When you’ve won four straight Division II Class AA state cross country championships, you probably don’t expect to struggle to win your own invitational meet. But that’s just what McCallie School did Saturday morning in edging Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy by a single point (35-36) over the Moccasin Bend Course. Baylor was third at 109 points.
In the girls division, Girls Preparatory School edged Baylor 40-46 with Pope John II in third with 54 points. GPS’s Gilly Shumate finished second and teammate Helen Kates in fourth.
McCallie won both the Middle School and JV Divisions.
“It was a good win,” said McCallie coach Mike Wood.
“It seems like our opening meet is always close. Jack Bowen was awesome with a time of 15:06, which is one of the best in the state.”
Indeed, the junior Bowen was an astounding 20 seconds in front of runner-up Jack Wallace of MBA over the 5K course. McCallie’s Evan Simpson _ a recent Alabama commitment _ was third at 15:31. McCallie’s Ian Jacobs was sixth at 15:58. With three of the first six, the Blue Tornado had just enough points to survive the Big Red placing five in the top 10.
“It feels pretty good,” said Bowen afterward. “This was my first McCallie Invitational win. We’ve got stuff to work on before the state meet.”
Added Simpson, “A win always feels great. This was more of a learning experience. I just wanted to compete with Jack. This is something we can build on.”
Said the sophomore Jacobs, “We got out pretty fast. There’s a lot of competition on this team. We work hard together.”
Nor does the Blue Tornado talent pool stop with the varsity. Seventh grader Wylie Shumate won the MIddle School division with a time of 11:43 over the 3200 meter course. Shumate isn’t even on the team. He plays tennis and just ran for fun.
And in the JV Division, McCallie claimed the first six spots and eight of the first 12, with sophomore Taylor Combs winning and senior Garrison Corley finishing second and fourth. Their times would have placed them in the top 20 of the varsity race.
The TSSAA Division II Class AA state meet will be held at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonvile, TN, on November 3.