Brentwood Academy's boys cross country team shows off its 2010 TSSAA runner-up trophy. Renee Yarbrough photo.

By ANDREW SKWARA
For Brentwood Home Page
Don't tell local cross country runners it's too hot to run this time of year. Many have been spending their summer pounding the pavement daily in hopes of shaving down their times and helping their teams to coveted state titles in the fall.

Williamson County schools are once again loaded with some of the top runners and cross country teams in the state.

Brentwood High and Brentwood Academy both lose just one runner apiece from teams that put together top three finishes at their respective state meets last year. Ravenwood also lost just one member of what was the fastest girls team in school history while BA's girls return the bulk of a team that earned a fourth-place finish at its state meet.

Both Brentwood and Ravenwood will once again have the advantage of the TSSAA AAA State Meet being held at nearby Percy Warner Park as well.

Boys Outlook

Garrett Bull, returns to BA as a sophomore expected to help lead the team. Renee Yarbrough photo.

Brentwood Academy: Sophomore Garrett Bull, who finished sixth at the state meet, leads a young, but talented group that finished second at the Division II-AA state meet last year.

“We have a pretty good group coming back. Six guys who ran at the state meet are back,” seventh-year coach Marshall Smith said. “We are still a very young group, but we are definitely excited. Our guys have had a good summer and I'm real anxious to see where they are at.”

During this past track season, Bull ran 3,200 meters (two miles) in 9:57, a remarkable time for someone who was just in their first year of high school at the time. 

“Garrett had a great track season,” Smith said. “He's very committed and he's set himself up well. He just  needs to continue to be consistent and keep putting the work in.”

Garrett's twin brother, Andrew, and junior Baylor McKay (eight at the 2010 state meet) rank among the area's top runners and a slew of others will provide the Eagles more depth.

“We probably have 10 to 12 guys who will be battling for our top seven varsity spots so that's very exciting,” Smith said. “We also need some guys to step up and emerge as leaders.”

Bruins' Ryan Gadsey, Nathan Thomas, and Paul Stewart at the finish line in Louisville during the 2010 season. Thomas and Stewart are back in 2011.

Brentwood: With six of the top seven runners returning from a team that finished third at the 2010 Class AAA State Meet, coach Dave Rowe has some lofty expectations for a roster that is loaded with talent and experience.

“This group is shooting for a state title in particular,” said Rowe, who has bolstered the level of competition in the schedule. “We only finished 25 points out of first last year. Winning state is definitely our goal.”

The return of a pair decorated seniors, Paul Stuart and Nathan Thomas, makes that goal realistic. Stuart finished fifth at the 2010 state meet and Rowe expects Thomas to be contending for a top-five finish this time around.

“They both had great track seasons. Their two-mile times were among the top 10 in the Southeast,” Rowe said.

The Bruins also boast a trio of promising sophomores, twins  Alec and Aaron Thomas, and Taylor Caldwell, each of which showed promise last year. Senior Grant Seckman and junior Rahib Bashir could play key roles as well.

“In cross country you are only as good as your fifth runner (the top five times are added up at most meets and that is your combined score) so you have to have a strong five,” Rowe said.

Conley Chitwood, who set a school record with a time of 15:54 in 2010, and RHS coach Pete Mueller.

Ravenwood: The Raptors enjoyed a breakthrough season last year, making some remarkable improvements in virtually every area. Five different runners posted times under 18 minutes after just five previous runners in school history had broken that mark. The Raptors managed to finish in 11th place at the state meet, which is 10 spots higher than their previous all-time high.

Improving on those records seems plausible as every key runner from that team is back, including star senior Conley Chitwood, who set a school record with a time of 15:54 last year. Chitwood also finished ninth at the state meet.

Sophomores Quinn Avirom, Justin Karl and Josh Story -- among the most promising young runners in the area -- and senior Daniel Lowe round out the Raptors' top five.

Girls Outlook

BA's Allison Cheeseman gets the 2010 season off to a fast start with a first place finish at the Midstate Pre-Conference Meet.

Brentwood Academy: Longtime coach Cathy Cheeseman enters her 15th year in charge of a program that she guided to a fourth-place finish at the state meet last year.

“We were kind of a surprising fourth,” Cheeseman said. “We had graduated five of our runners the year before and our No. 1 runner was a freshman. It was an exciting year and we proved a lot.”

That No. 1 runner is Cathy's own daughter, sophomore Allison Cheeseman, who finished seventh at the 2010 state meet.

Four seniors – Nikki Kocina, Page Shelby (suffered an injury prior to the 2010 state meet), Britta Ristau and Courtney Fadler – will add some veteran leadership and sophomore Shelby Collins and junior Faith Whatley will be contending for top spots in the rotation.

A young crop of runners, including freshmen Patricia Jones and Allyson Collins and sophomore Savannah Koehn, will provide some depth.

“We should be pretty solid,” Cheeseman said. “I'm looking forward to seeing how the season will go. The current seniors have made great progress. It will be fun.”

BHS senior Brittany Alexander is among the best runners in the area.

Brentwood: The senior-laden Lady Bruins will have an especially experienced squad, but two of their best runners are a pair of underclassmen, sophomore Elizabeth Scott and freshman Lacey Duvall.

“Elizabeth and Lacy are really talented and are among the strongest runners on the team,” said Dave, whose wife, Kelly Rowe, is the girls coach.

Senior Brittany Alexander is among the best runners in the area and she is joined by four other classmates, Katherine Schenck, Allison O'Neal, Ann Ramsey and Kelsey Ziesig.

“To have a legitimate shot at contending at state, the seniors will have to step up,” Dave said. “The girls team is led by senior leadership and a lot of depth.”

The Ravenwood 2010 team persevered to bring home its first region championship.

Ravenwood: Coach Pete Mueller fully expects the Lady Raptors to contend for their first-ever state title and he has good reason to believe so. Nine of the top 10 runners return from a team which posted the top five times in school history, and, when healthy, beat every AAA opponent in the state last year except for eventual state champ Oak Ridge.

The Lady Raptors lost All-State selection Allie Arnette, but return star Erika Peoples, who ran a school-record 19:34 last year. Peoples was also an All-State honoree.

Peoples will be backed by veterans Rachel Spinden, Abby Finnegan, Dabney Chitwood, Rue Reynolds, Mary Glenn Goostree and Eleanor Leffler.