Abby Faith Cheeseman qualified for Foot Locker every year of hear career with her highest being a 4th place finish in 2022.
Cross Country Nationals
Prior to 2023, the Nike Cross Southeast Regional Qualifier and the Foot Locker South Regional Qualifier would take place on the same day. High caliber runners would have to make a decision on which event they wanted to pursue. Now that they occur on different weekends, runners are able to partake in both and on top of that, participate in RunningLane as well. Tennessee was well represented at all of these events and here's a rundown those results.
Smith Gets Double First Team
Knoxville Catholic's Keegan Smith has had an eventful past three weeks. First, he broke the Tennessee State Record in 5k and ran a US #1 time of 14:23, then he grabbed an NIL Sponsorship from HOKA, and last he placed 6th at Nike and 5th at FootLocker. He is just the second male runner to qualify for both national meets (Eckerman was the first) and is the first to be awarded First Team All-American at both Championship races. As editor, I try not to outwardly "root" for anyone through my reporting but considering his is the first class that I've covered freshman year to senior, watching him come in with so much success early, carry the weight of that success through years in which he struggled, and finally live up to the expectations of his freshman year did please me.
As with Smith, the two individual qualifiers on the girls side for NXN also qualified for FootLocker as well. Carolina Areheart and Abby Faith Cheeseman both made multiple trips to the West Coast over the last 9 days and found success at both championships. Abby Faith placed 22nd in Portland then 18th in San Diego while Areheart placed 72 in Portland and 27th in San Diego. They are have the distinction of being the first girls to qualify for both Championship races in the same season.
Three additional runners were able to qualify for Foot Locker with Jazzlyn Garmer placing 33rd, Asher Oates 20th, and Jack Bowen 25th.
Brentwood Girls Place 13th
It wasn't until 2022 that a girl's team from Tennessee even qualified for NXN. Now, Tennessee has sent a team two of the last three seasons. Webb placed 20th in 2022 and Brentwood placed 13th last Saturday. With the Brentwood boys placing 3rd in 2016, the Bruins now claim the highest team finishes for both genders at Nike Cross Nationals. Brentwood was able to pull this off by doing exactly what Brentwood does; elite pack running. The Bruins were one of only five teams in the 22 team field to have a 1-5 split less than a minute.
Here's a breakdown:
Girls | Athlete | Place |
18:44.8 | Lauren Banovac | 77th |
19:12.2 | Lydia Cromwell | 111th |
19:16.9 | Lia Banovac | 115th |
19:22.4 | Emma Haga | 121st |
19:29.7 | Rachel Haws | 129th |
20:24.2 | Abi Cobb | 178th |
20:50.0 | Talya Williams | 189th |
The Bruins will return four from this roster heading into next season.
RunningLane
While the weather in Portland was muddy, the weather in Huntsville was chilly, but optimal for fast racing. I started with four layers on the morning but was able to shed all but one before I left. That can't be said about the past two years in which the course was waterlogged from rain the day off or before which put a damper on the expectations of "PR'Ville." After that, I did a deep dive into Alabama weather patterns and how unfortunate the rain was during the days surrounding those competitions. At the end I said:
"Ultimately, don't let the last two years put a damper on your view about this event. The conditions and the times will come back and hopefully you will too."
Though there weren't as many as in year's past, enough did to make the event memorable with many taking advantage of the fastest grass course in the country. Here is a rundown of all the Tennesseans who ran their fastest time of the season last Saturday.
Season = 2024 Best Prior To RunningLane
RL = RunningLane
T.I. = Total Improvement
Boys
Rank | Runner | Season | RL | T.I. |
1 | Ashton Martin - Ravenwood High School | 18:23.9 | 17:29.2 | 54.66 |
2 | Nathan Grear - CSTHEA Patriots High School | 22:17.7 | 21:23.6 | 54.06 |
3 | Luke Phillips - Columbia Academy | 19:45.0 | 18:58.3 | 46.68 |
4 | Caleb Chowning - Sovereign Grace | 19:31.0 | 18:50.9 | 40.15 |
5 | Grey Holliman - Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet | 18:35.3 | 17:55.2 | 40.1 |
6 | Will McMillan - Independence High School | 18:27.9 | 17:51.3 | 36.58 |
7 | Eli Adams - Sovereign Grace | 19:08.0 | 18:33.1 | 34.9 |
8 | Harrison Harker - University School of Johnson City | 16:56.0 | 16:21.3 | 34.78 |
9 | Chase Duncan - Sovereign Grace | 17:42.0 | 17:07.5 | 34.49 |
10 | Lincoln Smith - Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet | 19:43.5 | 19:10.1 | 33.35 |
11 | Milo Adams - Sovereign Grace | 18:49.0 | 18:17.5 | 31.53 |
12 | Miles Bailie - Karns High School | 18:15.6 | 17:44.8 | 30.83 |
13 | Robert Hininger - Ravenwood High School | 17:51.1 | 17:21.0 | 30.05 |
14 | Marshall McConville - Baylor School | 15:49.8 | 15:21.0 | 28.78 |
15 | Grant Carr - Battle Ground Academy | 16:52.0 | 16:23.9 | 28.12 |
16 | Darius Bailey - Northwest High School | 17:51.5 | 17:23.9 | 27.55 |
17 | Jackson Burkhart - Stewart County High School | 19:33.3 | 19:07.2 | 26.11 |
18 | Cayden Lightfoot - Northwest High School | 19:16.1 | 18:50.5 | 25.64 |
19 | Ryan Breitling - Merrol Hyde Magnet | 16:36.9 | 16:12.3 | 24.59 |
20 | Jack Harrison - Beech Senior High School | 25:36.5 | 25:12.3 | 24.3 |
21 | Harrison Hamby - Central Magnet High School | 17:12.5 | 16:49.7 | 22.72 |
22 | Gavin Hill - Martin Luther King High School | 19:22.1 | 18:59.4 | 22.67 |
23 | Trevor Johnson - Sovereign Grace | 17:38.0 | 17:15.4 | 22.62 |
24 | Jadin Sanchez - Sovereign Grace | 18:18.7 | 17:56.5 | 22.16 |
25 | Andrew Cabaniss - Farragut High School | 16:37.6 | 16:17.6 | 19.97 |
26 | Aaron Long - Lancaster Christian Academy | 18:02.0 | 17:42.1 | 19.87 |
27 | Corbin Drawdy - Kirkwood High School | 16:51.1 | 16:31.4 | 19.78 |
28 | Ronan Bray - Battle Ground Academy | 18:29.4 | 18:10.5 | 18.9 |
29 | Paul Knotts - CSTHEA Patriots High School | 19:31.0 | 19:12.9 | 18.1 |
30 | Charlie Warner - Montgomery Bell Academy | 16:40.7 | 16:23.1 | 17.65 |
31 | Ethan Cook - Cookeville High School | 21:16.0 | 20:59.6 | 16.43 |
32 | Ezra Metcalf - Beech Senior High School | 18:33.6 | 18:19.2 | 14.46 |
33 | John Schaefer - Ravenwood High School | 17:05.6 | 16:51.7 | 13.89 |
34 | Jack Wallace - Montgomery Bell Academy | 15:05.0 | 14:52.2 | 12.83 |
35 | Coby Ware - Beech Senior High School | 19:02.1 | 18:50.7 | 11.45 |
36 | Eli Bills - Sovereign Grace | 20:00.1 | 19:48.7 | 11.4 |
37 | Caden Costello - Station Camp High School | 15:58.7 | 15:50.0 | 8.67 |
38 | Gabe Guillamondegui - Montgomery Bell Academy | 15:50.8 | 15:42.5 | 8.34 |
39 | Cade Clayton - Sovereign Grace | 18:14.0 | 18:06.4 | 7.64 |
40 | Wade Scharff - CSTHEA Patriots High School | 18:03.0 | 17:55.4 | 7.56 |
41 | Baden Tull - Knoxville Ambassadors High School | 17:12.7 | 17:05.2 | 7.5 |
42 | Henry Ritter - Baylor School | 19:03.6 | 18:56.4 | 7.18 |
43 | Evan Miller - Cocke County High School | 17:19.1 | 17:12.6 | 6.42 |
44 | Rylan Moser-Bryan - Karns High School | 16:44.5 | 16:38.7 | 5.78 |
45 | Jack Farringer - Montgomery Bell Academy | 16:35.3 | 16:30.7 | 4.64 |
46 | Baker Brooks - Alcoa High School | 16:58.3 | 16:53.8 | 4.57 |
47 | Andrew Algood - Ravenwood High School | 16:00.8 | 15:56.4 | 4.45 |
48 | Harrison Andrews - Beech Senior High School | 16:45.5 | 16:41.2 | 4.27 |
49 | Rye Ellison - Sovereign Grace | 17:05.0 | 17:01.3 | 3.71 |
50 | Chase Salas - Knoxville Ambassadors High School | 17:48.0 | 17:44.3 | 3.69 |
51 | Rowen Moser-Bryan - Karns High School | 15:50.5 | 15:47.9 | 2.64 |
52 | Cayden Strasburg - Kirkwood High School | 19:02.8 | 19:00.9 | 1.83 |
53 | Andrew Skinner - Sovereign Grace | 20:43.5 | 20:41.8 | 1.7 |
54 | Wynn Humphrey - Montgomery Bell Academy | 16:45.5 | 16:45.3 | 0.23 |
Girls
Rank | Runner | Season | RL | T.I. |
1 | Addison Haynes - Farragut High School | 22:46.3 | 21:28.6 | 01:17.7 |
2 | Hannah Robinson - Providence Academy | 20:43.0 | 19:33.8 | 01:09.2 |
3 | Priscilla Griffin - Farragut High School | 23:57.1 | 22:56.2 | 01:01.0 |
4 | Courtney Dover - Summit High School | 22:14.4 | 21:24.8 | 49.59 |
5 | Clodagh O'Bryant - Unattached - TN | 19:13.5 | 18:28.6 | 44.89 |
6 | Morgan Bissonnette - Green Hill High School | 20:09.8 | 19:28.0 | 41.85 |
7 | Sophia Mendoza - Centennial High School | 24:01.3 | 23:27.5 | 33.78 |
8 | Katie Hetzel - Unattached - TN | 18:07.3 | 17:35.8 | 31.47 |
9 | EmmaKate Zinn - Sovereign Grace | 20:34.9 | 20:05.5 | 29.42 |
10 | Eden Lindman - Sovereign Grace | 20:39.0 | 20:12.4 | 26.64 |
11 | Eliza Everett - Beech Senior High School | 19:09.5 | 18:43.1 | 26.46 |
12 | MacKenzie Anderson - Fred J. Page High School | 21:39.6 | 21:15.4 | 24.18 |
13 | Adah McCall - Sovereign Grace | 24:12.6 | 23:48.9 | 23.77 |
14 | Shelby Hudson - Sovereign Grace | 20:17.8 | 19:56.8 | 20.99 |
15 | Kenzington McConathy - Summit High School | 19:42.9 | 19:22.7 | 20.21 |
16 | Ashley Torr - Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School | 19:21.3 | 19:02.2 | 19.14 |
17 | Emily Sowa - Sovereign Grace | 21:48.0 | 21:31.9 | 16.12 |
18 | Macie Gaines - West High School | 20:56.6 | 20:40.8 | 15.77 |
19 | Olivia Gould - Beech Senior High School | 18:35.1 | 18:20.8 | 14.34 |
20 | Mallory Driskell - Sovereign Grace | 21:49.0 | 21:34.7 | 14.29 |
21 | Evie Boye - Sovereign Grace | 25:04.0 | 24:51.1 | 12.93 |
22 | Clara Zinn - Knoxville Ambassadors High School | 20:05.0 | 19:53.6 | 11.4 |
23 | Sienna Anderson - Summit High School | 17:51.3 | 17:40.0 | 11.32 |
24 | Sophia Boutros - Fred J. Page High School | 18:16.9 | 18:06.0 | 10.89 |
25 | Violet Evans - Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet | 21:19.8 | 21:09.2 | 10.61 |
26 | Lakin Hailey - Rockvale High School | 18:04.0 | 17:53.9 | 10.06 |
27 | Annabelle Zinn - Sovereign Grace | 21:55.0 | 21:48.3 | 6.69 |
28 | Lydia Hutchison - Beech Senior High School | 20:24.2 | 20:17.6 | 6.55 |
29 | Caroline Head - Sovereign Grace | 21:11.0 | 21:06.2 | 4.83 |
30 | Leila Hailey - Rockvale High School | 17:49.0 | 17:44.6 | 4.35 |
What an end to a great season. Can't wait to see everyone in indoor soon.