It seems the Memphis Twilight Classic has led the way for years as one of the most sought-after early season titles to get. There's a lot more of these early season races, from 3200M time trials to regular 5K cross country races that have popped up over the past few seasons. In my opinion, the Twilight still stands out among them all. It's not the numbers that stand out, although having almost 1900 runners is still a huge number. It's not the course that really gives it the prestige either, a fairly flat but deceptively difficult course it still remains. It's the competition. For the most part, if you have a fast cross-country runner, they are going to come here to run this race.

Current TN 5k Rankings: Boys | Girls

In State Teams 

This race does present a great early season gage for the local runners to get in a highly competitive run without having to travel long distance. I don't have a prediction for who will win... I find trying to predict a CC race is fleeting at best since you just never know what could happen.

It does look like on the girl's side of the locals, Houston and Collierville may have the best groups. Houston doesn't come in with their major stud like last years Marsh, but comes in with a handful of athletes all running low 20's and 19's. It's likely they'll run in a pack since they're all fairly close together on times. That tends to be an advantage in cross country. A few girls on the Houston team to keep an eye on as they try to defend their runner up spot (or higher) will be: Nora Newhouse - 19:58, Lindsey Barnes - 19:18, and Martha Kate Jessop 20:02.

For Collierville, Ava Lang comes in with one of the fastest times from last season. She ran a 19:00 at the Jesse Owens course. And Scarlet Nash ran 19:38 at last year's State meet, so they have some top runners that could tilt the scale Saturday.  Bartlett's Kayley Bird was a top 25 last year at this meet and her 19:28 PR is a good sign she could be even better this year.

Some of the local boys to watch Saturday would include Arlington's duo of Clark Wade and Adian Hurst-Vasquez. Wade ran a 16:43 at the State meet last season which was a huge improvement from the previous season. And Adian's 16:56 is a good number that could put him near the lead on Saturday. 

Collierville also carries in a couple of guys with numbers in the 16's. Ty Durst (16:21) and Jacob Roper (16:39) will be leading off a group that could contend in the top as well. A couple of their guys are just sneaking into the 16, with John McAlvin (17:09) and Cayden Lindsay (17:14) looking to improve and help their team on Saturday. 

Memphis East's cross country star, Gabriel Gutierrez is also planning on running. He ran a 17:01 at Coleman Midgett invitational and 17:14 at Frank Horton (a tough competitive course). That could be a good sign he'll run even faster on the Twilight course.

You will need to watch a few of the Houston boys this year as well. They are rebuilding of sorts with graduations from last year but still carry a strong team. Tyler Schmitt - 17:31, Garrison Hickey - 16:59, and Landon Barnes - 17:31 will be leading the way for this team this season.  Garrison has a 4:45 in the 1600 and so you know he has some leg speed that could help him on Saturday. 

Franklin High School is bringing in a few strong cross-country runners in Eli Pierce who ran a 17:07 at the Coleman Midgett last year and Nilsen Hurst has a 16:16 ran at the Chickasaw Trails.

Out Of State Teams

As is the case every season at this event, the out-of-town teams will showcase their best athletes and be a force to watch. Rock Bridge is the defending boys and girls' champions and will be very difficult to bet against them this year. This Missouri team brings in a lot of talent, starting with Mae Walker, who at 18.28.79 was runner up at this event last year. She has run as low as 18:06 last September and has a track PR of 5:03.32 in the 1600 distance. She is certainly entering this race as the favorite. Her teammates are no couch potatoes either. Claire Richardson has an 18:35 for a PR and ran to a 7^th place finish last season at the Twlight. With a few others follow, such as Kaitlyn Reid - 19:25, Madelyn Arnold - 19:33, and Amelie Crane - 19:42. They will be difficult to beat.

However, there is a girls team coming in from Texas, the South TX Heat homeschool team that is an unknown at the moment but that may change on Saturday. This team is mostly freshman and includes the second fastest 1600 runner for 8^th graders in Elin Latta (4:45), the rest of the team practically doesn't run any slower than 5:15 for the 1600 distance. Being new to the 5K distance, it will be fun to see these young athletes perform on Saturday. It's these kinds of athletes that make CC so very competitive and of course, so much fun to watch!

Another Missouri high school, Eureka, will be bringing some fast girls with a handful of sub-20's. They include Daphne Bishop, who ran 19:14 at their state meet and Sofia Hoerchler (19:32) and Olivia Pierce (19:40). Franklin High School (TN) is bringing Mary Beth McKnight who has run a 19:39.

The Rock Bridge (MO) boys will be difficult to take down this year. Luke Sievers - was 6^th last season in 16:02.18 and boasts a 9:14.68 for the 3200 that gave him a top 4 spot in their state championships last track season. Someone to keep a close eye on will be Mathew Kim who came in 23^rd at the Twilight last year but made big improvements to get him a PR of 15:43.30 at their State Championships. And with teammates Ethan Hockman (16:06), Cook Hudson (16:09), and several others coming into this race, this team is clearly a front runner.

A few other Missouri teams are bringing some strong individuals. Southern Boone HS (MO) has Brian Burns who ran a 16:06 at last years MO state championships. He also carries a 4:18 (1600) and 9:27.61 (3200) which shows he can likely drop that CC time even lower. St. Claire brings Tyler Yarberry who has a CC PR of 17:20, but has run 4:50 in the 1600, so he may just be realizing how fast he can go.

Alabama's Pell City High has some boys with a bit of leg speed themselves. Israel Baird, who ran 17:04 to get a top ten at Brooks HS River Classic last season and River Richard, 17:04 PR ran at the Jesse Owens.

As usual there's probably someone out there that wasn't mentioned but with almost 1900 runners to review, you'll have to give me a break on that. And as usual, the best way to fix that is to run fast on Saturday.

See you on the track... and the grass

Coach Ted