Sullivan East girls, Lakeway boys win Run for the Hills

BRISTOL — Sullivan East exceeded expectations at Saturday morning's Run for the Hills cross country meet. Patriots coach Christian Watson hoped for a solid day from his girls squad at the tough South Holston Dam area course. Instead, the Lady Patriots came away with a 58-72 victory over runner-up Cherokee. Tennessee High was third with 106 points. "It's hard to process in the moment," Watson said. "Last night, someone asked me how I hoped we'd do. I said, 'Top 3, top 5, we could grow from, get better from. The fact we won our own meet, it's a sense of pride and accomplishment for the girls." Luna Rader led East's efforts with a fifth-place individual run. Lauren Ellis, Ciara Rogers, Breyan Cretsinger and Adelynn Asher added to the Patriots' total. "We preach that No. 14 on our squad is just as important as No. 1," Watson said. "We really like having depth. We appreciate the effort of our No. 1, but also our No. 7 which allows us to be aggressive in races." Elizabethton's Arvella Nave ran a 21:08 on the challenging course to win the individual race by 34.5 seconds over second-place Ryan Belt from Providence Academy. Nave led at the start and led all, but one stretch where Belt passed her going uphill. Nave, a junior for the Cyclones who also stars on the soccer field, recaptured the lead a minute later and pulled away for the victory. "It was definitely a mindset. Going into the woods, it's a hilly course and that's where Belt passed me," Nave said. "I had to respond and I pushed my body up the hill. I was like, 'She's not going to pass me again.' The key is to push your body past its limits and then recover." Belt, who finished in 21:43, executed the strategy she planned. Nave was simply too strong in the humid and wet conditions. "My goal was to get behind Vella in the beginning and then take the lead in the back where the hills were," Belt said. "That was what I did for a minute, but my legs got too tired and she was able to get away from me." Olly Arrington from Tennessee High was third, ahead of Braydin Baresel from Unicoi County and Rader. BOYS RACE Noah Losacker ran 17:25 to win the boys' individual title and lead Lakeway Christian to the team title 63-86 over second-place Daniel Boone. Losacker, a senior for the Lions, finished 34.2 seconds ahead of Andrew Sells from Tennessee High (17:59) for the team title. River Smith and Lucas Mathewes from University High were third and fourth with Isaac Jennings from Volunteer fifth. "I felt like it was a pretty good start to the race. The course had tough conditions with the mud and all," Losacker said. "It was a good way to open the season open. You get in your head, the rest of the season will be easier and better conditions." The Trailblazers, who did not have any of its top seven varsity runners in the race, finished 14 points ahead of third-place Volunteer. Knowing that, Losacker had the plan to lead from start to finish, which he was able to do. Jake Robinson was 10th individually to lead Boone. Others who contributed to the team result included Nate Stevens, Eli Dillon, Sonny Willis and Easton Hensley. Run for the Hills Saturday, at South Holston Dam BOYS Team results 1. Lakeway Christian 63, 2. Daniel Boone 86, 3. Volunteer 100, 4. University High 109, 5. Greeneville 126, 6. Unicoi County 138, 7. Dobyns-Bennett 183, 8. Tennessee High 184, 9. West Ridge 224, 10. Cherokee 226 Individual results 1. Noah Losacker, Lakeway 17:25 2. Andrew Sells, Tennessee High 17:59 3. River Smith, University High 18:03 4. Lucas Mathewes, University High 18:15 5. Isaac Jennings, Volunter 18:19 6. McKinley Norris, Unicoi County, 18:24 7. Eli Mathers, Lakeway 18:26 8. Gideon Vance, Lakeway 18:43 9. Brody Case, Volunteer 18:54 10. Jake Robinson, Daniel Boone 19:06 11. Brady Reecher, Tennessee High 19:07 12. Curtis Todd, Unicoi County 19:10 13. Nate Stevens, Daniel Boone 19:11 14. Isaac Losacker, Lakeway 19:26 15. Jude Lawson, University High 19:27 ——— GIRLS Team results 1. Sullivan East 58, 2. Cherokee 72, 3. Tennessee High 106, 4. Providence Academy 111, 5. Daniel Boone 114, 6. Dobyns-Bennett 117, 7. University High 124, 8. West Ridge 147 Individual results 1. Arvella Nave, Elizabethton 21:08 2. Ryan Belt, Providence Academy 21:43 3. Olly Arrington, Tennessee High 22:09 4. Braydin Baresel, Unicoi County 22:44 5. Luna Rader, Sullivan East 22:56 6. Sarah Mussard, University High 23:20 7. Ashlyn Townsend, West Ridge 23:24 8. Gracie Christian, Volunteer 23:30 9. Ashlynn Ranly, Greeneville 23:39 10. Lauren Ellis, Sullivan East 23:40 11. Marissa Vaughn, Volunteer 24:19 12. Kenady Deal, Cherokee 24:28 13. Anna Mae Boyd, Cherokee 24:33 14. Bethany Knight, Greeneville 24:35 15. Lizzie Hanby, Tennessee High 24:49