and Baylor Ayers have some of the best times going into the meet.
In addition to Kocak, Liberty Bell's Lorraine Rainie Hunter should be right in the middle of the individual race. She ran in the low 12s at the TMSAA state meet earlier this month, which was good enough to break Jenna Hutchins' best time during her middle school days.
Look for T.A. Digger's Arvella Nave to make a splash as well, trying to recover from the TMSAA state meet a few weeks ago.
Liberty Creek and Brentwood also have strong teams, but have some catching up to do in the virtual meet.
MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS
Luke Harren (Brentwood) has one of the best performances on the season, previously running 11:12.8 for two miles this season.
Even though Station Camp may not have some of the tip-top times going into the meet, it has the clear-cut best team. Station Camp is over three times ahead of the next team in the virtual meet, but nothing is a guarantee come race day.
Jackson Alexander lead the charge for Station Camp, having run 11:16.5 earlier this season.
John T. Moore's Paul Ferrell also has a strong performance in the books already this season, running 11:19.0 and is top three in the virtual meet.
Libert Creek and Brentwood should have an intriguing battle for the team title.
Check back here after the races are over for interviews, race videos, and photo albums from the event!