RECAP: Tennesseans Shine At Cross Country National Meets

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.