RUNNER OF THE YEAR
SIMON HOLDEN
As the season progressed, so did the Baylor School sophomore. Holden had some top-five finishes in the early going, but by the end of the season he had become the area's top runner, with first-place finishes in three races - including the Front Runner City Championships. "Simon's definitely a diamond in the rough," Baylor coach Jan Gautier said. "He's been a leader this year with a humble confidence. He's still learning, but he has the confidence to win and his hard work has paid off."
COACH OF THE YEAR
LES HEGWOOD
In only the third year of Signal Mountain's existence as a school, Hegwood guided a team void of seniors to the Region 4-A/AA championship and a third-place finish in the Class A/AA state meet. "Getting a chance to compete in the state tournament, we were definitely motivated to get back next year," Hegwood said. "The core of our team this year is juniors, so they're all coming back and we're looking forward to next year."
FIRST TEAM
Cameron Anderson
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN
Junior
He ran a personal best of 17:06 and was the Region 4-A/AA champion.
Robert Bridges
RED BANK
Sophomore
He repeated as Region 3-A/AA champion and earned his second consecutive A/AA all-state honor.
Matthew Marshall
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN
Junior
He was fifth in the Front Runner City Championships and was a Class A/AA allstate honoree.
Nick McCormick
EAST HAMILTON
Sophomore
He was third in the Region 3-A/AA meet and was all-state after a 15th-place finish in the state meet.
Andrew Oellerich
BAYLOR
Senior
He was a Division II-AA all-state honoree after a 10th-place finish at the state meet.
Thomas Walters
MCCALLIE
Senior
He was a Division II-AA all-stater for the second consecutive year and was 12th in the City Championships.
Gil Walton
MCCALLIE
Junior
Allowed to run only junior varsity races because of being on scholarship, he won the Jesse Owens Red Race.
SECOND TEAM
DEREK BARNES McCallie Freshman
AUSTIN ETHERIDGE Signal Mountain Junior
MATTHEW JONES McCallie Freshman
HOUSTON MASSEY Baylor Senior
BEN OATES Ooltewah Sophomore
SETH RUHLING Collegedale Sophomore
KENNY STEFFES Chattanooga Patriots Senior
TEAMS OF THE YEAR
1 MCCALLIE
The Blue Tornado finished third in the Division II-AA state meet.
2 SIGNAL MOUNTAIN
The Eagles were fourth in the Class A/AA state meet.
3 EAST HAMILTON
The Hurricanes finished ninth in the Class A/AA state meet.
Photos by Allison Carter, Laura-Chase McGehee and John Rawlston. Text by Gene Henley. Layout by Stacey Wysong.