Former Hillwood wrestler hopes to break Great Smoky Mountains trails record

Mike Organ
Nashville Tennessean

The COVID-19 pandemic has some people climbing the walls. It has Jeff Woody climbing the Great Smoky Mountains.

Woody, 56, is a Nashville native who hated running when he was a wrestler at Hillwood.

"Until I was 40, I hated running," said Woody, who now lives in Knoxville. "When I thought about running, it reminded me of doing suicide drills in wrestling practice."

That is why it is a bit surprising that Woody finds himself chasing a record today on foot. He hopes to complete all 900 miles in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in fewer than 43 days.

Forty-three days was the record set in 2017 by East Tennessee-based hiker Benny Braden. That beat Braden's own record of 76 days set earlier that year. 

After two weeks on the trails, Woody is on pace to beat the record by about 10 days. He is approaching 400 miles completed.

Nashville native Jeff Woody is attempting to set the record for completing all 900 miles in the Great Smoky Mountains.

"I have a game plan that's changing as I go," Woody said. "I am having to look at it again and say, 'OK, I need a rest day here, and I need a rest day there.' For the first week, though, it went pretty well, and I've made pretty good progress. The pace (25-30 miles per day) is pretty comfortably ahead of where Benny was, but anything can happen. My body can break down at any minute; you just don't know."

In fact, Woody suffered a lower leg injury Aug. 1, which forced him to take an unscheduled day off.

Woody is being tracked by Fastest Known Time. You also can follow his progress at Stravia.com.

Woody has finished almost all the trails on the North Carolina side of the national park and is now concentrating on climbing the trails on the Tennessee side.

Woody's shortest one-day trek will be 18 miles. His longest will be 60 miles, which is coming up later this month.

Jeff Woody was a wrestler at Hillwood in the 1980s. Today he is attempting to complete all 900 miles of trails in the Great Smoky Mountains in record time.

"By the time I get to that point, I'm either going to be in really, really good shape and everything will be used to the pounding," Woody said, "or things will be breaking down and I'm going to have to break that day up."

Several of the trails reach the highest point in the park, Clingmans Dome, which is 6,643 feet. It also is the highest point in Tennessee, and the third-highest mountain east of the Mississippi. 

"The thing about the Smokies is they're some of the toughest trails in the country," Woody said. "People don't realize that."

Woody regularly encounters bears, deer, coyotes, wild hogs and snakes on the trails. His path was blocked one day last week by a herd of elk.

"The bears usually behave, so I've not had a real problem with one luckily," he said. "But they're out there. The worst thing that's bugging me has been the dang horseflies. I must've killed 30 of those things in one day. They will fly with you for miles."

Woody is chronicling his run on his Facebook page.

"I see a lot of beauty — a lot of waterfalls and get some awesome morning shots of the mountains that I've posted," he said.

Woody burns an average of 3,500 calories per day. He has to replenish those by taking in 250-300 calories per hour on the trails.

After he finishes each day, he finds a creek to sit in, which helps with the inflammation in his legs, and drinks chocolate milk.

He then has an afternoon meal, dinner and another meal before he goes to bed.

"If I don't eat that last meal, I'll wake up starving," he said.

As a high school senior, Woody wrestled at 132 pounds. He now weighs 150.

"Let's say I weighed 150 before I started this," he said. "Who knows what it will be when I finish?"

Woody is a nuclear safety consultant at the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. He works each day after he finishes the trails.

This is not the first big undertaking Woody has attempted. He completed an ultramarathon (31-100 miles) in every state in 2013.

Then in 2014, he ran from Knoxville to Nashville and the following day completed the Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon. 

Four Lipscomb players named all-decade

Brady Puckett

Former Riverdale baseball standout Brady Puckett, who went on to play at Lipscomb, was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Decade (2011-20) Team along with three other former Bisons.

Puckett was the A-Sun Pitcher of the Year in 2016. He posted a 9-2 record and a 2.93 ERA in 15 starts.

The other Lipscomb players were Michael Gigliotti (2015-17), Ian Martinez-McGraw (2014-15) and Grant Massey (2014-15).

Belmont's Dylan Craig (2009-12) also made the team. Belmont left the A-Sun after the 2012 season.

Ex-Predator J.P. Dumont named MBA coach

Nashville Predators right wing J.P. Dumont (71) skates with the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period of their playoff game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on April 22, 2010.

Former Nashville Predators winger J.P. Dumont is the new hockey coach at Montgomery Bell Academy.

Dumont, 42, spent 12 seasons in the NHL including his last five (2006-11) with the Predators. He also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres.

He played in a total of 822 games in his career.

Dumont was hired in 2016 as coach of the 15-under Junior Predators team.

Dumont also recently joined the Predators' television broadcast as an analyst.

Father Ryan 2020 hall of fame class announced

Father Ryan announced its 2020 class for its athletic hall of fame Wednesday, which included 18 athletes, two coaches, two contributors and five teams.

Athletes: Kay Batey (basketball, 1974) John Burns (basketball, football, 1944), Elaine Derrick Bryan (basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, 1992), Carl Crain (basketball, 1975), Pete Curley (basketball, football, 1932), Tom Curley (basketball, football, track, 1961), Jim Derrick (baseball, basketball, football, 1962), Angela Rohling Gregory (basketball, track, volleyball, 1998), Frank Halliburton (basketball, football, track, 1959), J.B Hatley (baseball, basketball, football, 1937), Billy Hudson (baseball, basketball, football, 1958), Jim Miller (football, 1982), Joe Miller (football, track, 1962), Tom Morales (football, wrestling, 1972), Kelly Cockerham Reilly (basketball, volleyball, 1993), Chris Dacri Wantz (golf, 1988), Tim Wilson (football, wrestling 1972), Eric Wood (football, wrestling, 1972).

Coaches: John Gorham (girls basketball, 1954), Bobby Garmon (wrestling, 1965).

Contributors: Murray Lynch (coach and administrator, 1955), John Spore (teacher, 1964).

Teams: 1927 basketball, 1974 wrestling, 1997 football, 1998 boys soccer, 1999 volleyball.

Austin Peay football adds to coaching staff

Mike Markuson

Austin Peay interim head football coach Marquase Lovings has hired two assistant coaches.

Mike Markuson will take over as offensive line coach, replacing Eddy Morrissey, who left the staff in June, and Stephen Smith will coach the running backs, taking over forCraig Candeto, who also left in June.

It is Markuson's second stint at Austin Peay. He was the offensive line coach on John Palermo's staff in 1990. He also coached at Arkansas, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Boise State, Murray State, Eastern Illinois, South Dakota State and Alabama A&M.

Smith was a defensive analyst and quality control coach at Tennessee (2015-16) and in 2017 became director of player personnel at Baylor.

Lovings also promoted Mark Aanstoos, a graduate assistant last season, to assistant defensive line coach.

Former MTSU baseball coach 'Lefty' Solomon dies

A.H. "Lefty" Solomon, coach of the Middle Tennessee State baseball team from 1971-73, died Tuesday. He was 88.

The Blue Raiders won at least 20 games in each of Solomon's three seasons as the coach. His career record was 63-49. 

After his coaching career Solomon served as chair of the health, physical education and recreation department.

McCabe getting new greens

McCabe Golf Course has been closed while new greens are being installed.

The driving range is still open Tuesday-Sundays from noon-8 p.m.

TifEagle Ultradwarf Bermuda grass is being installed on the greens. The same type of grass already has been installed on the greens at Harpeth Hills, Two Rivers and Rhodes courses.

McCabe is expected to reopen by Labor Day (Sept. 7).

Crosby wins Tennessee Amateur

Jack Crosby from Memphis won the 105th annual Tennessee Amateur Golf Championship at Hillwood County Club. He fired a final-round 69 to finish 14-under par for the tournament.

William Nottingham from Kingsport was second (11-under) while Jack Morris from Franklin, Trevor Johnson from Brentwood, Will Brooks from Cookeville and University of Tennessee assistant golf coach Bo Andrews tied for third (9-under).

Nick Wolf from Murfreesboro tied for seventh with two others (8-under). Michael Shears from Franklin, Cooper Sears from Mt. Juliet and Davis Shore from Brentwood tied with one other for 10th (7-under).

Greenbrier softball scholarship established

The Jennifer Stiles Scott Memorial Softball Scholarship has been established at Greenbrier.

After playing softball at Greenbrier (1990-92), Scott worked in the athletics department at Kentucky before becoming the associate athletics director at Ohio University and assistant athletics director for compliance at South Carolina.

Scott died in November.

Kimberly Cox, who will attend MTSU, received the inaugural scholarship.

'Prep Football Talk' begins Aug. 15

"Prep Football Talk" kicks off its ninth season Aug. 15 from 8-9 a.m. on 560-Am, 95.9-FM and 107.9-FM. The hosts are longtime Metro high school football coach Bubba Spears, Craig Ladd and Greg Pogue.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter, contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.