The Knoxville Catholic boys’ cross country team Oct. 17, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Photo by Elliot Walker/5Star Preps)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
Shelby Farms Park in Memphis played host Thursday and Friday to the 2026 TSSAA State Cross Country Championships.
Here’s all you need to know about how our local teams and top runners fared…
DIVISION II-AA
The Knoxville Catholic boys’ cross country team claimed its fourth TSSAA state championship — and first since 2024 — by placing five runner in the Top 20 during the Division II-AA meet Thursday, narrowly edging runner-up Baylor, 56-58.
Andrew Beroset, a senior at McCallie, set the winning pace individually. He was the only runner to break the 15-minute mark, doing so in 14:45.6.
Baylor placed runners in the fourth- and -fifth-place spots while Catholic senior Cade Duncanson (15:42.9), junior Evan Van de Griff (15:49.3) and junior Reid Bannister (15:55.1) finished, seventh, eighth and 10th, respectively.
Catholic freshman Nathan Jurbergs came up clutch with a 12th-place finish at 16:05.5. Irish junior Riley Horton placed 19th at 16:20.3 to round out Catholic’s scoring.
Webb School of Knoxville finished 10th in the boys’ team standings.
In the girls’ Division II-AA state meet, Father Ryan won the team title with 62 points. Catholic was runner-up at 79.
Baylor sophomore Addy Cotter won the individual race in 17:43.6.
Webb School of Knoxville sophomore Bennie Diddle claimed seventh (18:52.2).
As for Catholic, it had five runners finish in the Top 25, led by junior Caitlin Daniels (19:17.5) and Livi Ray (19:29.8). Daniels landed in 12th and Ray 14th.
DIVISION II-A
The Christian Academy of Knoxville girls’ cross country team won its second overall team title and first since 2012 in dominating fashion Thursday in the Division II-A meet.
The Lady Warriors had four runners finish in fifth place or better and all five runners placed in the Top 15.
CAK’s 23 points cleared runner-up Columbia Academy by 58 points. Grace Christian Academy was 11th at 222.
And it appears CAK might have a stranglehold on the title for a few years to come, given the age of its top runners.
CAK sophomore Sophie Lee won the individual state championship at 18:40.1. Fellow CAK sophomore Emery Adams claimed second at 18:46.2, and CAK freshman Haylee Gasparic was third at 18:52.1. CAK eighth-grader Lydia Rouse (19:30.6) finished in fifth place, and CAK sophomore Ellia Cox rounded out the Lady Warriors’ scoring at 20:39.9 (14th place).
Kennedie Couch, a junior at Lakeway Christian, earned a sixth-place finish at 19:37.9.
In the Division II-A boys’ race, University School of Nashville got the team championship with 53 points. CAK was third at 116 and Lakeway fourth at 122. The King’s Academy landed in eighth place at 203.
Davidson Academy’s Elijah Wharton snagged first place with a time of 15:24.3 but TKA junior Duncan Tarayia was runner-up at 15:36.0. Lakeway senior Noah Losacker placed fourth in 16:02.0.
CAK senior Ayden Burke wound up sixth at 16:20.6 and senior teammate Talan Sturdevan was 11th at 16:52.6.
CLASS AAA
A pair of Maryville runners made it a clean sweep in the girls’ and boys’ races, as senior Tommy Babbit (15:14.4) and sophomore Hadleih Mitchey (17:58.6) won their first-ever TSSAA cross country state championships.
Brentwood High won the girls team championship with 48 points. Collierville was runner-up at 93. HVA was fourth at 161. Maryville was 12th.
Daniel Boone won the boys team championship at 85 points. Independence and Dobyns-Bennett tied for second at 97. Maryville was fifth (194) and HVA sixth (224).
Babbit’s winning mark in the boys’ race was good enough for a 13-second victory. Farragut junior Chase Temples was the 5Star Preps area’s second-leading finisher, as he placed 11th at 15:58.4. Halls senior Zachary Jenkins was 16th at 16:08.9.
Mitchey’s winning time cleared runner-up Lorelai Whitten (Summit High) by 12 seconds. HVA senior Ana Berkheimer finished 10th at 18:51.5 and fellow HVA teammate Zarah Enbom placed 18th at 19:02.6.
CLASS AA
To be determined…
CLASS A
To be determined…