Maryville won both individual state titles for boys and girls Thursday at the TSSAA {span}Class AAA {/span}State Cross Country Championships held at Shelby Farms in Memphis.
Senior Tommy Babbit won the boys race in 15 minutes, 14.4 seconds, finishing 12.7 seconds ahead of Siegel senior Blake Pilkington (15:27.1). Sophomore Hadleigh Mitchey followed with the girls title in 17:58.6, 11.8 seconds clear of Summit junior Lorelai Whitten (18:10.1).
“Four years of work, and then this year as a senior, just to cap it off in that top spot to be the champion is just a testament to what he’s done,” Maryville coach Douglas Martin told The Daily Times. “Dedication to the sport, to his training, to everything, and then also just to his team. I think it was so validating for him to see all that hard work pay off.”
Babbit was 14th at state as a sophomore and third last year.
Mitchey, in her first season at Maryville, used the finish Martin and his staff had pointed to as her edge.
“She has an incredible kick, an incredible finish,” Martin said. “We said that’s your secret weapon. If you’re in the lead pack when you get to the end, you just go and win it. … She let the lead pack go and hung on to t...