Clinton coach sees growth from Clinton runners in 2022
Clinton High School cross country coach Tim Kumes may have seen his teams’ season come to an end last week at the Region 2-A/AA Championships in Knoxville but he was extremely pleased with both the Dragons’ and Lady Dragons’ 2022 campaign.
“All of our kids did a great job,” Kumes said after the meet at Victor Ashe Park. “Our seniors showed leadership. They led by example and we had some (personal records) in there.”
One runner for the Clinton boys, senior Ethan Ortiz, came up just short came just short of qualifying for this week’s state championships, which will be contested at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville Thursday.
Ortiz came in 27th, crossing the finish line in 19 minutes, 32.93 seconds.
“Unfortunately, Ethan missed out going to the next race by just five positions,” Kumes said. “He needed to come in (in) the top five as an individual. He came in No. 10 of that group.
“Overall it was a great race and a great career for him.”
Freshman Caleb Holt finished 28th, posting a time of 20:49.50. Noah Ortiz finished 41st. He completed the 5K course in 20:57.99. Gavin Cook crossed the finish line in 59th place (24:14.48). Ryley Brewer finished 62nd. (24.39.31). Gideon Follett finished 66th with a time of 25:15. 11 and Buford Watson came in 68th as he crossed the finish line in 26:41.74.
For the Lady Dragons, Summer Wilson led the way, finishing 32nd with a time of 25:06.78.
Alison Hollifield was 33rd and Juliet Avila came in 39th, giving the Lady Dragons three top-40 finishers for the day. Marissa Winter came in 49th and Natalie McLemore finished 66th at the region.