They always say that in the sport of cross country, a team is only as good as its fifth runner. (via www.chattanoogan.com)
McCallie Cross Country Invitational Meet Preview This Saturday, Sept. 28 McCallie will host the McCallie Cross Country Invitational sponsored by Scenic City Orthopedics. The race will be held at Moccasin Bend Hospital. Traditionally the race has been limited to 12 quality teams and this year is no different. The girls race shapes up to be an epic battle with Maryville and Harpeth Hall going head to head, but 4 other schools also look to be in the mix as Homewood, Ravenwood, Collinns Hill and Webb are accustomed to winning as well. Brentwood Academy, Homewood, Collins Hill and McCallie have the most depth on the boy’s side, but MBA and Webb have some outstanding individuals. The race will include Brentwood Academy boys. 2011 State Champions and currently ranked second in Tennessee DII-AA. Collins Hill from Atlanta is ranked among the top 10 teams in Georgia and recently both their boys and girls teams finished 3rd in the Gwinnett County Championship. Homewood from Birmingham is ranked 3rd among boys teams in Alabama and is coming off an impressive win at the Spain Park Invitational. Homewood girls took 3rd at Spain Park, but had the overall individual champion. Maryville High from Maryville, TN features one of the best girl’s teams in the state. Maryville girls have already won the Hardin Valley Invitational, Cherokee Classic and finished runner-up among a strong field at the Western Carolina XC Carnival. Harpeth Hall Girls from Nashville are a perennial state power and coming off dominate wins at the Tennessee Classic and Chickasaw Trails Invitational in Alabama. MBA boys from Nashville feature the top individual boy in Tennessee DII and the MBA team won the Cherokee Classic held in Knoxville. MBA is ranked 3rd in Tennessee. Ravenwood boys from Nashville won the Tennessee Classic Gold Division at Percy Warner Park last weekend and their girls took 3rd among the best teams in Nashville. Ravenwood Girls are defending State Champions in AAA. Union Grove boys from metro Atlanta won the Greyhound Invitational and the Union Grove girls were runner-up. Knoxville Webb is the defending Tennessee State Champions in DII-A for both boys and girls and return both the boy’s and girl’s individual champions in their division. Other teams to watch will be Allatoona from Acworth, GA, Fort Payne, AL, Guntersville, AL and Ensworth School from Nashville. Each of these programs features outstanding individuals. Chattanooga will be represented by traditional girls power GPS. On the boys side McCallie will carry the local banner. McCallie is the defending Tennessee State Champions in DII-AA. Moccasin Bend Hospital Race Times: (All times are Eastern) Girls JV 9:00 AM Boys JV 9:35 AM Girls Varsity 10:10 AM Boys Varsity 10:45 AM Awards 11:30 AM Teams: Allatoona – GA, Brentwood Academy – TN, Collins Hill – GA, Ensworth – TN, Fort Payne – AL, GPS – TN, Guntersville – AL, Harpeth Hall – TN, Homewood – AL, Maryville – TN, McCallie – TN, Ravenwood – TN, Union Grove – GA, Webb - TN