HVAC Championships - Tigers Give Their BEST!
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine.
The MS Track & Field team had a thrilling culmination to their season at their HVAC Championship Meets. With 3 days of competition in just one week, our Tigers ability to prepare, execute, manage energy and nutrition between events (all the while cheering on their teammates with unmatched enthusiasm), and recover, was on full display. Every athlete was committed to our "Pre - Inspired" goal of giving their absolute best, and it sure paid off. The team posted strong performances across the field event finals and running preliminaries, scoring or qualifying for finals in 13 of the 15 events, a huge improvement from previous years!
In a field of 11 teams, the boys team finished in 8th place with 37 points and the girls team placed 6th out of 13 teams with 45 points. Scoring for our Tigers on the boys side were: Drew Zwerner with 20pts (2nd 4x8, 1st 1600m, 2nd 800m), Caleb Little with 8pts (2nd 4x8, 7th 1600m, 5th 800m), Meade Kelley with 3.5pts (8th 800m), James Little with 2.5pts (2nd 4x8, 7th 4x4) Krish Nachnani with 2.5pts (7th - High Jump, 7th 4x4), and Ben Scretchen with 0.5pts (7th - 4x4). While scoring for the Tigers on the girls side were: Mahalia Moore with 21pts (3rd LJ, 4th 100m, 2nd 4x2, 2nd 200m), Zara Campos with 7 pts (2nd 4x2, 4th 400m), Alexandria Manoukian 7pts (5th 4x8, 2nd 4x2, 5th 800m), Charlotte Soslow with 4pts (5th Pole Vault), Greta Molvig with 2 pts (8th Discus, 5th 4x8), Natalie Choe with 2pts (2nd 4x2), and Nicola Auman and Gigi Compaglia with 1pt (5th 4x8).
As we well know by now, numbers and scores are only a small part of the story! Read on to relive all the magic moments of our HVAC adventures!
Kicking the first two days off for us were our field event competitors, aiming to jump higher & longer, and throw farther than ever before. Our Tigers had mixed performances across these events, some earning season or all-time PRs, and some falling short of goals they'd hoped to achieve. All however gained the valuable experience of performing under pressure and against top competition and everyone came out stronger
In the pole vault, Amilia Wilson had the honor of being the very first vaulter of the entire meet (and handled that pressure like a pro!) with her first ever clearance of 5'0!! She went on to make 3 very close attempts at 5'6" and has shown incredible potential as such a new vaulter. Next up was veteran vaulter Charlotte Soslow who came in prepped and ready with high goals after a strong last week of practice. She kicked off with an easy clearance of 7'0" but windy conditions posed difficulty at 7'6" leading to an earlier end than hoped. Despite not hitting the height she hopped, she was victorious in perhaps an even more difficult battle; resetting and finding positive takeaways after encountering unexpected difficulty. She already has her mind set on new and even higher goals for her debut high school career!
In the high jump, Zara Campos, Krish Nachnani, Drew Zwerner, and Brody Sander represented the team with clearances of 4'4", 5'2", 5'0", and 4'6" respectively. After a more difficult previous meet, Campos displayed reclaimed confidence and improved form and height in each of her jumps. Finishing 11th, her three attempts at 4'6" were incredibly close and a sign of the potential for more great things to come. Building off that energy, the next day, all three boys hit PRs with their final clearances, which placed Nachnani 7th, Zwerener just out of scoring position in four-way tie for 9th, and Sanders 16th.
Long jump brought more PRs for some! Mahalia Moore launched herself to a strong 3rd place finish with a nearly 2ft PR of 15'1.5" while Krish Nachnani earned a recorded mark of 14'9.5" although it's worth noting, we believe the actual jump was 15'9.5" and simply recorded wrong. Both however were PR marks and would not have impacted scoring. Natalie Choe, Michael Coleman, and Adi Jain also got in clean jumps with marks of 12'2.5" and a pair of 12'6" respectively.
Over at the throws, our dedicated trios of Greta Molvig, Alexandria Manoukian, Hailey Gibson, and Ishann Nachnani, Kieran Carney, and Owen Spangler had pretty banner days! Spangler came away as the PR king with a 5ft PR in shot of 26'6.25" followed by three throws over 69ft in discus, finishing with a final throw of 69'10" which was over an 8ft improvement. Carney was a close contender for PR king, also earning PRs in both events, hitting a 4ft PR of 80'1" in discus and a 2ft PR of 28'2" in shot. And while Ishaan got off to a rocky start with his first few throws in discus, he came through under pressure with a final throw of 93-2 and went on to hit a PR of 29'8.5" in shot. On the girls side, Molvig hit a HUGE 15ft PR of 64'10" in discus to put her in scoring position and another PR of 23-1 in shot. Manoukian hit a 55'11" PR in discus, but fell just short of her goal in shot, while Gibson threw consistently in both.
As our athletes took to the track, more great performances continued to unfold. Our four fabulous hurdlers Amelia Wilson, Krish Nachnani, Brody Sanders, and Ian Homsy all earned significant PRs, running their fastest times of the season. Shout out to Coach Joe for doing such an awesome job helping them improve! Although none of them advanced to finals, their respective progress over the last few weeks points strongly towards a bright future for our hurdle program in seasons to come. Other highlights in the individual sprint events included impressive runs by Mahalia Moore who finished 4th and 2nd in the 100 & 200 in a highly competitive field led by another fellow 6th grade phenom. Moore's times of 13.17 and 26.86 are already impressive to say the least, and it will be exciting to see how she continues to drop those over the next two years of her middle school career. Owen Spangler added to his growing list of PRs for the meet with big time drops in both the 100 & 200, while Michael Coleman and Brody Sanders each earned a best time in the 100 and 200 respectively.
Moving up to the 400, it was a prelim day filled with PRs for the boys despite none advancing out to finals. Ben Scretchen made his best attempt at a sub minute time yet, clocking in at a 1:00.60, followed by Nachnani with a 1:01.81, and finally Oren Schwratz with 1:09.86. On the girls side, Natalie Choe earned a 1:09.78 season best, and Zara Campos came away as the underdog success story of the week, finishing 4th overall in finals with an all-time PR of 1:04.11 after advancing to finals due to a scratch from the originally qualifying top 8. Campos' ability to perform at her best under pressure and at a moment's notice is a skill we can all aspire to!
Additionally, for the first time all season our team ran both a girls and boys 4x2 team! In only their second time racing it all season, the fast four of Choe, Manoukian, Campos, and Moore clocked a speedy time of 1: for a terrific 2nd place finish overall! And what our boys team of Sanders, Charlie Brackett, Jain, and Schwartz lacked in experience, they made up for in courage, effort, and execution! After a one day crash course in sprint hand-offs, they four nailed their exchanges and proved they can be counted on to fulfill whatever need the team has!
In the middle distance events, our Tiger's speed, competitive drive, grit, and depth really shined! Our girls 4x800 led off with a strong leg from Nicola Auman who we knew we could count on to put us in a contending position. Gigi Compoglia followed next, holding our position, before handing it off to Greta Molvig who began to make moves. In the final leg, Alexandria Manoukian ran an impressive 2:34 and all time season PR to bring the team from a gapped 7th all the way into 5th! The boys were up next and took off on a mission led by Caleb Little who split a 2:18 putting the team in a top position of the pack. James Little held the team steady with a strong 2nd leg of 2:30 before handing off to Meade Kelley who began the work of closing down the gap to the 1st place Ensworth team with an excellent 2:21 leg. Finally, the baton was passed to anchor leg Drew Zwerner who was faced with the challenge of a 40m gap to make up over 2 laps. In a tremendous head turning effort, Zwerner split 2:09 taking the race to a sprint finish, crossing in a close second place and a huge team PR of 9:17!
Next up, our endurance inclined athletes took on the 1600! For Zwerner and Caleb Little who qualified for the finals (both setting PRs of 5:00 and 5:13 on Wednesday), it was a quick turnaround from just having finished the 4x800, but they didn't hesitate to dig in and give two more outstanding efforts. Zwerner ran a commanding race holding 1st place from start to finish, crossing the line in 4:55, a full 4 seconds ahead of the 2nd place MBA runner, followed just after by Little in a fantastic 5:11 7th place! Just narrowly missing the cut for finals in Wednesday's prelim race, James Little ran a huge all time PR of 5:29.44 accomplishing the goal he set of breaking 5:30! Auman and Lucy Garrison also brought great effort and enthusiasm to their prelim races, where Garrison earned a 5s PR of 7:31!
Rounding out the middle distance events, we had four athletes qualify for the 800m finals! Manoukian, Zwerner, Caleb Little, and Kelley. In a tactical race that went out slower than anticipated, Manoukain showed great composure and strength as she tried to make a move and get out around the lead pack. Defensive running was in full swing, forcing Manoukian to run the majority of her race in lanes 3 and 4, but nonetheless, she pressed in to clock her second PR in the distance that day of 2:31 for a fabulous 5th place finish! No doubt feeling the effects of their previous race efforts of the day, Zwerner, Little, and Kelley embraced the pain of a fast paced race once again, taking 2nd, 5th, and 8th overall, ALL scoring points for the team! Also running in the 800 earlier in the week during prelims were Molvig who had a consistent race and Compaglia who earned a PR of 3:04!
To close out the day, our girls and boys 4x4 teams of Choe, Molvig, Compaglia, Campos, and Nachnani, James Little, Kelley, and Scretchen took to the starting line. While not their collective best time of the season, the girls finished in 9th place with a 4:55, while the boys split 60, 67, 65, 60 respectively to go 4:17 and take 7th.
Our HVAC week was full of excitement, challenge, perseverance, breakthrough, celebration, and more smiles and cheering than I can recall in seasons past. Our Tigers were no doubt VICTORIOUS by the standard we adopted from coaching legend Bill Bowerman, "Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won." Our work for the 2024 season has come to an end, but 2025 offers nothing but opportunity and potential for those who chose to chase it!
Running On,
Coach Bachman
Complete meet results are also available HERE.
Our HVAC week was full of excitement, challenge, perseverance, breakthrough, celebration, and more smiles and cheering than I can recall in seasons past. Our Tigers were no doubt VICTORIOUS by the standard we adopted from coaching legend Bill Bowerman, "Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won." Our work for the 2024 season has come to an end, but 2025 offers nothing but opportunity and potential for those who chose to chase it!
Running On,
Coach Bachman
Complete meet results are also available HERE.
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine.
The MS Track & Field team had a thrilling culmination to their season at their HVAC Championship Meets. With 3 days of competition in just one week, our Tigers ability to prepare, execute, manage energy and nutrition between events (all the while cheering on their teammates with unmatched enthusiasm), and recover, was on full display. Every athlete was committed to our "Pre - Inspired" goal of giving their absolute best, and it sure paid off. The team posted strong performances across the field event finals and running preliminaries, scoring or qualifying for finals in 13 of the 15 events, a huge improvement from previous years!
In a field of 11 teams, the boys team finished in 8th place with 37 points and the girls team placed 6th out of 13 teams with 45 points. Scoring for our Tigers on the boys side were: Drew Zwerner with 20pts (2nd 4x8, 1st 1600m, 2nd 800m), Caleb Little with 8pts (2nd 4x8, 7th 1600m, 5th 800m), Meade Kelley with 3.5pts (8th 800m), James Little with 2.5pts (2nd 4x8, 7th 4x4) Krish Nachnani with 2.5pts (7th - High Jump, 7th 4x4), and Ben Scretchen with 0.5pts (7th - 4x4). While scoring for the Tigers on the girls side were: Mahalia Moore with 21pts (3rd LJ, 4th 100m, 2nd 4x2, 2nd 200m), Zara Campos with 7 pts (2nd 4x2, 4th 400m), Alexandria Manoukian 7pts (5th 4x8, 2nd 4x2, 5th 800m), Charlotte Soslow with 4pts (5th Pole Vault), Greta Molvig with 2 pts (8th Discus, 5th 4x8), Natalie Choe with 2pts (2nd 4x2), and Nicola Auman and Gigi Compaglia with 1pt (5th 4x8).
As we well know by now, numbers and scores are only a small part of the story! Read on to relive all the magic moments of our HVAC adventures!
Kicking the first two days off for us were our field event competitors, aiming to jump higher & longer, and throw farther than ever before. Our Tigers had mixed performances across these events, some earning season or all-time PRs, and some falling short of goals they'd hoped to achieve. All however gained the valuable experience of performing under pressure and against top competition and everyone came out stronger
In the pole vault, Amilia Wilson had the honor of being the very first vaulter of the entire meet (and handled that pressure like a pro!) with her first ever clearance of 5'0!! She went on to make 3 very close attempts at 5'6" and has shown incredible potential as such a new vaulter. Next up was veteran vaulter Charlotte Soslow who came in prepped and ready with high goals after a strong last week of practice. She kicked off with an easy clearance of 7'0" but windy conditions posed difficulty at 7'6" leading to an earlier end than hoped. Despite not hitting the height she hopped, she was victorious in perhaps an even more difficult battle; resetting and finding positive takeaways after encountering unexpected difficulty. She already has her mind set on new and even higher goals for her debut high school career!
In the high jump, Zara Campos, Krish Nachnani, Drew Zwerner, and Brody Sander represented the team with clearances of 4'4", 5'2", 5'0", and 4'6" respectively. After a more difficult previous meet, Campos displayed reclaimed confidence and improved form and height in each of her jumps. Finishing 11th, her three attempts at 4'6" were incredibly close and a sign of the potential for more great things to come. Building off that energy, the next day, all three boys hit PRs with their final clearances, which placed Nachnani 7th, Zwerener just out of scoring position in four-way tie for 9th, and Sanders 16th.
Long jump brought more PRs for some! Mahalia Moore launched herself to a strong 3rd place finish with a nearly 2ft PR of 15'1.5" while Krish Nachnani earned a recorded mark of 14'9.5" although it's worth noting, we believe the actual jump was 15'9.5" and simply recorded wrong. Both however were PR marks and would not have impacted scoring. Natalie Choe, Michael Coleman, and Adi Jain also got in clean jumps with marks of 12'2.5" and a pair of 12'6" respectively.
Over at the throws, our dedicated trios of Greta Molvig, Alexandria Manoukian, Hailey Gibson, and Ishann Nachnani, Kieran Carney, and Owen Spangler had pretty banner days! Spangler came away as the PR king with a 5ft PR in shot of 26'6.25" followed by three throws over 69ft in discus, finishing with a final throw of 69'10" which was over an 8ft improvement. Carney was a close contender for PR king, also earning PRs in both events, hitting a 4ft PR of 80'1" in discus and a 2ft PR of 28'2" in shot. And while Ishaan got off to a rocky start with his first few throws in discus, he came through under pressure with a final throw of 93-2 and went on to hit a PR of 29'8.5" in shot. On the girls side, Molvig hit a HUGE 15ft PR of 64'10" in discus to put her in scoring position and another PR of 23-1 in shot. Manoukian hit a 55'11" PR in discus, but fell just short of her goal in shot, while Gibson threw consistently in both.
As our athletes took to the track, more great performances continued to unfold. Our four fabulous hurdlers Amelia Wilson, Krish Nachnani, Brody Sanders, and Ian Homsy all earned significant PRs, running their fastest times of the season. Shout out to Coach Joe for doing such an awesome job helping them improve! Although none of them advanced to finals, their respective progress over the last few weeks points strongly towards a bright future for our hurdle program in seasons to come. Other highlights in the individual sprint events included impressive runs by Mahalia Moore who finished 4th and 2nd in the 100 & 200 in a highly competitive field led by another fellow 6th grade phenom. Moore's times of 13.17 and 26.86 are already impressive to say the least, and it will be exciting to see how she continues to drop those over the next two years of her middle school career. Owen Spangler added to his growing list of PRs for the meet with big time drops in both the 100 & 200, while Michael Coleman and Brody Sanders each earned a best time in the 100 and 200 respectively.
Moving up to the 400, it was a prelim day filled with PRs for the boys despite none advancing out to finals. Ben Scretchen made his best attempt at a sub minute time yet, clocking in at a 1:00.60, followed by Nachnani with a 1:01.81, and finally Oren Schwratz with 1:09.86. On the girls side, Natalie Choe earned a 1:09.78 season best, and Zara Campos came away as the underdog success story of the week, finishing 4th overall in finals with an all-time PR of 1:04.11 after advancing to finals due to a scratch from the originally qualifying top 8. Campos' ability to perform at her best under pressure and at a moment's notice is a skill we can all aspire to!
Additionally, for the first time all season our team ran both a girls and boys 4x2 team! In only their second time racing it all season, the fast four of Choe, Manoukian, Campos, and Moore clocked a speedy time of 1: for a terrific 2nd place finish overall! And what our boys team of Sanders, Charlie Brackett, Jain, and Schwartz lacked in experience, they made up for in courage, effort, and execution! After a one day crash course in sprint hand-offs, they four nailed their exchanges and proved they can be counted on to fulfill whatever need the team has!
In the middle distance events, our Tiger's speed, competitive drive, grit, and depth really shined! Our girls 4x800 led off with a strong leg from Nicola Auman who we knew we could count on to put us in a contending position. Gigi Compoglia followed next, holding our position, before handing it off to Greta Molvig who began to make moves. In the final leg, Alexandria Manoukian ran an impressive 2:34 and all time season PR to bring the team from a gapped 7th all the way into 5th! The boys were up next and took off on a mission led by Caleb Little who split a 2:18 putting the team in a top position of the pack. James Little held the team steady with a strong 2nd leg of 2:30 before handing off to Meade Kelley who began the work of closing down the gap to the 1st place Ensworth team with an excellent 2:21 leg. Finally, the baton was passed to anchor leg Drew Zwerner who was faced with the challenge of a 40m gap to make up over 2 laps. In a tremendous head turning effort, Zwerner split 2:09 taking the race to a sprint finish, crossing in a close second place and a huge team PR of 9:17!
Next up, our endurance inclined athletes took on the 1600! For Zwerner and Caleb Little who qualified for the finals (both setting PRs of 5:00 and 5:13 on Wednesday), it was a quick turnaround from just having finished the 4x800, but they didn't hesitate to dig in and give two more outstanding efforts. Zwerner ran a commanding race holding 1st place from start to finish, crossing the line in 4:55, a full 4 seconds ahead of the 2nd place MBA runner, followed just after by Little in a fantastic 5:11 7th place! Just narrowly missing the cut for finals in Wednesday's prelim race, James Little ran a huge all time PR of 5:29.44 accomplishing the goal he set of breaking 5:30! Auman and Lucy Garrison also brought great effort and enthusiasm to their prelim races, where Garrison earned a 5s PR of 7:31!
Rounding out the middle distance events, we had four athletes qualify for the 800m finals! Manoukian, Zwerner, Caleb Little, and Kelley. In a tactical race that went out slower than anticipated, Manoukain showed great composure and strength as she tried to make a move and get out around the lead pack. Defensive running was in full swing, forcing Manoukian to run the majority of her race in lanes 3 and 4, but nonetheless, she pressed in to clock her second PR in the distance that day of 2:31 for a fabulous 5th place finish! No doubt feeling the effects of their previous race efforts of the day, Zwerner, Little, and Kelley embraced the pain of a fast paced race once again, taking 2nd, 5th, and 8th overall, ALL scoring points for the team! Also running in the 800 earlier in the week during prelims were Molvig who had a consistent race and Compaglia who earned a PR of 3:04!
To close out the day, our girls and boys 4x4 teams of Choe, Molvig, Compaglia, Campos, and Nachnani, James Little, Kelley, and Scretchen took to the starting line. While not their collective best time of the season, the girls finished in 9th place with a 4:55, while the boys split 60, 67, 65, 60 respectively to go 4:17 and take 7th.
Our HVAC week was full of excitement, challenge, perseverance, breakthrough, celebration, and more smiles and cheering than I can recall in seasons past. Our Tigers were no doubt VICTORIOUS by the standard we adopted from coaching legend Bill Bowerman, "Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won." Our work for the 2024 season has come to an end, but 2025 offers nothing but opportunity and potential for those who chose to chase it!
Running On,
Coach Bachman
Our HVAC week was full of excitement, challenge, perseverance, breakthrough, celebration, and more smiles and cheering than I can recall in seasons past. Our Tigers were no doubt VICTORIOUS by the standard we adopted from coaching legend Bill Bowerman, "Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won." Our work for the 2024 season has come to an end, but 2025 offers nothing but opportunity and potential for those who chose to chase it!
Running On,
Coach Bachman
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Tessa Chomsky '25 will play soccer at Williams College, and Carson Darr '25 will play baseball for New College of Florida.Read More -
Collin ’25 earns UVA’s prestigious Jefferson Scholarship
The senior has been awarded one of the most highly selective merit scholarships in the nation, making it two consecutive years that University of Virginia has selected a USN student for a full ride covering the cost of instruction, housing, and meals.Read More
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Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.