SM-Tn Sports
Area runners hope to chase down berths in the upcoming TSSAA cross country state championships over the next few days, as regionals are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Independence, Spring Hill and Summit will compete in the Region 6-Large Class meet Tuesday at Hendersonville’s Sanders Ferry Park – the site of the state meet, which will be held Nov. 5-6. The girls competition will start at 9 a.m., with the boys to follow.
Also on Tuesday, Columbia Central will run at Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro in the Region 4-Large Class meet. The girls race is set for 9:30 a.m., to be followed by the boys.
The Division II-A Middle Region meet will take place Thursday at Sanders Ferry, with Columbia Academy and Zion Christian both participating. Girls will run at 8:30 a.m., followed by the boys.
On Friday, Henry Horton State Park in Chapel Hill will be the site of the Region 6-Small Class meet, with Culleoka, Hampshire, Mt. Pleasant, Santa Fe and Summertown all competing. The girls race is scheduled for 9 a.m., to be followed by the boys.
Most area regional meets have traditionally been held at Percy Warner Park’s Iroquois Steeplechase course, as has the state meet. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, however, usage of Metro Parks has been limited and the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association had to find an alternate site for the state competition — which taken place at the Steeplechase for the past 49 years.
Officials at the regional level were forced to do likewise.
The top 10 individual finishers in each region meet will advance to state competition, along with the top three teams.
In order to minimize the number of athletes and fans in attendance, the state meet will be held over two days. The schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Nov. 5: 10 a.m. — Division I Large Class Girls; 10:40 a.m. — Division I Large Class Boys; 2 p.m. — Division I Small Class Girls; 2:40 p.m. — Division I Small Class Boys
Friday, Nov. 6: 10 a.m. — Division II Class AA Girls; 10:40 a.m. — Division II Class AA Boys; 2 p.m. — Division II Class A Girls; 2:40 p.m. — Division II Class A Boys