GPS finished as the runner-up in the TSSAA Division II-AA girls' cross country championships in Hendersonville on Thursday.
photo by Contributed
There are times when things just don’t work out the way they’re planned.
Such was the case at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville Thursday morning as the McCallie Blue Tornado cross country team was shooting for their sixth straight Division II Class AA championship.
Knoxville Catholic and McCallie both finished with 62 points for the first five runners, so in situations like this, it goes down to the sixth man to determine the outcome.
Tony Ortega finished 25th with a time of 16:41 for the Irish which was some 15 seconds ahead of McCallie’s sixth man Ian Jacobs and that’s how the outcome was determined.
It was also a heart-breaking day for McCallie senior Jack Bowen, who finished as the individual runner-up for the third straight year, finishing 10 seconds behind Catholic’s Keegan Smith who was the winner in 14:59. Bowen had finished as the runner-up to Smith at the McCallie Invitational at Moccasin Bend on Sept. 28.
McCallie coach Rodney Stoker knew it would be close.
“Our guys ran really well. Despite finishing second, it was still a great day for the Big Blue,” Stoker said by phone after the race ended.
“It was a super close race, but it goes down to the sixth man when it’s a tie. Give credit to Knoxville Catholic as they were just a little bit better than us today. There are times when we focus so much on the outcome and overlook the experience. You always think that we could have done better.
“It was certainly fun to watch, but results are results and it was just their time. But we’ll grow from it and we won’t let today’s results overshadow what was another great season for McCallie cross country,” Stoker added.
While Smith and Bowen were one-two, Chattanooga Christian’s Zachary Youngblood posted a time of 15:33 to finish fourth. McCallie teammates Henry Edwards and Henry Webb finished 10th and 15th, respectively, with times of 15:58 and 16:09 to earn All-State honors.
While Catholic and McCallie were first and second, MBA was third with Christian Brothers fourth and Chattanooga Christian fifth. Baylor was sixth.
Knoxville Webb claimed the top three individual spots to win the girls title with 33 points. Gilly Shumate of GPS was fifth in 18:40 to lead her Bruisers to a runner-up finish with 101 points.
GPS coach Beverly Blackwell was really happy with the way her girls stepped up in their biggest race of the season.
"I'm so proud as they all did exactly what they were supposed to do. Everything came together at just the right time as they all peaked when it counted most," Blackwell said afterward.
Calysta Garmer, Jazzlyn Garmer and Caroline Areheart were the top three for Webb with times of 17:46, 17:53 and 17:57 while Baylor eighth grader Addy Cotter was fourth in 18:39.
Baylor’s Addi Greene was seventh in 18:49 and Tessie Braman of GPS 13th in 19:29 to also claim All-State honors.
While Webb and GPS took the top two spots, Baylor was fifth with 129 and Chattanooga Christian sixth with 141. Sophie May was the top finisher for CCS as she was 16th in 19:42.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)