Can't make it to Murfreesboro next week? MileSplit has you covered with Live-Streaming of the running events each of the three days of competition. Can't watch it live, the races will also be available On Demand to watch at your convenience.
Five Races To Watch
Division I Class A - 100m Dash
Prior to last week, Brainerd's Danielle Dunning had not lost an open event during the scholastic outdoor season. She had won 23 races in a row including three state championships before finishing second at the East Regional to Kennedi Winbush of CSLA. Moreover, both are seeded behind Memphis Middle College's Christian Burford who finished runner up a year ago to Dunning at this distance. All this is to say, it's not shaping up to be a runaway this season at least not on paper.
Division I Class AA - 800m Run
For the last two seasons, this distance in Class AA was dominated by Tullahoma's Lily Story who seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the spring of 2022 to go on to win two state titles in a row. In those years, Volunteer's Jacie Begley finished 3rd as a sophomore and runner up as a junior. Now as a senior, she's the top seed on the heels of an alpha effort (Video Above) at the east regional running 2:18.07 and the only runner from the Class of 2024 in the field. Behind her is a field comprised of one junior, two sophomores, and four freshman one of which is also from Tullahoma. Brindley Duncan won the middle school State Championship a year ago and has seamlessly transitioned to high school running. She's seeded second behind Begley at 2:19.67. Will be interesting to see how Begley, the most experienced in the field, decides to race this and if she can finish her career with a win.
Division I Class AAA - 800m Run
The interest and intrigue in this layered. For one, this is the first time we will see Nolensville's Claire Stegall race this distance at the state championship and though she has broken the All-Time Record three times over (the latest being the 2:05.51 above), she does not have the state meet record which is still recognized as 2:09.44 which has stood since 1978. That should fall a week from today weather permitting.
The added layer is who gets second and how? Farragut's Parker Willis placed runner up in this event in 2022 and is seeded as such with three Bruins directly behind. Lang, Archdale, and Hunter make up the rest of the top eight relegating Houston's Zoe Marsh to heat one. Marsh has the #2 overall time in this event this season with a 2:12.94 but will have to try run a similar time in what will likely turn into a solo effort, but if you can recall back to 2021, this has been done before.
Division II Class A - 4x800m Relay
Typically, teams who find success in the fall on the cross country course have success in the 4x800 meter relay on the track in the spring. For USJ, most of those girls are playing soccer. As a program, the University School of Jackson has qualified a total of one girl, one time to the cross country state championship since 2021 but in that same timeframe, has won two 4x800m titles in a row and enter this year's competition as the #1 overall seed yet again. Can the Bruins make it three in a row? It'll be the first race to fire on Wednesday afternoon so you won't have to wait long to find out.
Division II Class AA - 400m Dash
Last year, as a freshman Knoxville Catholic's Chloe Truss swept the open sprints winning the 100m, 200m, and 400m dash state titles. At one point this season, she led Division II Class AA in all three again. She still leads the 100m and 200m but the top spot for the quarter mile currently belongs to Lipscomb Academy's Taylin Segree. Segree suffered an injury at last year's regional keeping her off the track in Murfreesboro but has come back strong winning the Tennessee State Indoor Championship in this event and running under 56 for the first time last week at the Middle Regional (watch above). Throw in a resurgent Mariah Ivery of GPS and you have three runners lining up seeded between 55.76 and 56.31... the fastest three seeds for the distance across every division of the championship.
Can't make it to Murfreesboro next week? MileSplit has you covered with Live-Streaming of the running events each of the three days of competition. Can't watch it live, the races will also be available On Demand to watch at your convenience.
Five Races To Watch
Division I Class A - 100m Dash
Prior to last week, Brainerd's Danielle Dunning had not lost an open event during the scholastic outdoor season. She had won 23 races in a row including three state championships before finishing second at the East Regional to Kennedi Winbush of CSLA. Moreover, both are seeded behind Memphis Middle College's Christian Burford who finished runner up a year ago to Dunning at this distance. All this is to say, it's not shaping up to be a runaway this season at least not on paper.
Division I Class AA - 800m Run
For the last two seasons, this distance in Class AA was dominated by Tullahoma's Lily Story who seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the spring of 2022 to go on to win two state titles in a row. In those years, Volunteer's Jacie Begley finished 3rd as a sophomore and runner up as a junior. Now as a senior, she's the top seed on the heels of an alpha effort (Video Above) at the east regional running 2:18.07 and the only runner from the Class of 2024 in the field. Behind her is a field comprised of one junior, two sophomores, and four freshman one of which is also from Tullahoma. Brindley Duncan won the middle school State Championship a year ago and has seamlessly transitioned to high school running. She's seeded second behind Begley at 2:19.67. Will be interesting to see how Begley, the most experienced in the field, decides to race this and if she can finish her career with a win.
Division I Class AAA - 800m Run