Back-to-back brilliance
Moody, Dark repeat as state champs for Anderson County
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Ava Moody, Anderson County’s distance specialist, repeated as champion in the 3,200-meter race. Moody, a junior, finished the race with a time of 10:56.48.
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Anderson County’s Luke Dark claimed his second straight boys’ shot put championship, capturing the 2025 state title with a throw of 63 feet, 1 inch.
Two Anderson County High School track and field athletes repeated as state champions last week at the TSSAA Class AA state championships in Murfreesboro.
Inclement weather forced the meet to stretch over two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 20-21, but the Mavericks and Lady Mavericks found success at Middle Tennessee State University’s Dean Hayes Stadium.
Lady Mavericks distance standout Ava Moody and Mavericks thrower Luke Dark — both juniors — successfully defended their 2024 state titles at the Spring Fling.
Moody won the girls’ 3,200-meter run for the second consecutive year, posting a time of 10 minutes, 56.48 seconds.
Already one of the state’s top distance runners, Moody added the title to an impressive list of accomplishments that includes the 2024 cross country state championship in Hendersonville and a 1,600-meter title at last year’s Spring Fling.
This year, Moody added a second-place finish in the 1,600-meter event, clocking in at 5:03.71.
“She just keeps getting better,” Anderson County Assistant Coach Harrison Calhoun said. “She works hard, she loves to run, and she just loves to compete.”
Dark also repeated in the boys’ shot put, winning the 2025 state title with a mark of 63 feet, 1 inch.
“I’ve never had anybody I’ve coached who has as much passion as Luke,” Calhoun said. “He and Waylon LaRue both have an appetite for winning.”
LaRue, a senior, finished fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.23 seconds.
Fellow senior Vance Laster capped off a stellar career at Anderson County by finishing second in two events. The defending 3,200-meter state champion, he placed second in the event with a time of 9:37.58 and also took second in the 1,600 meters at 4:26.80.
Laster will continue his running career at Lincoln Memorial University.
“It’s been my honor to coach Vance,” Calhoun said. “I dreaded that this was his senior year — and I mean that in a good way.
“Kids like Vance leave a mark on your program,” he said. “They leave a legacy.
“Every school has that wall where you post school records, and his name is all over that wall. He set six school records this year. He will be missed. And it’ll be the same thing when Luke and Ava leave after next year.”
Junior Joseph Hall finished sixth in the boys’ long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 5 inches. Calhoun said Hall is just getting started.
“I’m very proud of all of these kids,” Calhoun said. “Joseph finished sixth, but the top six were only separated by about an inch. He held his own. He’s still growing, and he can compete with anybody.”
