Smith and Archdale win CC titles in Fall Classic
By Steve Williams
Keegan Smith of Knoxville Catholic and Hardin Valley Academy’s Maddie Archdale took first place in the boys’ and girls’ 5K cross-country races, respectively, in the Victor Ashe Park Fall Classic Saturday, Sept. 2.
In a field of 249 boys, Smith, a junior, turned in a time of 15:31.14, while Farragut senior Matteo Tonnos posted a 15:47.62 for runner-up honors.
Catholic sophomore Radek Molchan placed third, followed by Farragut seniors Braden Ebbert and Harrison Cunningham.
Farragut took first place in the team competition, scoring 36 points. Catholic (82) and HVA (104) rounded out the Top 3.
Archdale continued her strong senior season in the girls’ race, covering the 5,000 meters in 18:30.03 and far ahead of runner-up Hannah Faudi of CSTHEA (19:12.01).
West’s Kate Robinson placed third, Karns’ Rylee Gifford fourth and Anderson County’s Ava Moody fifth in the field of 200.
Hardin Valley captured the team title with 55 points, followed by Farragut (122) and the Knoxville Ambassadors (127).
The Norris Dam Invitational was scheduled to be held this past Saturday (Sept. 9).
FUTURE MEETS on the 2023 MetroKnoxville Cross Country Schedule include: Sept. 16-Johnson University Invitational, Sept. 23-Cherokee Classic at Sequoyah Hills Park, Sept. 30-Victor Ashe Park Invitational, Sept. 30-KIL Championship at Sequoyah Hills Park, Oct. 5-Cove Lake Invitational, Oct. 17-Victor Ashe Park All Comers, Oct. 25-D1 Region 2 Championship at Victor Ashe Park.
Roderiques places third in USA gymnastics
At the xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships in late August, Farragut High junior Ty Roderiques placed third overall in the USA, reported Farragut SID Jack Tate.
Roderiques won the National Championship on the Vault event and also was named to be a member of the United States Junior National Team.
Four prep athletes honored at GKSHOF
Four area standouts were named High School Athletes of the Year at the recent Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame event.
Maeve Thornton of Catholic and Avery Treadwell of Bearden were announced as co-female winners, while Dylan Loy of Pigeon Forge and Lucas Nordin of Bearden were co-male winners.
Thornton led Catholic to three state girls tennis titles and won the individual crown for the third year in a row this past season and was undefeated during her high school career. Maeve is the No. 13 ranked junior female in the country and has signed to play for Furman.
Treadwell, a 6-3 center/forward, scored over 1,500 points and had over 1,000 rebounds during her career. She helped Bearden win the state title in 2022 and was named the tournament MVP. She earned All-State honors each of the past two years and was named Class 4A Miss Basketball after leading Bearden to a 35-0 record before a quarterfinal loss this past season. In four years, Avery led Bearden to a record of 118-10. She had a 4.4 GPA and signed with Florida State.
Loy, as a senior, repeated as Mr. Baseball after going 11-1 with a .098 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 71.1 innings. In his career, he recorded 459 strikeouts, averaging almost two per inning. Dylan was also his class valedictorian, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA. He has signed to play for the Tennessee Vols.
Nordin was selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-America team after making All-State three times. He was the Region 2-AAA Player of the Year twice and was named the Gatorade Boys Soccer Player of the Year in Tennessee. Nordin set the single-season goals record at Bearden with 38. He finished with 74 career goals – second most at BHS – and 24 assists. Lucas led the Bulldogs to an 18-1-3 record as a senior and has signed to play for ETSU.
