Over 1000 of the Tennessee’s finest Middle School athletes descended on Knoxville this past Saturday for the Tennessee State Middle School State Championships presented by Knoxville Youth Athletics and TennesseeRunner.com. Qualifying from five regions across the state, they came in painted up cars bound for Victor Ashe Park which has been the site for the championship all six years of the meet’s existence. The girls championship race was led by Taylor Cuneo of Oakland MS who won in a course record time (12:19) after placing runner-up last year as a 6th grader. When asked her thoughts on seeking her first state title she said, "I just knew the competition would be really hard and I would have to work really hard to win this year and I did”. Nathan Delk of Central Magnet MS stepped to the line for the boys championship race after finishing 37th last year. He said his training is what the difference was for him as he pulled away from a field that was led early by Farragut’s Austin Bihlmeyer and Austin Hoag. "Ive run with my brother a lot and he's in High School and he's pushed me all season” said Delk. The team title for the past three years has been won by 2 schools, West View MS Girls (Morristown) and Webb School Boys. This year a powerhouse was dethroned while another continued their domination of this race. Webb School girls came in and took the title after going undefeated in the regular season led by Addison Smith who is one of five 6th graders and one 8th grader. Coach Jane Durkin gave her team confident words prior to the race stating, “They are as prepared as they are ever going to be." Webb boys, led by 7th grader Carter Coughlin narrowly defeated a tough Maryville Junior High School by two points. Coach Durkin knew both teams were capable of winning, but to come away with two team titles she said “That (two titles) was unexpected”. The Knoxville area performed on their home course coming away with All-State (top 20) certificates listed below:
Knoxville Area Girls
3. Lauren Blade Oak Ridge MS 12:47.05
8. Rebecca Story Christian Academy of Knoxville 13:04.10
10. Addison Smith Webb MS 13:07.04
11. Niki Narayani Webb MS 13:08.91
15. Madison McCollum Webb MS 13:22.15
16. Maddie Zawisza Oak Ridge MS 13:22.82
18. Ashtyn Glover West Valley MS 13:27.21
Knoxville Area Boys
3. Austin Bihmeyer Farragut MS 11:46.03
4. Carter Coughlin Webb MS 11:51.52
6. Jordan VanDruff 11:54.99
7. Austin Hoag Farragut MS 11:57.60
11. Conner Catlett Webb MS 12:02.45
15. Taylor Drake Maryville JHS 12:07.58
20. Kenton Bachmann West Valley MS 12:14.87