Siegel boys cross country captures state title behind Dawson Reed, Tucker Moss

NASHVILLE — It's safe to say Saturday was a big day for area cross country runners and teams at the TSSAA Division I Large Division state cross country meet at the Steeplechase.

Siegel's boys captured the team state title, Oakland's boys finished third as a team and Siegel's girls placed fourth at the meet.

Two area boys and three area girls collected top-15 finishes.

Siegel's boys topped that list as senior Dawson Reed finished sixth overall and helped the Stars to the state title. Siegel 72 points were 56 better than second-place Knox Cathlolic. Oakland was third with 206 points.

"We really thought we had a chance to win it," said Reed, who came in at 16:09.32. "We didn't expect it would be by this magnitude, but we thought we had a chance."

Reed's teammate, freshman Tucker Moss, finished 10th overall (16:23.01).

"He's phenomenal," Reed said of Moss. "That kid's going to do great things. He plays baseball, so I don't know what will happen with him, but in running I see a bright future for him."

Siegel was at full strength as a squad for one of the few times this season, which was a huge boost Saturday.

"It makes a huge difference when you can have your top guys ready and able to race," said Siegel cross country coach Phil Young. Our third-place finisher today (Canaan Anderson), we held him out for regions to make sure he would be healthy today. Had an Achilles tendon tweak. We were real careful."

All of that considered, plus the conditions on Saturday, gave Siegel the boost it needed for the state title.

"It was very humid, but other than that it couldn't have been a better day," Reed said. "Coming in we were expecting rain and heat. We were ready for anything. It was perfect. The course wasn't that muddy. Everything worked."

Anderson placed 20th (16:48.66), which was fourth overall locally. Central Magnet's Fuji Anday (16:42.04) placed 16th overall. Oakland's Ryan Phillips was 21st overall, Siegel's Seth Robinson 22nd, Riverdale's Eli Cramer 25th and Oakland's Brice Walkowski 30th.

Phillips and Walkowksi — who won last week's region meet — helped the Patriots capture their second consecutive third-place finish.

On the girls' side, Central Magnet's Camille Smith was the area's top finisher overall, taking fourth (18:58.22) to help the Lady Tigers finish ninth as a team in their first year of moving up in classification. CMS captured the A-AA state team title last year.

Siegel's fourth-place finish was sparked by two top-15 finishers in Rachel Strayer (12th, 19:32.98) and Marilyn McCarthy (14th, 19:37.29).

Oakland's Breja Hooks was 22nd while Central Magnet's Samantha Oullette was 27th.

Ravenwood won the girls team competition.

State cross country meet

D-I Large Division girls

Team scores

1. Ravenwood 108

4. Siegel 182

9. Central Magnet 225

16. Riverdale 384.

Individual scores

1. Sasha Neglia, Dobyns-Bennett, 18:15.71

4. Camille Smith, Central Magnet, 18:58.22

12. Rachel Strayer, Siegel, 19:32.98

14. Marilyn McCarthy, Siegel, 19:37.29

22. Breja Hooks, Oakland, 19:56.71

27. Samantha Oullette, Central Magnet, 20:07.81

39. Kerrigan Walls, Central Magnet, 20:24.59

40. Sarah Sneed, Riverdale, 20:26.79

D-I Large Division boys

Team scores

1. Siegel 72

3. Oakland 206

13. Central Magnet 265

Individual scores

1. Titus Winders, Henry Co., 15:27.92

6. Dawson Reed, Siegel, 16:09.32

10. Tucker Moss, Siegel, 16:23.01

16. Fuji Anday, Central Magnet, 16:42.04

20. Canaan Anderson, Siegel, 16:48.66

21. Ryan Phillips, Oakland, 16:49.16

22. Seth Robinson, Siegel, 16:51.03

25. Eli Cramer, Riverdale, 16:53.61

30. Brice Walkowski, Oakland, 16:57.40

46. Emilio Vernon, Siegel, 17:15.62

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.