Seven of top 10 boys are Farragut; state title sought
KNOXVILLE — Trevor Coggin said he has run cross-country at Victor Ashe Park “since the third grade, so I kind have a bias toward it.
“I like running this course, but it’s one of the hardest ones that we do,” added the Farragut High School senior moments after his first-place effort (15:50.67) earned him a Region 2-AAA championship at the course Wednesday morning, Oct. 26.
Coggin, in fact, saw six of his talented teammates finish in the top seven, and seven in the top 10, as the Admirals easily won the team region crown with 17 points. Oak Ridge edged out Hardin Valley Academy for second place 77-79.
“The goal was to just come here and not do anything special, just qualify for state,” said the senior, region runner-up as a junior in 2021, also at VAP. “I think we all executed that plan perfectly.”
“Our team did great — we’ve had a great season so far,” said FHS junior Braden Ebbert, region runner-up individually who set a personal record time (16:07.49), adding about his individual performance, “I felt really good.”
That was accomplished despite VAP being “a tough course, a lot of elevation,” said Ebbert, a top-10 finisher during Victor Ashe Classic Sept. 3 who finished fifth at KIL. “Had a bad head-wind today.”
Individually, “I think I had a good race,” said Coggin, also boys champion on this course during Victor Ashe Fall Classic. “My goal was to kind of get a lead from the gun and maintain a good gap.”
Among a Southeastern United States field at Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama, “I ran a (personal record, 15:15), and then I broke that PR a couple of weeks ago at KIL (15:13, finishing second),” the senior added.
Other Admirals
Junior Matteo Tonnos finished third (16.18.55), followed by junior Harrison Cunningham taking fifth (16.47.72), senior Riley Hanson placing sixth (16.47.78), senior Quinn DeGuira finishing seventh (17:01.30) and sophomore Evan Beeler taking 10th (17.15.48).
Five Hawks top 20
Five Hardin Valley Hawks finished in the top 20: sophomore Garrett Hawkins 11th, senior Copper Carr 12th, senior Sam Brophy 17th, Gabriel Allen 19th and junior Colbi Young 20th.
Top Dawgs
Top-20 Bearden finishers for the fourth-place Bulldogs were sophomore Cade Crum taking fourth (16.40.26) and senior Cash Coggin placing 16th.
State meet
Looking ahead to the Class AAA State Meet at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville Friday, Nov. 4, where Coggin and the Admirals are expected to compete for a state title, “I really like that course,” he said. “It’s a good course for me because there’s a lot of tight turns downhill, and I kind of take advantage of those. It’s one of my favorite courses.”
Last year during the state meet on that course, Coggin finished seventh (15:49). “I just want to be in position to contend for first place and run in the low 15s,” he said.
“I think it’s a pretty fast course,” said Ebbert, who also competed there in the 2021 state meet.
As for competing to win state as a team, “I think that’s definitely within reach,” Coggin said.
“I definitely think we’re going to win state,” Ebbert said. “We have pretty good odds. Brentwood’s had a pretty strong season as well.
“Both teams have a lot of depth, but I think Farragut will ultimately come out on top,” the FHS junior added.
