By Dave Ongie
The Liberty Bell Middle School girls cross country team won a state championship on Saturday.
With a team score of 71, Liberty Bell easily outdistanced runner-up Mt. Juliet to win the title. Jenna Hutchins led the way for the Lady Patriots by finishing fourth overall. Trinny Duncan, Taryn Seeley, Reagan Guess, Jordan McIntosh, Morgan Mahoney and Hannah Dawson also ran hard to bring home the team title.
Meanwhile, Liberty Bell’s boys scored a fourth-place finish in the state meet. John Carter, Carson Whynot, Brit Dugan, John Cheek, Landon Smelser, Conley Owen and Koda Cutlip represented the Patriots. Donna Wilkinson and David Nutter are Liberty Bell’s coaches.
In the Class A meet, the Ridgeview Middle School boys scored a runner-up finish. Trey Austin led the way for Ridgeview with a time of 12:29 and he was followed closely by teammate Nate Maples. Gavin Leonard, Ethan Eddy, JJ Bowman, Chandler Justice and Gabe Duncan also represented Ridgeview well.
On the high school cross country scene, University School and Science Hill both took part in the Cherokee Invitational this past weekend in Knoxville. Science Hill’s girls won the meet while University School’s girls finished third. Science Hill’s boys came in fourth followed by University School in fifth.
Science Hill’s girls placed four runners in the top 11. Gabrielle Mardis scored a runner-up finish while Ashley Doyle came in eighth followed by Abbi Rountree in ninth. Kyley Carlsen finished 11th for the Lady Hilltoppers. University School’s Bekah Owens earned a fifth-place result with a time of 20:18.86 while Ali Burns finished 13th.
Jeb Jones finished fourth for Science Hills boys while Porter Bradley led University School’s boys by finishing 10th.
On the gridiron, Jaylan Adams overcame an injury to lead Science Hill to a wild 41-35 win over Hardin Valley. Adams continued his balanced offensive attack by throwing for 193 yards and rushing for 100 more. The senior took the field on defense for the first time all year and made an interception to seal the victory.
In other action, Daniel Boone rolled to an easy 42-7 win over Volunteer on Homecoming at Nathan Hale Stadium. Noah Shelton ran for 75 yards and threw for 208 yards in limited action. Boone led 35-0 at the half.
Meanwhile, Cade Larkins accounted for six touchdowns to lead David Crockett to a 56-48 win over Cherokee. Larkins threw for 347 yards and four scores – three of them to John Kollie.
