Signal Mountain's cross country teams won two state A-AA championships on Thursday at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville. The Eagles defeated Central Magnet (Murfreesboro) Tiger squads that, a year ago, beat Signal by two and three point margins in the boys and girls races, respectively. Signal's boys and girls teams each placed three runners in the top fifteen for All-State individual honors. Crosstown rival East Hamilton was third in the girls championship and earned one All-State honor.
On the boys side, the Eagles' top three finished among the top fifteen spots, a difficult task in the elite field at the state championship level. A long train of runners took a fast pace for the first half of the two-loop course, with the top ten stringing out some in the final half. Joshua Pote (6th) and Jack Gibby (7th) lead the way for Signal's victory. DiAngelo Cisto was not far off in 13th.
The Tigers' top three were never much behind their counterparts, and their fourth and fifth outpaced Signal's fifth, Caden Knappier, Nonetheless, Knappier held close enough behind the Tigers and top Memphis East runners to seal the Eagle's championship. Simon Lewis and Asher Egan rounded out the Eagles' championship squad. Pote, Gibby, and Cisto earned All-State individual honors for their top 15 finishes.
On the girls side, victory for Signal Mountain was less than certain for at least the first half, as Central Magnet's girls paced their adversaries in pairs and triples. The top of the field was generally dominated by several groups of four and five runners ahead of the longer main pack, and places swapped at every hill on the rolling course. By the second half, however, most of the Eagle's girls had found a gear that the shadowing Tigers couldn't quite match.
At the finish, Signal's Maxine Richards (2nd), Ada Boyd (6th), and Aubrey Lynch (12th) had all beaten Central Magnet's first pair of runners. The Eagle's Hannah Laramore (18th) followed in the pack behind that pair, with Callaway Wheeler sealing the victory wedged between East Hamilton's second and third finishers. Lisa Lin and Lilly Paxson rounded out the Eagles' girls win. As for the East Hamilton, they began the race behind Page High, but the Hurricane girls soon showed the hill climbing, place-catching strides honed during their successful league season.
By the end, the Hurricanes top four had pulled decisively ahead of Page, with Willa Barnes finishing 7th while Ashlyn Shell (27th) finished some distance ahead of teammates Adrianna Huffstuttler (34th) and Madison Wright (36th). However, Hurricanes' third place finish and victory of Page wasn't secure until Skyler Shinn (117th) crossed the line after keeping a solid third mile pace in the middle pack. Lina Semmar and Bethany Kelman completed East Hamilton's bronze-prize squad. Signal Mountain's Richards, Boyd, and Lynch and the Hurricanes Barnes earned All-State individual honors.