The field is set for the TSSAA Class AA State Track and Field Championships next week in Murfreesboro — and athletes from Cherokee and Volunteer are prepping for the competition.
The Class AA meet will be held Tuesday, May 21, at Dean Hayes Stadium on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. Field events begin at 9 a.m. (CT). The Class A 3200 is scheduled for 8 a.m., but all other running events begin at 4 p.m.
The top two finishers in each event from the state’s three sectionals automatically qualified. Two at-large bids (the next best marks from all the sections combined) completed the field of eight competitors for the state meet.
On Wednesday, the Volunteer boys got some good news — with the awarding of an additional at-large bid. Due to a team being forced to withdraw, the Volunteer 4x800 relay team of Roman Borghetti-Metz, Kevin McCurry, Isaac Jennings and Carter Manis will join the Falcons’ other qualifiers at the state meet.
Here’s a look at how the Cherokee and Volunteer athletes stack up in the competitive Class AA field.
NO. 1 SEEDS
Volunteer has a trio of No. 1 seeds heading into state competition.
Senior Jacie Begley is the top seed in the girls 800 with a time of 2:18.07. She was the state runner-up a year ago with a time of 2:20.92 and comes in as the East section champion.
Junior Roman Borghetti-Metz is the top seed in the boys 800 with a time of 1:54.90. He too was the state runner-up a year ago with a time of 1:57.31. Half the field comes in with seed times under 2 minutes, and three of the top four runners are from the East section, which Borghetti-Metz won last week in Knoxville.
Senior Kasey Brown is the top seed in the boys shot put with a mark of 56-06.50. He finished third in the state a year ago with a throw of 49-09.25. The winning throw in 2023 was 52-08.75.
OTHER TOP QUALIFIERS
Cherokee and Volunteer each have athletes seeded at No. 2 headed into the state meet.
Volunteer junior Aliah Laster is seeded second in pole vault. She set a school record and won the East section at 11-0 last week. A year ago, Laster just missed a state title — losing on a tiebreaker to Tennessee High’s Fairyn Meares to finish as the state runner-up. Meares, the defending state champion, failed to qualify this year. However, the top seed in the field is Station Camp’s Allie Shingleton with a mark of 11-6.
Cherokee freshman Leah Mowell is seeded second in shot put with a mark of 37-10.50. Maplewood’s Carolyn McRee won the event in 2023 with a throw of 37-05.75. McRee returns as the top seed with a mark of 38-9.
Cherokee’s Mowell is also seeded fourth in discus with a mark of 120-00. That’s the same qualifying mark as defending state champion LaNaya Roberts of MLK. However, it took Roberts a throw of 125-10 to win in 2023. This year’s top seed, Haywood’s Alana Perkins, comes in with a mark of 124-9.
Another Hawkins County thrower, Volunteer junior Jackson Clonce, comes in seeded No. 2 in the boys discus with a mark of 157-6. Clonce finished fourth in the state a year ago with a throw of 141-1. Four of the top throwers in this year’s boys discus field hail from the East section. Among them is Volunteer’s Brown, who is seeded third. The defending champion did not qualify.
Cherokee junior Kolden Singleton, a first-time qualifier for the state meet, comes in as the No. 3 seed in the triple jump with a mark of 43-11.25. It took a jump of 44-04.25 to win the Class AA title a year ago.
Volunteer sophomore Lucas Gilliam is the No. 7 seed in the boys high jump with a mark of 6-0. The best mark in the field this year is 6-2, a jump Gilliam has successfully made this season.
Volunteer junior Jordyn Winegar-Collis is the No. 7 seed in the 110 hurdles with a mark of 16.24. The winning time last year was 14.73. However, defending champion Teddy Orton of Elizabethton has graduated and moved on.
Volunteer’s boys like their chances in the team standings, especially given the addition of the 4x800 relay team this week to go with the 4x400 relay team that had already earned an at-large bid.
The Falcons will also pick up points from the boys decathlon, where senior Grant Winegar competed for the third straight year. He stood in second place at the end of the first day, and any points he earns would transfer to the Volunteer boys’ team score at the state meet.
Competitors receive 10 points for a first-place finish, eight for second, six for third, five for fourth, four for fifth, three for sixth, two for seventh and one for eighth. Plaques are awarded to the top two boys and girls teams in each classification.
Medals for the individual events are awarded throughout the day, as the events are completed. The Class A and AA meets occur simultaneously throughout the day. The Division II meet is held Wednesday, May 22, and the Class AAA meet is Thursday, May 23.
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