Cross country teams have tough acts to follow

By Jeff Birchfield
Press Sports Writer
jbirchfield@johnsoncitypress.com

It was the day Science Hill and University High captured girls’ state titles with dramatic wins. The Lady ’Toppers knocked off Oak Ridge 50-58 to capture the Class AAA crown, while the Lady Jr. Bucs made history in the Class A-AA ranks by becoming the first Northeast Tennessee prep sports team to capture four consecutive state titles.

The bad news for both schools is that several of the key players from those teams are gone.

Six of the 10 girls listed as official state qualifiers have graduated from Science Hill. The list includes Allie Scalf, last season’s individual state runner-up who is now competing for Vanderbilt.

At University High, there has even been a change at the top. Anna Marie Ricciardi takes over as head coach from Gene Cahill, who is currently listed as an advisor but is in the process of moving to Texas, where his wife has taken a teaching position.

“Obviously I’m going to feel a little pressure,” said Ricciardi, a former track standout at ETSU who holds the Atlantic Sun Conference indoor high jump record. “I’m just lucky coach Cahill built such a good program. I’m coming in with a talented group of kids with a great work ethic. I hope to continue the winning tradition and be as strong as they’ve been in the past.”

Cahill led University High to a boys’ state title in 2007 in addition to the four girls’ titles, and is a former state coach of the year for all divisions. Besides the change at the helm, the Lady Jr. Bucs also lost Stephanie Davenport and Leah Nelson, their top two performers from those championship teams.

Science Hill head coach Jennifer Brockett is trying to fill her own team’s voids, which includes losing top state finishers Morgan Taylor and Morgan Buchanan. She knows it will be extremely difficult to keep pace with Oak Ridge, which only lost three girls, as well as Dobyns-Bennett, which lost only two.

“We’ve got some good girls coming up to take some girls spots who have graduated,” she said. “We can compete, but it will be tough to be on top again.”

Molly Foster, who ran 19:35 as an eighth-grader to finish sixth overall at last year’s state meet, leads the way. Seniors Kayla Kuziola at 20:19 last year and Samantha Gosey at 20:35 are also expected to contribute heavily.

“Molly has been working really hard and she knows what she wants,” Brockett said. “Kayla has been right up there with her and Sam’s working hard. I’ve got a couple of other girls looking to step up. We’re looking for those six through 10 spots right now, the girls who want to be part of that tradition.”

Martha McCoy, another state qualifier as an eighth-grader, could also play a big role in Science Hill’s success.

The Lady ’Toppers enjoyed a double-dip last year as many of the cross-country runners were also part of a state championship track team.

“If you’re strong on one side, you’re usually not that strong on the other side,” Brockett said. “We had a lot of the same girls step up and decide that’s what they wanted. That senior class was a special class, but we’ve got good girls coming up.”

It’s not all bad news for the Lady Jr. Bucs, led by junior Kirby Brosmore and sophomore Landry Loving, who played prominent roles in their 102-109 win over Knox Catholic at the state championships. Seniors Jackie Nelson and Forrest Sturgill also return from the championship teams.

“The girls are picking it up and pulling the slack,” Ricciardi said. “They’re all trying hard to hold on to that winning the state four years in a row. I know the girls really want it. I can see it in their eyes.”

On the boys’ side, Science Hill took an even bigger hit with seven of the 10 state qualifiers now graduated, including three of the five runners who scored at the state meet.

It leaves senior Michael Mansy to carry a heavy load for a Hilltopper team which wound up fourth in the state. Mansy, the Region 1-AAA champion a year ago, finished 10th in the state’s individual competition with a time of 16:21.

Sophomore Brennon Nelson, who was 33rd at the state, and junior Alex Holland are among the other key returnees.

The Jr. Bucs on the boys’ side must contend with the loss of David Smith, fourth at the state as an individual last season. However, they are one of the championship favorites, with several runners back off a team which won the state title two years ago and finished fifth last season.

Senior Carter McVeigh and junior Trevor Augsburger finished 15th and 18th with respective runs of 17:17 and 17:24 at last year’s state meet.

Others who look to contribute heavily are senior Alden Collins and junior Francisco Ochoa Vargas.

Junior Brian Smith and senior Ryan Bentley were also state qualifiers last season, while freshmen — Seth Hilbert and Gabe Perry — have been among the fastest runners in early practice.

“We have a lot of depth on the guys’ side and they have been working really hard this year,” Ricciardi said. “With Alden and Carter as seniors, they’ve been pushing everyone so hard. They’ve shown a lot of senior leadership. The upperclassmen are really helping everyone out.”

The schedules are full for both schools over the next two months before the Region 1 meet at Daniel Boone on Oct. 29 and the TSSAA state meet in Nashville on Nov. 5.