Moody finishes third at Cherokee
Anderson County’s Ava Moody (3242) leads a runner from Webb School of Knoxville during the Cherokee Classic 5K at Cherokee Park in Knoxville on Saturday. Moody placed third overall with a time of 18:17.50 to help lead the Lady Mavericks to a sixth-place team finish with 165 points. (photo:Tony Cox )
The Lady Mavericks, led by defending Class A/AA state champion Ava Moody, claimed sixth place overall in the Cherokee Classic at Knoxville’s Cherokee Park.
Moody, a senior, opened her 2025 season with a strong third-place finish, clocking 18 minutes, 17.50 seconds on the 5,000-meter course.
She had plenty of support as Rebekah Berg (20:59.50) and Jordan Walker (21:07.50) cracked the top 25, finishing 20th and 22nd, respectively.
Sydney Day (23:03.00) and Emma Owens (25:33.70) rounded out the team’s top five scorers, while Rachel Garbes, Cate Clotfelter and Lily Franklin provided depth in a field of more than 180 runners.
On the boys’ side, John Cutler paced the Mavericks with a 16th-place finish at 17:02.40. He led Anderson County to ninth place in the team standings with 279 points.
The Mavs packed in behind him with Cameron Hardy (46th, 18:11.10), Franklin Downs (62nd, 18:44.40), Avian Laster (81st, 19:16.90) and Toby Day (114th, 20:13.90).
Tanner Warman, Benson Skidmore and Weston Mattson also gained valuable race experience on the quick Cherokee layout.
With solid finishes across the board, the Mavericks now turn their attention to hosting duties.
Anderson County welcomes area programs to the Norris Dam Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 20.
