Bearden will win the Boys AAA State Team Title. I have watched the West Tennessee area all season and been very impressed by how good teams like Melrose, Memphis East, Cordova and Houston have been. Problem is, they will all beat each other up and probably get top ten at state. The team that will slide in there is Bearden. They are on our side of the state and have put together a pretty good quality team, but what helps them is that they will not be challenged by Science Hill, Dobyns-Bennett or Knoxville West. Section 1-AAA is very young this season at the quality level and most of those kids are summer track athletes. Bearden will get around 12 qualifiers out to state. These will be guys scoring top 5 or better at state. Other teams that will fare well out of their sections will be Bradley Central and Hunters Lane. They will finish in the top 10 at state because of their qualifiers.
In Girls AAA, Brentwood will win easy with Memphis East and Bearden behind them.
In Boys A/AA, I like Raleigh-Egypt to win with Michael Joyner and company. FRA could get second because this is the weakest boys division in the state when it comes to quality marks.
In Girls A/AA, Molly Kennedy and Hume-Fogg will beat Chattanooga Christian and Heather Trimiew. It will basically be the battle of the pentathletes with Molly having a little stronger supporting cast.
In Boys DII, this is the closest one to call, but I like Brentwood Academy with Andrew Bumbalough(I would never dream of going against the great Tennessee distance god) and Chris Buck to beat McCallie with Michael Bingham trying to score in the decathlon, long jump, triple jump, high jump, 100, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
For Girls DII, I think Harpeth Hall is just too deep with their distance, pole vaulting and Gabby Gioia. Look for Brentwood Academy and GPS to be right behind them.
Coach Chris
Knoxville West