Tellico looks to get over edge in new districts

Tellico Plains will look to make noise in newly designed districts this spring.

Tellico baseball and softball hope to push into the top two of packed leagues while Bears soccer readies itself for its first dance in District 3-A.

District 3-2A Baseball: Tellico Plains showed it can compete in the district a year ago with wins over Kingston, Meigs County and Sweetwater. The Wildcats and McMinn Central will enter as heavy favorites, but navigating this league is tough on anyone.

“Coach (Travis) Watson does an unbelievable job at Sweetwater. McMinn Central, their coach, does an absolutely awesome job. Both teams are going to be tough to beat and tough to play,” Tellico Plains coach Heath Ware said.

Sweetwater returns two TWSA All-State selections in Kai Correll and Blaine Watson while reintroduced Polk County returns All-State Kolton Casson.

New coaches appear in this league as well. Aaron Fielden takes over in Kingston while Walker Malone helms Meigs County.

“I know they have a good program (in Kingston). They have a good freshman class,” Ware added. “I don’t know what to expect, but I know Sweetwater and Central will be tough to beat. Central’s pitching staff is great, they have some top-notch pitchers.

“Sweetwater did not lose much, they are a solid team with great coaching.”

Sweetwater advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals last season while McMinn Central was eliminated in the sectional round by eventual champions Union County.

Polk County advanced into the region tournament last season out of District 4-2A, where they were knocked into the elimination bracket 19-0 by Sweetwater and dismissed by Marion County, losing 1-0.

Meigs County has eliminated Tellico Plains in the two prior seasons, but this district can surprise. Sweetwater faced elimination twice, from Kingson and departed Loudon, before storming into the final four.

District 4-2A features Bledsoe County, Brainerd, CSAS, Marion County, Sequatchie County and Tyner Academy.

District 3-2A Softball: Tellico Plains’ quest for a district crown navigates familiar and talented competition. The league advances without Loudon, which heads to Class 3A, while Polk County rejoins the league.

The two returning regional bids, Kingston and Meigs County, return TWSA All-State pitchers Sailor Presley and Lainey Fitzgerald.

“It is pretty tough. Polk is a lot better than Loudon. They beat us last year,” Tellico Plains coach Don Swanson said. “Polk has good pitching and is solid. Meigs and Kingston are solid. The top four will probably be good softball to watch.”

Kingston advanced into last season’s Class 2A state tournament while Meigs County reached the Class 2A sectional round.

Tellico will square off with Polk County, which bested the Lady Bears 3-0 in 2023. Along with McMinn Central and Sweetwater, two teams which will be improved from last season.

Sweetwater returns last year’s full roster with several players sprinkled back into the program. McMinn Central made strides in the program the Chargerettes will hope to improve on.

Bledsoe County, Brainerd, CSAS, Marion County, Sequatchie County and Tyner Academy make up the opposite district.

District 3-A Soccer: Though technically a new face in the district, Tellico played three of their foes in last season’s scrimmages.

The Bears have played with Sweetwater, McMinn Central — which joins from Class AA — and Polk County. Other teams in the league are Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts, Brainerd and Tyner Academy.

“I feel like it is a good, competitive district with a lot of new teams that can compete and go a long way as far as how good they are at the sport,” Tellico Plains coach Miguel Ovalle said. “I feel like we are in a district that us and a bunch of the other teams can be competitive in.”

Sweetwater advanced into the region tournament last season, alongside Loudon, which heads into Class AA. Tyner Academy advanced to the Region 3-A tournament out of District 5-A.

The opposite district features Bledsoe County, CSAS, Chattanooga Prep, Lookout Valley, Marion County, Sale Creek and Sequatchie County.

CSAS is the lone team amongst the 14 that earned a sectional berth last season.