11/5 - State Championship Recap

Lindsey Bachman
Memphis’s most famous resident, Elvis Presley, made the phrase “taking care of business” into his personal mantra (and the name of his band) - the USNXC teams epitomized that approach yesterday with spectacular performances at the State championships. The boys won the program’s seventh State title and the girls had a great day to finish third.
The boys raced first under crystal clear but slightly too warm for November skies. By the first mile, it was clear that the team was in strong positions from 1-7, and that would remain the case throughout. As the race progressed, Caleb Freifeld and Griffin Davidson hung just behind the leading pack of four, with Ike Tift not far behind. Those three would all end up in the top 10 (5th, 7th, and 10th, respectively) and were more than capably supported by a wave of runners not far behind - Drew Zwerner and Jack Fruin consecutively in 16th and 17th, and James Little in 20th. Caleb Little, who had been too sick to run last week at Region, was still capable of cracking the top 30 today in 29th. When the proverbial dust settled, the boys had won by 56 points, a massive gap that was so dominant that the team would have still handily won without its top two runners or even if we had counted all seven runners vs the other teams’ five. It was indeed an historic performance.

With the boys race complete and championship energy buzzing in the air, it was time for the girls to take to course. Qualifying only individuals the previous two years, the girls had not toed the line 7 strong as a TEAM since 2023. For our 4-four year seniors Madeleine Wiseman, Jackie Seale, Adelaide Ritter, and Norah Harrison,
returning to this line as a team one final time had been their mission all season. Joined by state new comers sophomores Sydney Lasher and Greenlee Davidson, and freshman Lucy Garrison, the girls race went off under the same clear skies and only slightly warmer temps. 
 
Madeleine led her tigers from the start to a stellar 11th place and 3rd All-State finish of her HS career. Jackie was close behind in 23rd and finished nearly 2 minutes faster than she did on the same course last year! Next to kick down the finishing stretch was state meet first timer Sydney in 31st who made excellent moves up then field throughout the race to finish with a lifetime PR. Running as a strong pack of three for much of the race, Greenlee, Adelaide, and Norah were next to finish. Greenlee broke away with a tremendous sprint finish to cross in 65th, followed by Adelaide in 70th to earn a season PR and round out our top five. Norah and Lucy were close behind in 73rd and 83rd sealing the team’s strong day of racing and closing out our comeback season with pride. The girls team finished 3rd overall, flipping the script and edging out region opponents BGA by nearly 30 points. After a two year drought, to return to the state championship and give such a strong collective effort, the girls should all be proud. They got a glimpse at the podium this year, no doubt their target has already been set for the next.

Thank you all for supporting the team throughout the season. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming and will let Model UN be the next to bring home some exciting results!
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School News

List of 3 news stories.

  •  University School of Nashville students Eleanor Mixon '27 and Dylan Omary '27 voted first the first time on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at the Scarritt Bennett.

    Seniors take field trip to cast first ballot

    All 40 eligible University School of Nashville students in the Class of 2037 registered to vote ahead of the voter registration deadline, and Eleanor Mixon '27 and Dylan Omary '27 walked across the street from USN to the Scarritt Bennett Center to cast their first ballots on the final day of early voting.
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  • The ballot box and beyond: USN Seniors civically engaged

    Students in High School History Teacher Cameron Parsons' Advanced Topics: American Government and Politics Class have been working diligently on civic engagement projects that required them to participate in the democratic process.
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  • An evening of erudition: 22 seniors enter Cum Laude Society

    Congratulations to the Class of 2027 inductees of the USN Cum Laude Society: Jack Barrett, Charlie Blau, Alder Brandon, Olivia Brown, Elisabeth Crane, Alexandra Drewry, Lucia Gellert, Melis Kurtulus, Abigail Manoukian, Lily Margalit, Eleanor Mixon, Louisa Nordberg, Mia Orefice, Karsen Puzniak, Ruchika Ramachandran, Jacqueline Seale, Elliott Spiller, Laine Theobald, Alexander Truss, Yifan Wang, Madeleine Wiseman, and Julia Young.
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Archive

Athletics News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on “Electric" State Champs Trails, Dehner Snags Overall Podium Medal

    Steve Smail & MTB Team Coaches
    With trail names like Megawatt, Electric Avenue, High Voltage and Livewire, the mountain bike team knew it was time to pedal out some extra watts for their NICA/TICL State Championships at Raccoon Mountain, and survive the technical trails above Chattanooga full of boulder gardens, rock drops and sandy rubble.
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  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on Winged Deer Trails, HS Makes Podium Appearance

    Steve Smail
    Winged Deer Park and trails in Johnson City hosted our 4th race on Sunday October 11th, and despite a bit of hurricane outwash winds and showers - and reduced team numbers due to fall break and distance from Nashville - our racers utilized all available skills and speed which helped “wing" Sophomore Claire Dehner to a 4th place podium spot, our first podium appearance and medal for the season.
     
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  • HS athletics recaps for September 11-17

    Tiger golfers have officially qualified for the region tournament, and our other teams are not far behind. Volleyball sits near the top of the district, finishing up regular season play next week with Senior Night. Girls soccer continues to hold first place in the district after another 9-0 win, and our cross country runners are chasing after some school records. To round it all out, our mountain bike team traveled to Oakfield to continue to improve on their times for the season. There’s plenty more where that came from- so be sure to come out to the River Campus, Sperling Gym, or out on the road to cheer on our Tigers before their seasons end.
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USN Mission: 
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.