Sweep, grades 3-12, at ‘Valley’ Ashe Park Classic

Hardin Valley cross country teams go 8-0

  • Maddie Archdale (holding first-place plaque), HVA Lady Hawks sophomore, finished second to lead her team to the Varsity Girls meet title. - Alan Sloan

  • Kaden Keller, Hardin Valley Academy senior (5249) is alongside Hawks teammate Daniel Blackston during 2021 Victory Ashe Park Classic Saturday, Sept. 4. Keller finished as meet runner-up while Blackston took fourth place. - Alan Sloan

  • Farragut Intermediate School cross country team grabbed second place in the 2021 Victor Ashe Park Classic Girls Elementary division Saturday, Sept. 4. Contributing, from left, were Kasey Saya, Arabelle Wray, Susanna Cantrell and Emma Kate Smith. - Alan Sloan

  • Sam Shagan of FMS finished sixth out of 273. - Alan Sloan

Victor Ashe Park became “Valley” Ashe Park Saturday, Sept. 4, thanks to an almost unheard-of accomplishment by one community’s cross-country programs.

All eight team champions crowned during 2021 Victor Ashe Park Classic came from Hardin Valley — which featured teams third- through 12th-grade from the Nashville area, Tri-Cities and Chattanooga — almost 40 total.

Champions were Hardin Valley Academy’s varsity girls and boys along with HVA’s junior varsity teams, plus Hardin Valley Middle School’s and Hardin Valley Elementary School’s boys and girls.

The HVA Lady Hawks edged Girls Preparatory School of Chattanooga 60-72, with Bearden finishing seventh.

Hardin Valley’s boys, defending Division I Large School state champs, easily won versus runner-up Maryville 26-78, with the BHS Bulldogs claiming eighth-place.

On the JV level, HVA’s boys earned six of the top seven finishes individually, capturing the top spot 15-55 versus runner-up Maryville. Freshman champ Gabriel Allen (17:50.64) led these Hawks.

The Lady Hawks junior varsity team slid past runner-up GPS 23-40.

Hardin Valley Middle School’s girls managed a 1-point team championship against runner-up TW Hunter 36-37, with West Valley Middle fourth, Farragut Middle fifth and CAK Middle 10th.

Led by champion Radek Molchan, a HVMS eighth-grader (11:15.38), his boys slipped past runner-up Farragut 33-53. West Valley was fifth.

In both elementary races, Hardin Valley finished ahead of runner-up Farragut Intermediate School (26-44 in the boys and 49-126 in the girls). Northshore Elementary’s boys were fifth, followed by SJNCS taking sixth. St. John Neumann’s girls finished seventh, with Northshore earning ninth.

High School Varsity Boys

Three of the top five, and seven of the top 10 were Hawks among a boys field of 200, led by runner-up Kaden Keller (16:42.85), a senior who was All-state in 2020. Freshman Cade Crum of Bearden earned third place (16:51.18), while places four, five, eight, nine and 10 were Hawks seniors Daniel Blackston (16:56.52), Asa Mazow (17:03.66), Mitchell McCown (17:14.28), Isaac Legault (17:17.02) and junior Ivan Bell (17:17.17).

High School Varsity Girls

Lady Hawk Maddie Archdale, a sophomore who was All-state as a freshman in 2020, finished second among a 159-girl field (19:20.73), with senior teammate Avery Holdsworth ninth. Bearden freshman Millie Lovett captured 10th.

High School JV Boys

Runner-up through seventh-place for the HVA JV boys were Rhett Mashburn (18:09.77), Garrett Hawkins (18:30.13), Conner Craig (18:41.27), Matthew Gillen (18:55.27), Colbi Young and Rowen Wilkinson.

High School JV GIrls

Lena Fuqua’s third-place effort led the way for HVA’s JV girls (25.40.56), with finishes seventh through 10th belonging to Olivia Schippers, Lyla Kluemper, Kayla Branch and Anabell Miller.

Middle School Boys(2-mile)

Third place was Farragut Middle School’s Andrew Cabaniss, a seventh-grader (11:48.43).

West Valley Middle School’s Cade Duncan, seventh-grader, finished fourth (12:13.81). Sam Shagan, an FMS eighth-grader, took sixth. Sixth-grader Evan Van de Griff of HVMS captured seventh, with teammate Nathan Weiss, a seventh-grader, earning eighth. Fenn Piper, a WVMS eighth-grader, took ninth, with Hawk sixth-grader Isaac Socha finishing 10th.

Middle School Girls (2-mile)

Places sixth, seventh and 10th were all Hardin Valley Middle Schoolers, led by seventh-grader Emma Cissna, followed by eighth-grader Gracelyn Fritts and sixth-grader Emma Dolycluk. St. John Neumann Catholic School’s Brianna Cisneros, an eighth-grader, finished ninth.

Elementary Boys (1 mile)

Led by the Areheart trio, Hardin Valley Elementary School captured three of the top four places: Runner-up Colt Areheart, a fifth-grader (5:36.39) was followed by third-graders Scout Areheart (5:44.33) and West Areheart (5:54.58). Fifth-grader Abraham Derenski of HVES, a fifth-grader, earned eighth-place.

Elementary Girls (1 mile)

Runner-up Farragut Intermediate School claimed sixth and seventh place thanks to fifth-graders Cuyler Landis and Baylor Lewis.

The champion HVES girls were led by fourth-place finisher Linley Lawhorn, a fifth-grader (6:21.59), followed closely in fifth place by Lydia Ogles, a fourth-grader (6:2163).

Maggie Mewett of Episcopal School of Knoxville, a fifth-grader, was Elementary champion (5:55.58), followed by Ava Brinley of FIS, also a fifth-grader (6:02.73).