Boys' cross country wins state, girls finish second

Congratulations to the boys' and girls' cross country teams on a superb season.
By Lindsey Bachman, Tamara Berthel, George Flatau, and Robbie McKay, Cross Country Coaches

The script for Friday, November 5's Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association cross country state championship contained a nearly perfect ending to both teams' seasons and Coach Tamara Berthel's storied coaching career. On a gorgeous day, bolstered by an astonishing spirit bus loaded with classmates cheering them on, the Tigers put forward stunning performances, with the girls finishing as runners-up and the boys winning their fifth team title.
 
The girls, led by Auldyn Plant '23 and Ava Cason '22, both All-State runners, took second in the state in a supremely tight battle — third place was one point behind, fourth just two behind, and fifth only a few more than that. The close scores mean it wasn't just about the incredible top two runners but about the entire team, as Latham Hall '22, Cléo Gauthier '24, and Grace Boero '24 ran some of their best races to close out the team scoring. More, Alice Frein's '24 kick and Abby Schoenecker's '22 best race of the season were a fitting finish to the seven-strong team. When the dust settled, the intensely close battle for second highlighted the importance of every place, and there's no doubt that the crowd spurring the runners on made a huge difference. It's also quite likely that the girls were doing their level best to honor Coach Berthel with supreme efforts.
 
The boys, coming off a two-point win at regionals, knew they had a tough battle ahead of them, with powerhouse Harding Academy of Memphis further complicating matters. They were ready, but cross country life is never easy, as during the pre-race huddle, someone spiked Piers Mason '22, puncturing his shoe, sock, and toe. Races are never easy, and he was ready to roll. Austin Cason '23 went right to the front of the race, stayed there, and set a huge personal record to finish fifth. Coming up clutch was Collin France '23, also running a huge personal record to move into the top 15. Right behind him were four more Tigers within 37 seconds of each other — Piers, Evan Ozgener '24 (battling valiantly through a leg injury), Jonathan Nichols '22, and Eli Galentino '24. Running another PR a little ways back was Frederick Rudolph '23. Depth is what wins races, and USN, while getting amazing performances from Austin and Collin, had the fastest third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh runners in the field. On a banner day for the entire team, the scoring gap grew improbably large, as the differential between the Tigers and second place was 31 points, by far the largest of the five team titles the boys have won.
Back

More USN News

List of 3 news stories.

Archive

Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

Resources

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.