2022 Moment of the Year
To finish off 2022, we're going to countdown the MileSplit TN Top 10 Moments of the Year. As you'll see throughout the countdown, last year was filled with incredible drama, can't miss racing, and record breaking performances. Enjoy. Check back in between now and January 1st, 2023 for all the moments that made the year unforgettable.
Saturday Light Fever
When it was announced in late 2020 that Sanders Ferry Park would be the new location of the TSSAA State Championship, only a handful of teams in Middle Tennessee had ever raced there. Only three boys had ever ran under the 16 minute mark and only two runners had run under the 19 minute mark. The responsibility to expand access to the course fell on Beech High School who already had an established meet, Coleman Midgett, on the calendar in early September of each season but by 2021, the program organized a new meet, Saturday Light Fever, which would be contested at night and have multiple varsity divisions. The meet attracted teams from each and every corner of Tennessee and was as much a party as it was a race.
As the second installment of the meet approached, the attraction to the meet expanded beyond Tennessee's borders to include teams from Kentucky, North Carolina, and Ohio who would bring national caliber talent with them to line up against the best in Tennessee and the hype around the meet did not disappoint. Three boys would run under the previous course record of 15:10 led by Connor Ackley of Hil. Davidson (Ohio) crossing the finish line in 14:45 with Keegan Smith placing runner up in 14:53. Owen Clemons would narrowly miss joining them under the 15-minute mark finishing in 15:01.
The girls race would see Meriel Rowland run the 14th fastest time ever at the course crossing the finish in 18:23.
Encore?
The question now is whether or not this is sustainable in the same way, as night races are concerned, a Memphis Twilight or a Frank Horton has become. What some of you may know and others may not, the location for the 2023 Cross Country State Championship is in the bidding process. If Sanders Ferry does not retain the meet, how will this affect future competitions Beech hosts? Will they go back to 12-15 schools the way they were prior to 2020? Will it be cost effective to even host Saturday Light Fever if less than 50 schools attend? If this is the case, and 2022 was the high watermark for the first and only night race in Middle Tennessee, then the records set at this meet will likely never be topped making a moment most who were there will not soon forget.
Will you choose to run at Sanders Ferry if it's no longer the state course?
