BRISTOL, Tenn. — A picturesque August morning had local cross country fans seeing a familiar sight at Saturday’s 32nd Run for the Hills as Daniel Boone swept the team titles for the second straight season.
In the girls race, junior standout Sadie Honeycutt took charge early and cruised to the repeat win, clocking 20:34.5 for the undulating 5-kilometer course beneath the intimidating shadow of the TVA South Holston Dam.
She led nearly wire-to-wire, not leading only at the start of the race when she remained controlled through the first 200 yards.
“I felt pretty good, even though my legs were kind of tired because we’ve had a lot of training this week and last week,” Honeycutt said. “I don’t have any specific goals for this year, but I would like to see if I can go low-18s, but that’ll all depend on courses and stuff like that.”
”From the get-go, she looked very relaxed and controlled,” Daniel Boone coach James Garst said. “It was a very Sadie-esque race for this region.”
With Honeycutt well ahead, the race for second was an interesting one as University School’s Lucy Smith held off Elizabethton freshman Arvella Nave by one second.
The Lady Trailblazers got a great race out of sophom*ore Savannah Piazza, who finished fourth in 21:18.2.
“Savannah did really well and she’s come a long way since she started running with us,” Honeycutt said. “As a team, I think we’re doing great, even though we’re down a couple of people. We have a freshman named Brynna that’s doing really well right now.”
Senior Kerigan Lewis (fifth, 21:43.8), freshman Brynna Vleminckx (12th, 22:38.7), and Rachel Newell (26th, 24:10.4) rounded out the scoring for the Lady Blazers, who repeated as team champs with 45 points.
It’s a good sign considering sophom*ore Mahri Layne did not run and fellow sophom*ore Ava Nutter is ineligible for varsity until the state meet following a transfer from Science Hill. Nutter did win the junior varsity race in 20:43.
“Being down Mahri, we came out and still competed very well,” Garst said. “I tell the kids all the time that it doesn’t matter who they’re racing against and that once they step on the starting line, they can compete with anybody.
“Looking ahead, we know what we’ve got and we’re very proud of Ava’s effort because it’s not easy to go out there and run without competition.”
Dobyns-Bennett — led by Tiesha Turner in 11th (22:28.8) — was runner-up with 69 while Elizabethton (third, 89) and University School (fourth, 90) had a close battle in the team standings. No Virginia schools were entered in the meet.
BOONE BOYS DOMINATE
Much like their female counterparts, the Daniel Boone waltzed to one of the easier victories in meet history, scoring 30 points and winning by a healthy 66-point margin.
It’s the ninth team win in the last 11 editions of the meet for the Trailblazers, who were led by junior track standout Fisher Battel’s win.
Battel — primarily a middle-distance runner on the rubber oval — scored his first cross country victory (16:54.3), but had to hold off hard-charging Greeneville sophom*ore Trey Bailey in the dying stages of the race.
“We wanted to pack-run with all the Boone boys because we’re all close in training right now,” Battel said. “We wanted to see how it would go if two or three of our boys led from the start. When the hills came, I realized the tempo was dropping and I had to make a move.”
Though Bailey did not get the gold medal, he did come away with a personal-best, which is saying quite a lot to clock 16:56.9 on one of the hardest courses in Northeast Tennessee in the season opener.
“Daniel Boone is a great team and when I saw that they were all up at the front, I decided to put myself into that pack,” Bailey said. “Then, it became a two-man race in the last mile and I just stuck with (Battel). … Coming into this race, I was more worried about proving to myself that I can run with people like Fisher and all the top runners in the region. The fact that I was not only able to prove that to myself but also grab a (personal-best) is amazing.”
“Trey really did push me to a better time,” Battel said. “I could see his shadow in a couple of those turns and I wanted to win.”
The Kingsport crew was led by Elijah Williams’ third-place finish in 17:15.0, which propelled the Indians to a runner-up finish with 96 points.
Ryder Poole had a notably high finish for Tennessee High, nabbing seventh (18:00.5). The Vikings finished fourth as a team with 155.
The scoring for the Trailblazers was rounded out by Gavin Christian (fourth, 17:29.4), Brock Wilhjelm (fifth, 17:33.0), Nicholas Ard (ninth, 18:17.6) and Adam Kelley (11th, 18:19.9).
“We’re very proud of the effort from the boys today,” Garst said. “To be this early on in the year and have all the wheels turning the right way is a great sign.”
32nd Run for the Hills
TVA South Holston Dam, Bristol (Tenn.)
5 kilometers
Saturday, August 24
GIRLS
Course Record: Breanna Roy, David Crockett (19:21.1 in 2017)
Meet Record: Erin Saunders, Jefferson Forest (19:17.5 in 2013)
Team Results -- 1. Daniel Boone 45, 2. Dobyns-Bennett 69, 3. Elizabethton 89, 4. University School 90, 5. George Rogers Clark (KY) 126, 6. Greeneville 156, 7. David Crockett 165, 8. Providence Academy 204, 9. Sullivan East 237.
Top 15 Individual Finishers -- 1. Sadie Honeycutt (Boone) 20:34.5, 2. Lucy Smith (USJC) 21:00.8, 3. Arvella Nave (Eliz) 21:01.8, 4. Savannah Piazza (Boone) 21:18.2, 5. Kerigan Lewis (Boone) 21:43.8, 6. Emma Johnson (USJC) 21:47.4, 7. Hannah Robinson (PA) 22:12.0, 8. Helen Hackett (Eliz) 22:13.9, 9. Jaden Basler (GRC) 22:15.3, 10. Braydin Baresel (UC) 22:27.3, 11. Tiesha Turner (DB) 22:28.8, 12. Brynna Vleminckx (Boone) 22:38.7, 13. Mattea Mazzilli (DB) 22:57.0, 14. Olivia Ogle (DC) 23:04.5, 15. Charlotte Ensminger (DB) 23:16.2.
BOYS
Course Record: Conner Wingfield, Daniel Boone (15:58.9 in 2021)
Meet Record: Griff Graves, Abingdon (15:57.8 in 2007)
Team Results -- 1. Daniel Boone 30, 2. Dobyns-Bennett 96, 3. David Crockett 122, 4. Tennessee High 155, 5. Greeneville 167, 6. University School 185, 7. George Rogers Clark (KY) 198, 8. Unicoi County 232, 9. Providence Academy 242, 10. Elizabethton 247* (*won tiebreaker), 11. Sullivan East 247, 12. Cherokee 265, 13. West Ridge 281.
Top 15 Individual Finishers -- 1. Fisher Battel (Boone) 16:54.3, 2. Trey Bailey (Gville) 16:56.9, 3. Elijah Williams (DB) 17:15.0, 4. Gavin Christian (Boone) 17:29.4, 5. Brock Wilhjelm (Boone) 17:33.0, 6. Lennon Smith (GRC) 17:57.6, 7. Ryder Poole (THS) 18:00.5, 8. Harrison Harker (USJC) 18:11.4, 9. Nicholas Ard (Boone) 18:17.6, 10. Caden Davis (DC) 18:18.0, 11. Adam Kelley (Boone) 18:19.9, 12. Evan Miller (co*ckeCo) 18:19.9, 13. Dylan Robinson (PA) 18:22.2, 14. Micah Guinn (Boone) 18:23.6, 15. Hunter Rogers (GRC) 18:24.4.
