Nothing Will Surprise Me
13. Division I Class AA Boys Individual
Similarly with the boy's team race in this Classification, Knoxville Catholic's Keegan Smith entered the season as the preseason number one and has raced like it. Though he is ranked 4th overall based on time, he has beat each runner ahead of him at one point or another this season. He beat Asher Oates at Saturday Light Fever and Jack Bowen (Above) and Owen Clemons at McCallie. Oates and Clemons will have their own head to head on Friday but on Thursday, Bowen and Smith will open the meeting with a race of their own but they'll probably have company. Montgomery Bell's Jack Wallace has raced in limited capacity but has put together a solid season so far with a best of 15:04 and placing one place behind Bowen at Chickasaw. Bowen has placed runner up two years in a row and is the highest returning finisher. Smith won as a freshman but hasn't gotten back to the top of the podium since. There's a lot at stake for the legacy of each of these runners and I don't expect them to take it easy.
14. Division II Class A Boys Team
The volatility of this Division makes my head spin. In 2022, Columbia Academy didn't qualify as a team. In 2023, they won the state title. In 2024, they didn't qualify as a team. Instead, a team that didn't qualify in 2023, Davidson Academy, is the favorite in 2024. As you read earlier, the addition of the Wharton brothers to join forces with two individual qualifiers from a year ago made this possible but it won't be easy. They only beat USN by seven points at the regional and they'll be facing off against a strong opponent in Lakeway Christian from East Tennessee. So this should be a fun one with a couple of unproven programs facing off against a perennial contender like USN.
15. Division I Class AA/A Boys Individual
Last year, this division was ranked 14th most predictable and that proved to be correct. The runner that ended up winning, Ridge Bruce of Camden Central, wasn't even mentioned in the article. He was ranked 6th going into the meet and won. I feel like the same thing can occur this year and here's why. The top ranked runner based on time is Liberty Creek's Jaden Hillis. His fastest time this season is 15:16. The 9th fastest ranked runner is Korben Lewis of MLK. His fastest time this year is 16:02. They have raced in their last two races and Jaden won both times. The combined margin of victory though is just seven seconds. So while the gap on paper may seem significant, when they're on the same course it's not. So squeeze eight more runners in there and I have no idea how this race will pan out but I'm really going to enjoy it.
16. Division I Class AA/A Boys Team
And if you thought the individual race was going to be messy, buckle up. Here's a short snapshot of cross over races for the top four contenders:
- Voyles: Station Camp Beats Central Magnet
- Southern Showcase: Station Camp Beats MLK, Central Magnet, and Signal Mountain
- Jesse Owens: Central Magnet Beats Signal Mountain and Station Camp
- Midstate: Station Camp Beats Central Magnet and MLK
- Region: MLK Beats Station Camp
- Prestate Rankings: Signal Mountain Ranked #1
Sixth man tiebreaker or bust is all I have to say about that one.
Again, if you want to study up on some of these matchups yourself, the bold blue text will navigate to the specific rankings for each competition. Can't wait to see everyone starting on Thursday.