Classification Sweep?
Only two programs in TSSAA History for the largest classification in Division I have ever swept both boys and girls cross country titles in the same championship: Houston in the year 2000 and Oak Ridge in 2007. However, never in Tennessee history has one high school won both Boy's and Girl's Cross Country and Track and Field Team Championships in the same scholastic year for the largest classification in Division I but after Saturday we need to start thinking about it. The Brentwood High School Girls and Boys had decisive team victories in strong fields of Tennessee programs and fellow Class AAA opponents this past weekend at Saturday Light Fever bringing into focus the potential Bruin sweep.
As stated last week, it's hard to see how the championships streak, that currently stands at three in a row, ends at any point in the foreseeable future for the Lady Bruins. In what was likely their deepest field of strictly teams from Tennessee they'll race this season, they scored just 35 points placing all five scoring runners in the top eleven overall with a spread of just thirteen seconds. Sophomore Lia Banovac led the way finishing 3rd overall posting a new PR of 18:47, opening her season almost 40 seconds faster than her best from freshman year.
She was the only Bruin in the top seven to have a personal best which illustrates the potential ceiling the team could reach by year's end. The defending Division II Class AA champion Harpeth Hall placed runner up with 65. The only time the Bruins are slated to race the Preseason #1 team, Webb School of Knoxville, will be at Jesse Owens and then Nike Team Nationals assuming they choose to go.
As for the boys, the last time Brentwood ran this course it was certainly a race to forget. An expected head to head duel with Farragut turned into a situation where they were barely able to hang onto third. On Saturday, they had a convincing victory scoring 43 points to last year's runner up Beech who scored 105. What's more impressive is they're kind of limping into the season. Callahan Fielder, who is capable of running 15:13, is slated to make a late debut and Kehler Vaughn, though he raced Saturday and placed 8th, had sat out the week prior for maintenance. That said, Robert Pautienus led the Bruins placing 4th overall in 16:01 with the remaining scorers all finishing in the top 15. Though Farragut lost more than the Bruins to graduation, I hardly think the distance between these teams is very large. The same can be said about the gulf between these two and the rest of the field. Historically we've seen teams from Region 1 overperform compared to projections in November.
If these two programs can sweep in the fall, they'll become just the third program to do so. With the track programs will both returning as the on paper favorites in the spring this is worth keeping an eye on.
Classification Sweep?
Only two programs in TSSAA History for the largest classification in Division I have ever swept both boys and girls cross country titles in the same championship: Houston in the year 2000 and Oak Ridge in 2007. However, never in Tennessee history has one high school won both Boy's and Girl's Cross Country and Track and Field Team Championships in the same scholastic year for the largest classification in Division I but after Saturday we need to start thinking about it. The Brentwood High School Girls and Boys had decisive team victories in strong fields of Tennessee programs and fellow Class AAA opponents this past weekend at Saturday Light Fever bringing into focus the potential Bruin sweep.
As stated last week, it's hard to see how the championships streak, that currently stands at three in a row, ends at any point in the foreseeable future for the Lady Bruins. In what was likely their deepest field of strictly teams from Tennessee they'll race this season, they scored just 35 points placing all five scoring runners in the top eleven overall with a spread of just thirteen seconds. Sophomore Lia Banovac led the way finishing 3rd overall posting a new PR of 18:47, opening her season almost 40 seconds faster than her best from freshman year.
She was the only Bruin in the top seven to have a personal best which illustrates the potential ceiling the team could reach by year's end. The defending Division II Class AA champion Harpeth Hall placed runner up with 65. The only time the Bruins are slated to race the Preseason #1 team, Webb School of Knoxville, will be at Jesse Owens and then Nike Team Nationals assuming they choose to go.
