High School Sports Roundup: East Tennessee runners bring home state championships

East Tennessee high school athletes delivered an impressive collection of state championships and individual honors at the TSSAA Cross-Country State Championships, held November 5–6 at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis.

Knoxville Catholic, Christian Academy of Knoxville (CAK) and Gatlinburg-Pittman captured team championships, while Maryville produced two individual state champions. Several other area schools also celebrated outstanding performances as the fall sports season came to a close.

Knoxville Catholic boys capture state championship

The Knoxville Catholic boys won the Division II-AA state championship in one of the closest competitions of the meet.

The Fighting Irish finished with 56 points, edging Baylor School, which recorded 58. The championship was Catholic’s fourth overall and its first since 2024.

Leading the Irish were:

• Cade Duncanson — seventh, 15:42.9
• Evan Van de Griff — eighth, 15:49.3
• Reid Bannister — 10th, 15:55.1
• Nathan Jurbergs — 12th, 16:05.5
• Riley Horton — 19th, 16:20.3

The team’s depth proved decisive, with five runners finishing among the top 20.

CAK girls dominate Division II-A

Christian Academy of Knoxville turned in one of the most commanding performances of the championships, winning the Division II-A girls title with just 23 points.

The Lady Warriors finished 58 points ahead of runner-up Columbia Academy and swept the first three individual positions.

Top CAK finishers included:

• Sophie Lee — state champion, 18:40.08
• Emery Adams — second, 18:46.14
• Haylee Gasparic — third, 18:52.04
• Lydia Rouse — fifth, 19:30.59
• Ellia Cox — 14th, 20:39.9

The victory marked CAK’s second girls cross-country state championship and its first since 2012.

With several of the team’s leading runners still underclassmen, the Lady Warriors appear positioned for continued success.

Gatlinburg-Pittman makes school history

Gatlinburg-Pittman celebrated its first boys cross-country state championship, winning the Division I Class A title in dramatic fashion.

The Highlanders and University School of Johnson City each finished with 72 points, forcing officials to use the sixth-runner tiebreaker.

Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Wyatt Mathis finished 30th in 17:45.77, ahead of University School’s sixth runner, who placed 52nd.

Leading the Highlanders were:

• Bradyn Lewis — seventh, 16:29.80
• Tyler Ivy — 16th, 17:20.85
• Karol Shaw — 18th, 17:25.59
• Connor Pierce — 22nd, 17:34.54
• Dylan Pelfrey — 25th, 17:37.49
• Wyatt Mathis — 30th, 17:45.77

The historic victory demonstrated the importance of every runner in a team competition.

Maryville sweeps Class AAA individual championships

Maryville High School produced two state champions as its runners captured both the boys and girls individual titles in Division I Class AAA.

Senior Tommy Babbit won the boys championship with a time of 15:14.33, finishing approximately 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Blake Pilkington of Siegel.

Sophomore Hadleih Mitchey captured the girls championship in 17:58.52, defeating Summit’s Lorelai Whitten by nearly 12 seconds.

Both runners earned their first individual state cross-country championships.

Maryville’s boys finished fifth in the team standings, while the girls placed 12th.

Knoxville Catholic girls finish state runner-up

The Knoxville Catholic girls added another strong performance, finishing second in Division II-AA.

Father Ryan won the championship with 62 points, followed by Catholic with 79.

Catholic placed five runners among the top 25, led by Caitlin Daniels, who finished 12th in 19:17.5, and Livi Ray, who placed 14th in 19:29.8.

Webb School of Knoxville sophomore Bennie Diddle also delivered an impressive performance, finishing seventh individually in 18:52.2.

Other East Tennessee runners earn recognition

Several additional area athletes distinguished themselves at the state championships.

• Anderson County: Freshman Ella Tyler finished second in the Class AA girls race with a time of 18:51.99, just over two seconds behind state champion Chaiti Ainapure of Liberty Creek. Senior Cameron Hardy placed third in the Class AA boys race.
• Greeneville: Senior Trey Bailey successfully defended his Class AA boys individual championship, winning in 14:54.8. He was the only runner in his classification to break the 15-minute mark.
• Hardin Valley Academy: The girls finished fourth in Class AAA, led by Ana Berkheimer’s 10th-place finish. The boys placed sixth.
• Farragut: Junior Chase Temples finished 11th in the Class AAA boys competition with a time of 15:58.4.
• Halls: Senior Zachary Jenkins placed 16th in Class AAA boys with a time of 16:08.9.
• Tellico Plains: Freshman Imri Hitson finished runner-up in the Class A girls race with a time of 19:33.37.
• Christian Academy of Knoxville: The boys team added a third-place finish in Division II-A, while Lakeway Christian finished fourth.

Winter sports move into the spotlight

With cross-country, volleyball and girls soccer championships completed, area high schools are shifting their attention to winter athletics.

Basketball teams are preparing for the regular season, while wrestling programs are beginning their early-season competitions.

The coming weeks will bring new opportunities for East Tennessee athletes to compete for district, regional and eventually state honors.

Performance of the Week: CAK girls cross-country

Christian Academy of Knoxville’s girls cross-country team earns this week’s recognition for its dominating Division II-A state championship performance.

Sweeping the first three individual positions and placing all five scoring runners among the top 15 was an exceptional achievement.

Special recognition also goes to Knoxville Catholic’s boys for their two-point championship victory, Gatlinburg-Pittman for its historic first title and Maryville’s Tommy Babbit and Hadleih Mitchey for sweeping the Class AAA individual championships.

It was a memorable week for East Tennessee distance runners and their schools.

For complete championship results and upcoming schedules, visit TSSAA.