UH Cross Country News

Congratulations to our High School Cross Country runners who all had great runs in the Region Championship!  A big congratulations to Isabelle Johnson and Braden Williams who qualified for State!  Go, Bucs!

The following article was printed in the Johsnon City Press:

 

Boone, Crockett repeat at Region 1 XC Champs
Tanner Cook
October 26, 2021
 

 


A gray and blustery Tuesday on the historic Trailblazer 5,000-meter course didn’t seem to bother most runners in the annual Region 1 cross country championships.

Plenty of history was made and the “rag-tag” boys from Gray defended home turf yet again.

In the Class AAA races, the first three teams plus the first five individuals not on one of the qualifiers automatically advanced to next week’s state meet in Hendersonville.


In the Class A-AA races, the first four teams plus five individuals qualified for the big dance.

   

Still without Conner Wingfield, Levi Streeval and Luke Mussard, Daniel Boone’s boys won the Class AAA team title for the sixth consecutive season — and ninth time in the last 10 years — with a low score of 23 points.

 
Boone’s streak is the longest since Science Hill won nine straight from 1998 to 2006.

It was also the 12th overall title for Boone, tying Science Hill for the third most titles all-time in all classifications.

Alex Quackenbush continued his stellar postseason, capturing the individual title with a run of 16:56.4. He became the sixth different Trailblazer to accomplish the feat.

“We’ve got a team full of kids that have heart,” Boone coach Len Jeffers said. “They listen, compete and they want an opportunity. Unfortunately, because of some other issues, they were given that opportunity and they made the most of it.”

The ’Blazers produced four of the race’s first five finishers and had seven runners make the all-region team. Bryson Lewis was runner-up with a time of 17:04.8 while Ashton Sheesley was fourth in 17:08.0 and Griffin Swinehart fifth in 17:18.8. Conner Roberts rounded out Boone’s scoring by placing 11th in 17:51.1.

“I took it out to see if anyone was going to go with me and then 800 meters in, I just went,” Quackenbush said. “I maintained the lead pretty easily, but I really didn’t feel any pressure to do anything different. I just cruised the whole way in.”

Dobyns-Bennett’s Dane Sullins broke up the Boone pack with a third-place finish in 17:06.7. He led the Tribe to a runner-up finish.

Science Hill was the final team qualifier and was led by Owen Johnson’s ninth-place finish (17:49.8).

The individual qualifiers are David Crockett’s Gideon Erwin (7th, 17:26.2), Jefferson County’s Lucas Bales (8th, 17:31.1), Morristown West’s Nick Sexton (12th, 17:56.1) and Brando Resendiz (13th, 18:01.8) and Sevier County’s Alex Ogle (18th, 18:12.5).

 
DUNCAN WINS AGAIN
Science Hill senior Trinny Duncan continued her winning ways by easily taking the regional individual crown. She covered the course in 19:02.6, well ahead of runner-up Kamryn Wingfield of Daniel Boone (19:52.4).

Duncan is the sixth different Lady Hilltopper to win the race and she led her squad to a runner-up finish.

“I was nervous and I really didn’t have a plan going in,” Duncan said. “I just wanted to stay up front and see who’s around. It’s hard for me to believe that this is all happening.”

Wingfield became the highest-placing Lady ’Blazer ever at a regional meet with her second-place showing and helped Boone pick up the final qualifying spot by two points.

The David Crockett Lady Pioneers were victorious on the team side, repeating as champions and winning just the third title in school history with 49 points.

Crockett is the first team outside of D-B, Science Hill and Morristown West to repeat as team champion in the big race since Sullivan Central did so in 1988 and 1989.

The Lady Cougars did that when the race was only one classification.

“This was our goal back in the summer, but for a while, it was looking pretty doubtful,” Crockett coach Mark Jennings said. “We started coming on, starting at Trailblazer, and we never looked back. I’m so proud of the girls.”

Crockett was led by freshman Maggie Bellamy (3rd, 20:03.0) followed by Breanna Dunn (4th, 20:08.6), Ashlynn Roy (8th, 20:34.7), Emily Ward (16th, 21:27.7) and Hannah McLain (18th, 21:45.5).

West Ridge senior Cara Taylor became the first athlete from the new school to qualify for a state championship with her 10th-place finish (20:43.4).

 
“I fell along the tree line along the fence and I was worried I wouldn’t make it,” Taylor said. “It feels great to be the first to qualify. I loved the team this season and they’ve been there for me through so much.

“It feels really good to represent the school.”


The other individual qualifiers include D-B’s Kailee-Ann Conner (6th, 20:23.6), Autumn Headrick (7th, 20:26.9), Emily Siner (13th, 21:10.5) and Morristown West’s Ashlyn Haas (14th, 21:13.0).

A FALCON FIRST
Volunteer came into Tuesday’s race having never won a region team title in either cross country or track & field.

That all changed as the Falcons dominated the Class A-AA race, putting all of its scoring five in the top 15 and tallying 50 points. They were led by Ethyn Council’s runner-up finish as he crossed with a time of 17:42.9.

Council is the highest individual finisher for the Falcons since Todd Skelton won the same race in 2003.

Next for Volunteer was Caleb Greene (10th, 18:28.8) followed by Roman Borghetti-Metz (13th, 18:47.5), Charlie Wilson (14th, 18:49.5) and Evan Glass (15th, 18:51.1).

“It feels great to win the team title,” Council said. “It feels great that we were able to accomplish one of the team goals by the time we all graduate.

“My race was brutal, but I just kept fighting through it and stayed mentally tough.”

The Church Hill crew, coached by local legend Jim Ailshie, beat out Sullivan East by 25 points. Ailshie has been around running for nearly a half-century and has built the Volunteer program from the ground into a contender for a state title.

“It feels awesome to get this one,” Ailshie said. “To see everyone’s progression, it’s truly phenomenal. When I first got to Volunteer five or six years ago, I took a team up to Virginia and we finished 16th out of 16 teams in the boys and 11th out of 11 teams in the girls. Ultimately, it’s the kids who’ve stepped up and I couldn’t be prouder.”

 
Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Sam Fulton — younger brother of 2018 Small Class state champion Emerson — won the region individual title and made it look easy as he traversed the course in 17:12.5.

“I just knew I had to get out in front and I didn’t want to take an easy day,” Fulton said. “It feels great to follow in my brother’s steps. He always pushed me and he still pushes me. I still want to be the better brother, so that still motivates me a lot.”

Elizabethton was third while G-P was fourth and both nabbed tickets to state.

The individual qualifiers were Greeneville’s Morgan Leach (3rd. 17:43.5), Cherokee’s Henry Brooks (4th, 18:00.9), Washburn’s Chandler Dalton (5th, 18:03.5), University’s Braden Williams (6th, 18:04.7) and Pigeon Forge’s Connor Barnes (12th, 18:42.5).

ARRINGTON DOMINATES
Tennessee High junior Zoe Arrington has done a lot of things in her illustrious career so far, but “region cross country champion” was still a missing checkbox.

She not only checked off that box, but she set a meet record for the smaller classification by running 19:16.9 to win the Class A-AA title — which is her fastest time of the season to date.

She beat the previous record held by University High’s Stephanie Davenport in 2008 (19:52.1) and became the first Lady Viking to win the region individual crown since Solange Adams in 2003.

“I feel like my last two miles were a lot stronger than they have been,” Arrington said. “I’ve been fading really bad on the last mile lately. The last mile, especially, felt stronger than what I’ve been doing this season.

“After all I’ve been through this season, it feels good to get that small victory because that means it’s a push in the right direction and I’m on the other side of things.”

 
Arrington led the Lady Vikings to a runner-up position, losing out to Gatlinburg-Pittman by 19 points (52-71).

The Lady Highlanders — competing in Region 1 for the first time in many years — put four runners in the top 20.

Sullivan East’s Mandy Lowery was the first individual qualifier, crossing in second (20:15.8). Lowery gets redemption from last year, when she missed out on a mid-state trip in the Large Schools race by one spot.

“It feels fantastic to get to go to state this year,” Lowery said. “The whole race, I had a smile on my face, knowing that I was going.”

Volunteer was third, clinching a spot in the state meet. The Lady Falcons were led by Jacie Begley’s fourth-place showing (21:30.9).

The other individual qualifiers are Cocke County’s Jenna Pittman (7th, 22:10.6), University High’s Isabelle Johnson (8th, 22:41.1), Elizabethton’s Reaghan Curde (13th, 23:27.6) and Unicoi County’s Marissa Soulier (14th, 23:29.1).