After a spring of PRs at every distance, Colin Eckerman is ready to make a statement in his final season on the course.
Runners To Watch
Zach Vickers - Webb School Of Knoxville
The rising senior is someone who has been missing from recent Knoxville area competition. The last time Zach Vickers raced was at the Meet in the Middle Invitational on September 8, 2022. He finished in 16:24 placing 2nd, only behind McCallie standout Jack Bowen. Vickers soon after was diagnosed with a severe case of mononucleosis, causing him to miss the rest of the 2022 cross country season and all of the 2023 track season. Now fully recovered, Zach resumed training this summer and will certainly make an impact as he looks to be one of the top runners in KIL and D-II AA.
Stuart Ann Leath - Hardin Valley Academy
Although Stuart Ann Leath has a cross country PR of just under 20 minutes, she took a big step forward this track season, placing 2nd in the KIL 3200m in 11:37 and 5th in the KIL 1600m in 5:19, finishing around runners who routinely run sub 18:30 in 5k cross country. As a sophomore, Leath placed 14th at KIL Cross Country Championship, and 6th in the AAA Region 2. Her continued improvement will be key to HVA securing a region title and improving upon their third-place showing at KIL.
Cade Crum - Bearden High School
When discussing fast underclassmen in East Tennessee, the names most mentioned are Keegan Smith and Owen Clemons. However, Cade Crum has a very strong resume and is often overshadowed by their elite performances. Cade was the second fastest non-senior across the line at the KIL Cross Country Championship and although he placed fourth at his Region Championship, Cade concluded his regular season with an excellent third place in very hot conditions at the 2022 TSSAA State Meet. Coming off of a sophomore track season "that did not play out as hoped", Cade said his goals were to "Run with confidence. With that should come faster PRs as well".
Kate Robinson - West High School
Rising senior Kate Robinson of West High School put up a strong 2023 track season, which should prepare her well for this upcoming cross country season. Kate ran bests of 2:23 in the 800 meters and 5:04 in the 1600, and capped her season with a 4th place at the D-I AAA State Meet in the 1600m. Kate ran 18:40 in cross country of her sophomore year, and now entering her senior year that same 18:40 would place her 9th in D-I AAA among returning runners. No West girl has cracked the top ten in 5 years, with the last being Marley Townsend in 2018, when she placed 9th.
Colin Eckerman - Webb School of Knoxville
After Zach Vickers was out for the season with mononucleosis, his teammate Colin Eckerman would go on to make vast strides his junior year, improving his 1600 best from 4:46 to 4:18, and his 3200 PR from 10:00 to 9:14. With these dramatic improvements, Colin ended up the 5th fastest in the state at 3200m and 16th fastest in the state at 1600m. Now that Zach Vickers is fully recovered and Colin having a breakout Junior year, Webb School of Knoxville now has a very strong #1 and #2 and could make an impact in the tough DII-AA cross country division.
Joshua Cross (CAK) sits down with Colin Eckerman and Keegan Smith to discuss careers, goals, and training as we approach the 2023 cross country season.
Teams To Watch
Knoxville Catholic Boys
Last Cross Country season, the KCHS boys had a very successful season: They took 2nd in KIL and 4th at the state meet for Division II Class AA, boasting an average PR of 16:06. With all but one of their scoring five returning, the Fighting Irish have an outside shot to win KIL for the first time since 2017, and potentially secure a Runner-up spot at the state meet. Led by a strong top three of Keegan Smith, Radek Molchan, and Toniel Ortega, they should place very high at championship meets provided strong 4th and 5th runners emerge, with the future looking bright as they will add strong middle school talent with Cade Duncanson.
Webb School of Knoxville Girls
The Webb School of Knoxville Girls had one of the strongest rosters in Tennessee on paper, with a team average of 18:11, but two of their top runners were not eligible for TSSAA competition, resulting in a Runner-up finish at the TSSAA state meet. At full strength, Webb placed 20th overall at Nike Cross Country Nationals. Now that Carolina Areheart and Kristina Weaver are both eligible for TSSAA competition, the Spartan's path to a TSSAA and KIL title just became a lot easier.