Mavericks cross country makes ‘state’-ment with double gold
-
Anderson County freshman Ella Tyler captured the TSSAA Class AA sectional championship at Songbird Park near Norris Dam on Tuesday, Oct. 27, with a time of 18:38.58. - Tony Cox
-
Anderson County’s Cameron Hardy, left, sets the pace during a cross-country race earlier this season. Hardy captured first place in the TSSAA Class AA sectional meet Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Norris Dam, leading the Mavericks to a team berth in Friday’s state championship meet in Clarksville. - Tony Cox
Anderson County’s cross-country teams earned their way to state by making the most of their home-course advantage Tuesday morning, Oct. 27.
They swept the individual championships and earned a pair of second-place team finishes at the TSSAA Division I-AA Sectional 2 meet at Songbird Park near Norris Dam.
With both teams earning runner-up finishes, Anderson County now turns its attention to the Division I-AA state cross-country meet on Friday afternoon, Nov. 6, at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis.
The Lady Mavericks finished second with 60 points, trailing champion Signal Mountain, which scored 27. The Mavericks also claimed runner-up honors with 79 points, finishing behind Signal Mountain’s 32.
Leading the charge for Anderson County was standout freshman Ella Tyler, who raced to the girls individual championship with a winning time of 18 minutes, 38.58 seconds. Junior teammate Jordan Walker added a fourth-place finish in 19:40.97.
Not to be outdone, Mavericks senior Cameron Hardy captured the boys individual title, crossing the finish line in 15:53.08. Senior teammate John “J.J.” Cutler wasn’t far behind, taking third in 16:29.55.
“I’m head over heels excited,” Anderson County Coach Harrison Calhoun said. “There’s so much that goes on, especially when you’re hosting (the meet). I haven’t really had time to let it sink in, but it’s everything that I could have hoped for. I mean, it’s exactly how I wanted us to finish.
“And it’s really the effort that we put in and the work that we put in. This is where we should have finished,” he added.
“I’m really impressed and very proud.”
“Because our teams placed second overall at sectionals, we get to make the trip as a team, both teams, to the state meet,” Calhoun said.
Other Lady Mavericks contributing to Anderson County’s strong sectional showing included freshman Jenna Meadors, who finished 20th in 22:39.02; freshman Daisy Dyer, 21st in 22:45.96; freshman Lila Sharon, 24th in 23:03.09; sophomore Rachel Garbs, 28th in 24:19.97; and junior Emma Owens, 40th in 25:35.44.
For the Mavericks, sophomore Rylan Vanlandingham finished 20th in 18:29.11, followed by junior Avian Laster, 28th in 19:06.82; senior Tanner Warman, 30th in 19:10.12; sophomore Benson Skidmore, 40th in 19:43.38; and freshman Christian Wolfley, 60th in 21:02.87.
With two individual sectional champions and both teams advancing, Anderson County will head to Memphis looking to carry its home-course success onto the state’s biggest cross-country stage.