Jack Gibby (middle) and Sam Brophy (upper right) raced the 2000m steeple at last year's Volunteer Track Classic. Brophy finished in 10th in 7:08 and Gibby 11th in 7:10.
2000m Steeplechase
The availability of steeple races to high school runners are few and far between but every year, Tennesseans manage to find ones to partake in. Great Eight would typically contest one when it was at Vanderbilt but after it had to move locations there has only been once since 2020 held in state during the scholastic season and it was last year was at the Volunteer Track Classic (above). Outside of Tennessee, the Racer Relays at Murray State and Eastern Relays at Louisville always tend to attract those wanting to try their hand at the five lap event. The first heat of last year's contest featured three boys from Tennessee: Christian Patterson, Caleb West, and Trevor Hodgson.
Others attempted the event during the summer with Will Johnson posting the top time of all Tennessee Boys with a 6:18 at NSAF. Overall, here's how the top 10 shaped up at the end of the summer.
While all of those contests were at meets held at a collegiate campus, this is likely to change this season as track facility at Oak Ridge High School now has a pit available after it's renovation this summer.
While I feel like the appetite is there to expand participation in this event across Tennessee, I wouldn't expect it to be more than an exhibition at any point in the near future. That said, I've brainstormed a way that it could have a place in the spotlight during Spring Fling. Before proceeding, I'll pause here and say I have talked to ZERO TSSAA representatives about this but ideas are meant to be shared and the few coaches I've mentioned this to thought it was a good one.
A Unique Request
The reason I started thinking about this to begin with is a few weeks ago Quinn Deguira of Farragut messaged me on Instagram and asked if I could dig up the fastest time in our database any runner from Farragut has ever run in the 2000 meter steeplechase.
"I want to break the school record but other than last year, I don't know anyone that has run it."
Teammate Evan Beeler ran the event at the same meet pictured above and placed 7th with a 6:55. The fastest time I could find for the Admirals track and field team was 6:40 by Connor Schwartz from 2011. Deguira is a solid runner who most recently placed 18th at State in Cross Country. He was the 4th Admiral to cross the finish line that day and the 8th of runners who also compete in the Track and Field Section 1. If he stays in this position through the spring, he'll likely be on the outside looking in regarding a berth to Murfreesboro. Similarly, in a collegiate setting, a runner like Deguira who is a role player in cross country but not a top runner in the 1500m or 5k outdoor would be relegated to the 3000 meter steeple. With a runner like him in mind, I came up with this.
Qualifying Format
When: A few days after each Section and Region meet are contested.
Where: Four Qualifiers - East (Knoxville and East of Knoxville), Middle (Nashville), South (Murfreesboro, Cookeville, Chattanooga), West (Jackson to Memphis)
Who: Anyone who DID NOT qualify in an open race for state regardless of classification
How: Top four runners from each qualifier advance.
The locations where each qualifier could be contested is pretty numerous. East most likely would be at Oak Ridge, Middle at Vanderbilt or TSU, South could be at Lee University, MTSU, or Tennessee Tech, and West at Rhodes College.
Now the question becomes when, during Spring Fling would you contest it and my thought process is after 1600m races on the night of Division I Class AAA. That night differs from the other two since there is only one classification and only two heats of the 1600m. Here's a side by side comparison of the order of events starting at the 4x200m relay.
Division I Class AA/A
Division II Class AA/A
Division I Class AAA
Girls A 4x200m Relay
Girls AA 4x200m Relay
Boys A 4x200m Relay
Boys AA 4x200m Relay
Girls A 4x200m Relay
Girls AA 4x200m Relay
Boys A 4x200m Relay
Boys AA 4x200m Relay
Girls AAA 4x200m Relay H1
Girls AAA 4x200m Relay H2
Boys AAA 4x200m Relay H1
Boys AAA 4x200m Relay H2
Girls A 1600m
Girls AA 1600m
Boys A 1600m
Boys AA 1600m
Girls A 1600m
Girls AA 1600m
Boys A 1600m
Boys AA 1600m
Girls AAA 1600m
Boys AAA 1600m
Girls A 4x100m Relay
Girls AA 4x100m Relay
Boys A 4x100m Relay
Boys AA 4x100m Relay
Girls A 4x100m Relay
Girls AA 4x100m Relay
Boys A 4x100m Relay
Boys AA 4x100m Relay
Girls AAA 4x100m Relay H1
Girls AAA 4x100m Relay H2
Boys AAA 4x100m Relay H1
Boys AAA 4x100m Relay H2
Essentially what occurs on the Division I Class AAA night is the runners from the 4x200m relay will step off the podium and immediately be corralled back to the check in area for the 4x100m relay and step back on to the track 10 minutes later. It's the only night with this quick of turn around for sprinters who are part of both relays. Adding this exhibition race into that slot would allow for recovery time closer to that of the other two nights plus afford an opportunity runners who may be in harder qualifying sections to run at the state championship in some capacity. Keep in mind, last year guys that ran 4:20 in Division II last year for 1600m that did not make it to the state championship in that event. Similarly, 5:19 did not qualify on the girls side out of Section 1. Those athletes would, under this format, have an opportunity to qualify again a few days later if they didn't in any other event.
Anyways, it's a fun event that MTSU is already equipped for so I thought this would be an interesting way to add it to Spring Fling. Maybe one day it will.
Jack Gibby (middle) and Sam Brophy (upper right) raced the 2000m steeple at last year's Volunteer Track Classic. Brophy finished in 10th in 7:08 and Gibby 11th in 7:10.
2000m Steeplechase
The availability of steeple races to high school runners are few and far between but every year, Tennesseans manage to find ones to partake in. Great Eight would typically contest one when it was at Vanderbilt but after it had to move locations there has only been once since 2020 held in state during the scholastic season and it was last year was at the Volunteer Track Classic (above). Outside of Tennessee, the Racer Relays at Murray State and Eastern Relays at Louisville always tend to attract those wanting to try their hand at the five lap event. The first heat of last year's contest featured three boys from Tennessee: Christian Patterson, Caleb West, and Trevor Hodgson.
Others attempted the event during the summer with Will Johnson posting the top time of all Tennessee Boys with a 6:18 at NSAF. Overall, here's how the top 10 shaped up at the end of the summer.
While all of those contests were at meets held at a collegiate campus, this is likely to change this season as track facility at Oak Ridge High School now has a pit available after it's renovation this summer.
While I feel like the appetite is there to expand participation in this event across Tennessee, I wouldn't expect it to be more than an exhibition at any point in the near future. That said, I've brainstormed a way that it could have a place in the spotlight during Spring Fling. Before proceeding, I'll pause here and say I have talked to ZERO TSSAA representatives about this but ideas are meant to be shared and the few coaches I've mentioned this to thought it was a good one.
