Wildcats cross-country wraps up season at state meet
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Oak Ridge’s Amaijah Bishop looks focused and determined before taking to the course at the TSSAA Division I-AAA state cross-country championships on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis. The Lady Wildcats finished 16th in the team standings. - Izzy Smith | ORHS Sports Media
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Oak Ridge’s Julian Kelley makes a final push toward the finish line at the TSSAA Division I-AAA state cross-country championships on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis. The Wildcats finished 19th in the team standings. - Izzy Smith | ORHS Sports Media
With a pair of notable performances and plenty of experience gained, Oak Ridge’s boys and girls cross-country teams wrapped up their seasons at the TSSAA Division I-AAA State Cross-Country Meet at Shelby Farms Park on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Though only one runner had previously competed at the state meet, the Wildcats finished 19th as a team with 528 points. The slightly more experienced Lady Wildcats placed 16th with 394 points.
“We didn’t have our best day, but we were really young; we didn’t have one senior on the boys or the girls team,” Oak Ridge head coach Ed Wright said.
“So it was a new experience boys-wise. Six out of the seven, that was their first state meet,” he added. “And so the girls probably ran as a whole better than the boys did because they kind of knew what to expect.”
Lady Wildcats
For the Oak Ridge girls, Kendra Hurd led the way with a 52nd-place finish in 20 minutes, 22.40 seconds. Junior Brooke Roessner was close behind, placing 53rd in 20:23.80.
Freshman Annie Kuhns finished 107th in 21:34.90, while junior Amaija Bishop placed 117th in 21:48.00. Sophomore Madelyn Frazier rounded out the team’s top five, finishing 125th in 21:54.10.
“I would say the race of the day for us was probably Brooke Roessner on the girls’ side,” Wright said. “She ran a really smart race, got out really well and then finished really strong.
“But it was also pretty hot during the girls’ race. There were teams that were losing girls, girls were passing out, not finishing. But not our girls.”
ORHS boys
Junior Julien Kelley paced the Oak Ridge boys, finishing 86th in 17:18.70.
Freshman Connor Morgan placed 117th in 17:43.00, followed closely by fellow freshman Chase Bolin, who finished 120th in 17:47.30.
Sophomore Finnian Wessels took 136th in 17:52.40, while freshman Eli Holdsworth finished 170th in 18:19.70.
Junior Tommy Sauer placed 187th in 18:30.28, and freshman Logan Dornburg rounded out the Wildcats’ finishers, placing 228th in 19:16.00.
“As far as the boys go, they all ran OK,” Wright said. “I do want to single out Tommy Sauer. He was really the difference in getting that power spread down from like a minute, 40 seconds.”
“Julien Kelley was our No. 1, but even he was disappointed,” Wright added. “They were all disappointed.
“But I felt like as far as it being their first state meet, you know, it was a good experience.”