At right, Dalton Morgan, now a senior at Oak Ridge High School, competes at the state cross country championship meet in Nashville on Nov. 4, 2017. At left is Reid Dukes, who was then a senior and has since graduated. (File photo by Kindell Moore)
Senior Dalton Morgan of Oak Ridge High School will race in the state cross country championship in Nashville today (Saturday, November 3).
Morgan, who will run in the Division I Large School group, advanced to the state meet by finishing fifth with a time of 16:46 at the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Region 2 Championship at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on October 25. The top three teams at the regional meets advance to the state championship. The Oak Ridge boys finished sixth. But runners like Morgan who finish in the top 10 at the regional meets advance even if they’re not on a qualifying team.
The top four runners at the Region 2 championship were senior Jake Renfree of Knoxville Catholic (15:53), junior Tommy Ward of Maryville (16:25), senior Jordan Thomas of West (16:39), and senior Preston Ruth of Bearden (16:40). Renfree finished fourth in the state meet last year with a time of 15:59.02.
Morgan has competed in the state cross country meet before. He finished 24th as a junior with a time of 16:53.27 in 2017, and he finished 26th as a sophomore with a time of 16:50.17 in 2016.
Today’s 5k race is at Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course in Nashville.
The Oak Ridge girls team finished fifth at the Region 2 Championship in October and did not advance to state. The top runner for the Oak Ridge girls was sophomore Ingrid Vidales, who finished 17th with a time of 20:41.
Two Anderson County girls, seniors Maddy Moody and Mollie Longmire, finished in the top 10 and advanced to state. Moody was fourth with a time of 19:23, and Longmire finished 10th at 20:04. Moody finished third at the state meet last year at 18:51.53.
The top three girls teams at the Region 2 Championship were Farragut, West, and Hardin Valley. The top three boys teams were Hardin Valley, Farragut, and Maryville.
Today’s large school girls race starts at 1:50 p.m. Central time. See the individual girls and girls teams who qualified for the Division I Large School race here. Learn more about the boys races here.
Today’s large school boys race starts at 2:35 p.m. Central time. See the individual boys and boys teams who qualified for the Division I Large School race here. Learn more about the girls races here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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