Phoebe Wright is, along with Reggie White, one of the greatest athletes to come out of Chattanooga ever.
She deserves more ink.
Luke Lea
Signal Mountain
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I would like to second Luke Lea's comments. Indeed, Phoebe Wright's career (and it hardly is over) at Tennessee has been one of the most impressive I ever have seen from someone from Chattanooga. Keep in mind that Ms. Wright was a walk-on, and her best-ever finish in the Tennessee high school state meet was a fourth place. She went from fourth-place in Tennessee to number one in the nation. Not bad.
Her win at the NCAAs this last weekend was very impressive, as she won by more than a second and simply blew away the best collegiate field in the country. Furthermore, she has been part of world-record relays teams and has compiled a sterling record as a UT athlete. I believe that she is on the cusp of becoming a world-class runner, and I don't think we ever have someone like that come from the Scenic City. Unfortunately, I could not find anything about her winning performance in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, at least the on-line edition.
William L. Anderson (former Chattanoogan and runner for Baylor School and UTK)
Frostburg, MD
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One of the greatest ever out of Chattanooga, maybe. Let's give it a couple of years to gain some more perspective. Certainly she's been one of the most impressive in recent years. I have seen several articles on her and her noteworthy achievements in the local print newspaper. Most mentions of local athletes in college have to be provided by either the college or on a tip by a relative; no service can cover them all individually. The trouble is, cross-country simply is not as popular a sport as football, basketball and other college sports. And that doesn't take away from her accomplishments in the least.
Nathan Hickey