In 2022, Leila Hailey opened her freshman season with a 20:25 at Sanders Ferry placing runner up at the Coleman Midget Invitational. On Saturday, she opened with a victory on the same course at Saturday Light Fever nearly two minutes faster than her opener as a freshman.

Where To Begin? 

We drew a lot of attention to "On Paper" rankings leading up to the season and while a lot of times, those can be a little misleading, after this weekend, I feel they were validated. The top two boys teams on paper went head to head in a match up decided by less than 10 points, the top two girls teams got wins in races in and out of state, and most of the top ranked runners won or placed well. So I'm not exactly sure what "news" there is to report but I'm going to ramble somewhat informally about a couple of things I've been thinking about over the last 48 hours. 

I asked a couple of coaches who have been around the sport quite a bit longer than me on Saturday who they thought the "Best Ever" teams were on the girls side in the history of Tennessee and one replied with "83 Oak Ridge and 84 Farragut" and another with "1975 - 1981 Harpeth Hall." I followed up with "Could it be possible Brentwood and Webb be the best teams ever and to have them in the same year?" In the early morning of Saturday, Webb School of Knoxville won the Championship Division of the Providence Invitational putting three girls in the top four at 17:25, 17:39, and 17:48. The meet was held at Mcalpine Park where FootLocker South holds their qualifier so this is likely a trip for them looking ahead to that. Meanwhile, Brentwood won Saturday Light Fever by close to 100 points in a field of 11 of the top 15 ranked teams in Tennessee without one of their primary five from last season racing. The gulf between these teams and the rest of the state just seems more stark at the outset than in previous seasons which prompted my line of questioning. While I understand that comparing teams of the 1980s to the teams of the 2020s isn't apples to apples, both programs have the potential to put five runners under 18:00 by the end of the season which is unprecedented.

In the individual race on Saturday you may have noticed a new face in the crowd. Summit Freshman Lorelai Whitten led for two miles on Saturday before finishing 5th with an 18:43. She was a TMSAA State Champion in the 1600m last season with a best of 5:06. Knox Catholic's Drew Gerken was the second freshman across the line finishing out the Top 10 with a 19:09 leading the Irish to a 3rd place overall finish in a loaded field. They had received ZERO votes in the our preseason coaches' poll. I suspect that will change in the next round of voting. 

Another team that overshot their rankings was the Hardin Valley Boys. HVA barely made it onto the "Others Receiving Votes" list outside of the Top 10 but placed 3rd in the Varsity Division and laid the smackdown in the Junior Varsity Division with just 25 total team points. I suspect they will be a Top 10 team as well when the coaches vote next. And if we're on the topic of JV, the Brentwood girls placed 1-7 with a team average of 21:24. So while they may be graduating three in November, they're backfilling with five decent runners that could keep the streak alive after this season. 

Another boys team I think is underrated in the "Others Receiving Votes" Category but the results from the weekend won't reflect that is Daniel Boone. They won the Run For The Hills which from all accounts is as awful as it sounds. One day I will make the trip to witness it for myself but the Trailblazers put up a 17:42 which is a faster average than their 2021 team that eventually placed 9th that season. They'll be going to Southern Showcase which will be a good opportunity to measure them against other in state programs. 

One matchup I had my eye on as well was between Brynn Balturshot of Station Camp and Sydney Tackett of Liberty Creek. Familiar opponents in Sumner County who placed first and second last season in Division I Class AA/A with Tackett winning over Brynn. Brynn won the first of several match ups this Saturday placing 3rd overall to Tackett's 8th. Will be curious to see how Anderson County's Ava Moody opens at Victor Ashe on Saturday who placed third behind them. 

We'll have coverage from Victor Ashe this Saturday as well as Memphis Twilight so hope to see you at one of those races. Good Luck.