Taylor Luthringer, Thomas Porter Win Region Cross Country

Both Signal Mountain Teams Qualify For Next Week's State Meet

  • Tuesday, October 25, 2016
  • John Hunt

COOKEVILLE – Tuesday was a pretty good day for the Signal Mountain cross country teams.

Not only did they celebrate with both individual winners in the Region 4-A/AA races, but both teams finished in the top three and will advance to the state meet, which will be held at Nashville’s Percy Warner Park a week from Saturday.

Taylor Luthringer and Thomas Porter captured the individual honors here at Cookeville High School as Luthringer won the girls’ 5K race in 19 minutes, 23 seconds while Porter had to work a little bit harder to prevail with a time of 17:04.

Signal Mountain coach Dustin Carpenter was like a cat on a hot tin roof running from point to point on the double-loop course to cheer on his runners.  He felt good about their performances, even before knowing the team results.

“It’s been a good day for us.  We came up here two years ago totally unprepared for this course, so we came back two weeks ago so they would know it like the back of their hand,” he began.

“I’m really proud of both teams and especially the two overall winners.  Taylor is like a machine you can always count on while Thomas has a fire underneath him right now.  I was watching him in the middle of the race and I could tell he had a lot left, but both ran really strong races today.

“I’m just hoping that I’ll be this happy when they announce the team results,” Carpenter concluded.

Central Magnet won both team titles in the A-AA race with the girls placing six in the top 10 to finish with 30 points.  Signal Mountain was second with 51 while Merrol Hyde Magnet was third with 73.

The Central Magnet boys had three runners in the top 10 to win with 39 points.  Merrol Hyde was second with 44 while Signal Mountain was third with 54.

Luthringer finished second in the region last year and didn’t have a good race at state as she finished fifth despite suffering from pneumonia.  She’s worked all year in hopes of erasing that bad memory and she’s been all alone in most of the league races she won.

She was all alone on Tuesday as she beat runner-up Hannah Whited of Cannon County by 49 seconds.

Luthringer, who recently commited to run next year for the Tennessee Lady Vols, never seemed to slow down, even though the second runner was not in sight.

“It was okay, but I just wanted to get it over with,” Luthringer said while sipping on a cup of water.

“There’s too much weaving back and forth on this course, but there are those that are worse.  I was just running to win today and not really concerned with my time,” she added.

Porter, like Luthringer, was victorious in last week’s Front Runner Invitational at Baylor.  He’s also a senior and hoping to go out with a bang.

He was in a pack of four runners in the first half and was third in a group of three at the halfway mark.  He appeared to be running relaxed and in total control, but when the time came for him to make his move, nobody was able to go with him.

“I was a little nervous before we started, but it was a great race for me.  I stuck to my race plan and it worked as I let them do all the work for the first three miles,” he suggested.

“We came around that last turn down there on the final hill and that’s where I took off.  I really didn’t want to go too hard today as I still have a big race next weekend, but I feel pretty good right now,” Porter added.

While Luthringer and Porter were not defending champions in this race, the two individual winners in the AAA race were and were both successful in defending their titles.

Cumberland County’s Tabor sisters finished one-two with older sister Sydney beating freshman Lauren by six seconds, the winner crossing in 20:21.

Cookeville’s Conner Hawkins also successfully defending his title with a time of 16:21.

Cookeville won both team titles in the AAA races with the girls taking first with 59 points.  East Hamilton was second with 107 while Walker Valley was third with 111.

The Cookeville boys tallied 37 points to beat runner-up Stone Memorial by 13 points.  Cleveland was a distant third with 128.

“It was hot and hilly, but I think I did about what I was expecting to do,” said Sydney Tabor after her winning effort ended.

“I wasn’t focused on time as much as place, but I was pushing as hard as I could there at the end,” she smiled.

Hawkins was happy to win again, but his team winning again was more important.

“We all came here today with the goal of winning again and I’m pleased we were able to accomplish that,” he began.

“I had a strategy from the start.  I stayed with the pack for the first mile before starting to push the pace and drop everyone else.  I really wanted to create a gap so there wouldn’t be a sprint to the finish line,” he added, knowing that he beat runner-up Xavier Findley of Stone Memorial by 15 seconds.

The top three teams and individuals not on those teams who finish in the top 10 all qualify for next week’s state meet.

Cannon County’s Whited and Dekalb County’s Mya Ruch were the A-AA girls while the Tabor sisters will be joined by Stone Memorial’s Hailey Coudriet and Rhea County’s Lesley Green as AAA individuals.

Chattanooga Christian’s Micaiah Allison finished ninth and earned the only spot among A-AA boys while the AAA guys included Cumberland County's Ben Tabor, Warren County’s Christian Locke, Ooltewah’s Joseph Adams and McMinn County’s Caleb Underdown.

REGION 3-A/AA WINNERS at Camp Jordan included the CSAS girls and the Central boys.  Individual winners included Boyd-Buchanan's Jada Hale in 19:53 and Red Bank's Cole Bullock in 17:25.

While the CSAS girls won with 49 points, Boyd-Buchanan was second with 71 and Polk County third iwth 88.  The Central boys won with 36 points whihle Red Bank was second with 55 and Boyd-Buchanan third with 84.\

Additional state qualifiers for the girls include McMinn Central's Ashlynd Broling, Tyner's Malika Reviere, Sale Creek's Linsy Devlin, Collegedale's Malone McElroy, Hixson's Emily Clack and Sweetwater's Sarah Laurence.

Those guys from Region 3-A/AA who qualified as individuals include Sweetwater's Alec Bloomer, Sequoyah's Ben Conley and Silverdale's Noah Cochran.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

Sports
Chattanooga Women Third At Spring Break Shootout
  • 3/18/2024

The Chattanooga Mocs got off to a solid start at the Spring Break Shootout. The ladies are 4 under on Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club’s South Course carding 280 over the opening 18 and 284 ... more

Sweetwater's Keke Norfolk Signs With Cleveland State
Sweetwater's Keke Norfolk Signs With Cleveland State
  • 3/18/2024

Keke Norfolk of Sweetwater High School signed a National Letter of Intent with the Cleveland State women’s basketball team this past week. Norfolk a 5’9” guard/forward, becomes the first signee ... more

Vol Baseball Win Streak Ends At 17 At Alabama
  • 3/18/2024

No. 5/5 Tennessee's 17-game winning streak came to an end with a 6-3 loss to No. 12/14 Alabama on Saturday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide (16-3, 1-1 SEC) ... more