The honors continued to pile up for the CHS golf team and its members on Thursday.  Coffee County sophomore golfer Ashley Gilliam was named to the 2^nd team Tennessean All-Midstate golf team as selected by the USA Today Sports network.  Gilliam, a Mississippi State commitment, joined a crowded field of state tournament participants named to the first and second team.

Gilliam was the low scorer for Coffee County at the state championships as she helped lead the Lady Raiders to a 2^nd place team finish.  As an individual, Gilliam shot an even par 2^nd round to finish in a 9^th place tie.  The honor caps off a tremendous year for Gilliam who is the defending School Days Golf Tournament champion and had a hole in one to help Coffee County win the Baylor Preview in August.

As 2016 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 12 prep sports.  Today we look back at a highlight from each of the prep track teams.   The Coffee County Middle School track teams had another strong showing as the Lady Raiders won the CTC conference title and the boys finished in 2^nd place.  The high school Lady Raiders qualified 3 athletes for the TSSAA State Meet in May.

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider track team won their 4^th straight CTC Conference Track meet on May 4^th at Carden-Jarrell Field.  The Red Raiders got a 2^nd place finish marking the 6th straight year for the Red Raiders to finish in the top 2 in the conference.

Thunder Radio reported on their success with the following story we published on May 5th

The Lady Raider track team of Coffee County Middle School won their 4th straight CTC Conference Track Meet on Wednesday as they finished first out of a field of 6 teams.  The Lady Raiders dominated the relay races and scored well in each of the field events to finish comfortably ahead of West Tullahoma for the crown.  The final scores in girls’ competition was Coffee County 121, West Tullahoma 69, South Franklin 64, Warren County 45, North Franklin 42 and East Tullahoma 11

The Red Raiders had several strong performances in the field events, and a 1st place finish in the 4x200M relay, but came up just short to West Tullahoma finishing in 2nd place for the 2nd consecutive year.  This is the 6th straight year for the Red Raiders to finish in the top 2 in the conference.  For the boys scores: West Tullahoma 93,  Coffee County 84, South Franklin 60, North Franklin 56, East Tullahoma 41 and Warren County 33
Individual finishers for Coffee County were:

Girls
Shot Put: Marissa Douglass-2nd
Discus: Marissa Douglass-1st, Marley Perry-4th
High Jump: Julia Duncan & Jenna Garretson 3rd (Tie)
Long Jump: Jenna Garretson-1st, Julia Duncan-2nd
4x100m relay: 1st-Gracie Pippenger, Laura Bogard, Ashley Evans, Marissa Douglass
1600m: Kaytee Christian-6th
100m: Marissa Douglass-2nd, Karie Wooten-6th
4x200m relay: 1st-Gracie Pippenger, Ashley Evans, Mady Gravitt, Willow Hobbs
400m: Ryan Green-3rd, Emilee Roberson-5th
800m: Felicia Medina-2nd, Jasie Willis-6th
200m: Willow Hobbs-2nd, Jenna Garretson-3rd
4x400m relay: 1st-Journey Arnold, Emilee Roberson, Emma Singleton, Jade Arnold

Boys
Shot Put: Brandon Jernigan-2nd, Gilberto Infante-3rd
Discus: Brandon Jernigan-2nd, Gilberto Infante-3rd
High Jump: Hayden Skipper-2nd, Blanton Brown-3rd
Long Jump: Blanton Brown-2nd, Hayden Skipper-5th
4x100m relay: 4th-Blanton Brown, Gabe Sons, Gilberto Infante, Hayden Skipper
1600m: Larson Meltzer-4th
4x200m relay: 1st-Blanton Brown, Gabe Sons, Gilberto Infante, Hayden Skipper
400m: Jalen Morris-2nd
4x400m relay: 3rd-Jalen Morris, Larson Meltzer, Landon Crabtree, Tucker Anderson

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Three Lady Raiders track athletes qualified to compete at the Spring Fling state track meet in May in a total of 7 different events. 2016 marked the 25th consecutive year that Coffee County CHS was represented at the state meet.  Diana Davis, Karson Young and Sarah Pearson all competed in the 5 day event.  Karson Young had personal bests in her 2 events as she reached the medal stand twice.

Thunder Radio reported on their success with the following story we published on May 27th

Setting personal bests in 2 events lifted Coffee County’s Karson Young to the medal stand twice on Thursday at the TSSAA Spring Fling State Track Meet at MTSU. Young beat her personal record 4 times in placing 5th in the long jump in the morning session. Young, who predicted a jump of 17’ 6” before the event, soared to a 17’6.5” jump in her second attempt of the preliminary round. That jump was good enough to advance her to the finals. Entering the day with a personal best of 16’ 10” in the long jump, Young had jumps of 17’ 3”, 17’5” and 17’1.75” to go with her medal winning jump of 17’6”.
Immediately after receiving her medal for the long jump, Young was back to the sand to compete in the triple jump. Young failed to meet her qualifying jump from the sectional of 34’ 10” which is her personal record. Young had jumps of 33’ 7.25’, 33’ 8.75” and 34’ 1.75’ to finish in 13th place.
In the evening session, Young ran a time 15.93 in the 100M hurdles to win her heat and take home an 8th place medal. Young beat her previous personal record of 16:12 in her clean run. Young, a junior, was making her 2nd appearance at the Spring Fling after missing last year due to illness. “We have always known that Karson has had a great deal of talent and today she rose to the occasion” said Coach Stan Jarrell after the race. “I feel like Coach Bonham was here helping her along today” added Jarrell. Former assistant coach Phil Bonham specialized in training Raider thinclads in the hurdles prior to his passing this past February.
We talked to Karson after the race and this is what she had to say:

Sarah Pearson opened her day in the noon heat at the high jump pit. Pearson who qualified at 4’10” in last week’s sectional, scratched out at 5” to finish in 11th place. Pearson cleared 4’8” in her first jump and 4’10” in her 2nd attempt. “I am happy with (4’ 10”) but I always strive for 5 feet” said Pearson following the high jump as she came up short of the medal stand.
In the 100M hurdles, Pearson was paired up with Young as the 2 Coffee County teammates started one lane apart. Pearson clipped a couple of hurdles early in the race to finish with a time of 17.05 which was good enough for 14th place.
Pearson ended her day with the 300M hurdle race as her time of 49.5 seconds was nearly a full second above the sophomore’s previous personal record. “I knew going in that I was not near the top(among qualifying times). I was really pushing for a PR(personal record) and I’m kind of upset about it” said a dejected Pearson. Her time in the 300M was good enough for a 13th place finish in the event. “I am happy I got to come and compete today and I am glad I got to come even though I did not medal” added Pearson

We continue our year in review on Tuesday as we look back at the year in golf and volleyball.

As 2016 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 12 prep sports.  Today we look back at a highlight from the CHS Wrestling team.  As is the case for winter sports, the Raider grapplers concluded their last school year’s season in the early part of 2016 before beginning this year’s school year season late in 2016.  With the 2016-2017 season in the early stage of their season, we look back at the 2015-2016 season which concluded in February.  That 2015-2016 season marked a strong performance for the Red Raiders as Josh Tobitt advanced to the state individual meet.  One of the highlights of the year took place on January 21^st when Coffee County won a three way dual meet at home against Warren County and Smyrna.

Thunder Radio was on hand for those matches reported on their success with the following story we published on January 22^nd.

The Coffee County Central High School wrestlers benefited from several match wins via the forfeit to claim a pair of team win on Thursday night at “The Meat Grinder.” Coffee County got wins of 42 to 14 over Smyrna and 45 to 18 over Warren County. Josh Tobitt(182) continued his strong January campaign with a 2nd round pin against Smyrna and a forfeit win against Warren County. Rein Bozich(145) moved up in weight to capture a decision win over Warren County and a forfeit win over Smyrna. Josh Young(152) and Dustin Seals(285) each claimed a pair of forfeit wins. Austin Silvers(120), Owen Teague(138), Brody Litz(160), Michael Pressley(170), Harry Hosea(195) and Cade Baker(220) each earned a forfeit win for Coffee County.

Friday’s home match with Riverdale has been cancelled due to the Winter Weather Advisory in effect for the area. This match was scheduled to be Senior Night for Coffee County. Coach Roger Barlow will attempt to reschedule the match for early next week, and Thunder Radio will keep you informed if a makeup date can be finalized.

 

We continue our year in review on Tuesday as we look back at the year in golf and volleyball.

The Titans lost an important football game here on Sunday.

In the process, they also lost quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Mariota suffered a right ankle injury after being sacked in the third quarter of Sunday’s game here at Everbank Field. Mariota’s lower right leg was put in an air cast, and he was carted off the field.

It was part of a miserable day for the Titans, who trailed from the beginning and lost 38-17.

Mariota completed 8-of-20 passes for 99 yards in the game before being injured. He was replaced by back-up Matt Cassel, who finished the game, but was unable to lead a comeback on a day when the Titans fell behind, and could never catch up.

The Titans got off to another slow start in this one, and things got worse throughout the day.

The Titans dropped to 8-7. They’ll wrap up the season next Sunday against the Texans at Nissan Stadium. The Titans need to Texans to lose to the Bengals on Sunday night in order for the game to be for the AFC South title.

The Jaguars got the ball first, and scored on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Blake Bortles to receiver Allen Robinson to make it 7-0. The Jaguars made it 10-0 when Jason Myers kicked a 29-yard field goal with 4:03 left in the first quarter.

The Titans, meanwhile, sputtered on offense on their first two possessions before scoring when Mariota completed a three-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rishard Matthews on third-and-goal. It was the eighth touchdown catch of the season for Matthews.

But the Titans couldn’t sustain the brief momentum.

The Jaguars drove the field on their next possession and scored on a one-yard touchdown run by running back Chris Ivory to make it 16-7. The Jaguars tacked on three more points on a 48-yard field goal by Jason Myers to make it 19-7 at the half.

The Titans got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter after linebacker Brian Orakpo forced a fumble and safety Da’Norris Searcy recovered it at the Jacksonville 26-yard line. Moments later, kicker Ryan Succop booted a 42-yard field goal to cut the lead to 19-10.

But the Jaguars answered back, as Myers drilled a 56-yard field goal to make it 22-10 with 8:13 left in the third quarter. Myers added another field goal from 50 yards to make it 25-10 late in the third quarter.

Cassel completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Delanie Walker to make it 25-17 with 8:42 remaining, but things got ugly late.

Jaguars receiver Marqise Lee completed a 20-yard touchdown to Bortles on a trick play to make it 31-17. Then, Jaguars rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey intercepted Cassel and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 38-17.

Cassel finished the game 13-of-24 for 124 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Titans.

As 2016 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 12 prep sports.  Today we look back at a highlight from the tennis teams.   The Coffee County Middle School fielded their first ever tennis team in 2016.  They joined the Westwood Middle School, in its second year of existence, to provide scholastic tennis at both local middle schools.  The 2 teams met for the first time in a historic event on April 5^th on the courts at Fred Deadman Park.

Thunder Radio was there and reported on the match with the following story we published on April 6^th

It might be a small thing, but it was a first for local prep sports on Tuesday as the 2 middle schools in Manchester met on the tennis courts for the first ever meeting between the 2 teams in tennis. Westwood, in its 2nd season as a program, played host to Coffee County Middle School, in its 1st season as a program, on Tuesday at Fred Deadman Park. In a fitting tribute, the boys’ match was decided by a pair of tiebreakers in the doubles competition.

The Coffee County doubles team of Joseph Sadler and Zach Leroux got a 7-5 tie-breaker win over Jaret Kemper and Caleb Simmons to clinch the match win for the Raiders. In girls’ play, the Lady Raiders swept all 6 matches to claim the first girls win in program history. The Westwood tennis teams plays at Lewisburg on Wednesday at 3:45 PM while the Coffee Middle teams will travel to St. Andrews-Sewanee on Friday for a 4 PM match. Complete Results are:

Girls’ Singles
Alise Clark(CCMS) over Madison Cox(WMS) – 5-1
Jayda Wright(CCMS) over Liberty McAfee(WMS) – 4-2
Anna Amado(CCMS) over Luz Marie Basurto(WMS) – 5-1
Macy Brown(CCMS) over Antonia Ayala(WMS) – 6-0
Girls’ Doubles
Lindsey Cauble & Caitlin Calahan(CCMS) over Madison Cox & Antonia Ayala(WMS) – 5-1
Sydney Bell & Arianna Hansen(CCMS) over Liberty McAfee & Luz Marie Basurto(WMS) – 4-2

Boys’ Singles
Joseph Sadler(CCMS) over Jaret Kemper(WMS) – 6-0
Luke Irwin(CCMS) over Caleb Simmons(WMS) – 5-1
Xander Jones(WMS) over Jaden Talley(CCMS) – 4-3(7-4 tiebreaker)
Braeden Masicotte(WMS) over Loren Hansen(CCMS) – 5-1
Ben Davis(CCMS) over Ricardo Ayala(WMS) – 4-2
Boys’ Doubles
Joseph Sadler & Zach Leroux (CCMS) over Jaret Kemper & Caleb Simmons (WMS) – 4-3(7-5 tiebreaker)
Xander Jones & Braeden Masicotte(WMS) over Jaden Talley & Loren Hansen(CCMS) – 4-3(8-6 tiebreaker)

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The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider tennis teams did not advance out of the district in 2016, but senior Maddie Taylor advanced to the region as a singles player.  The highlight of the season for the tennis teams came on Senior Night on Monday, April 25^th when they swept Cannon County.

Thunder Radio was there and reported on the match with the following story we published on April 26^th

The Coffee County Central High School tennis teams got a pair of 7 to 0 sweeps on Friday night as they dominated Cannon County on Senior Night. The Lions of Woodbury only dressed out 1 male player as Coffee County got the benefit of 6 forfeit wins. Trevor Ivey-Bodman scored an 8 to 1 win in the lone contested boys match.
The Lady Raiders got wins in all 5 of their singles matches as Tori Taylor, Ali Shelton, Makayla Morgan, Kayla Wright and Anna Harrell all won. The Lady Raiders swept their doubles matches to improve to 8 and 5 on the year.
The night began with the recognition of the 5 Raider senior tennis players as senior Red Raiders Will Davis and Trever Ivey-Bodman were recognized and Lady Raiders Makyala Morgan, Maddie Taylor and Ali Shelton were each recognized.

The Raider netters will next be in action on Friday when they travel to Sewanee’s Bruton-Guerry Tennis Courts at the University of the South for the District 8AAA Tournament. Thunder Radio will keep you updated with pairing and times next week.

We continue our year in review on Monday as we celebrate the year in wrestling.

As 2016 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 12 prep sports.  Today we look back at a highlight from the prep cross country teams.  The Westwood Middle School cross country teams had another phenomenal year in their 3^rd year of existence as both boys and girls teams swept most of the local meets in which they competed.  One such sweep occurred on September 20^th in the season ending meet at Fayetteville where both Rockets teams were dominant.

Thunder Radio reported on their success with the following story we published on September 22^nd

The Westwood Rocket and Lady Rocket cross country teams competed in a match at Fayetteville on Tuesday at Fayetteville’s Don Davidson Park. The Rockets and Lady Rockets each won team titles on the day. The Lady Rockets finished 1st out of a field of 5 teams while the Rockets were 1st out of 6 teams.

For the Lady Rockets, Patricia Barrera was the top finisher for Westwood as she took 4th place out of a field of 44 runners in a time of 11:45. Sunshine Mai was 13th, Lizabeth Martinez was 14th, Alaya Barnes was 16th, Elizabeth Brown was 17th, Zoe Mills came in 20th and Kennedy Norman-Young was 21st.

For the Rockets, Bradey Nugent was the 4th place finisher in the boys race that had a field of 72 runners. Nugent, who finished in a time of 10:47, finished just ahead of 4 teammates. Louie Frazier was 5th, Bodey Todd was 6th, Jack Beachboard was 7th, Lukas Workman was 9th, John Dobson was 13th and Wyatt Nugent finished in 22nd place.

The Fayetteville race closed out another successful season for the Westwood runners. Coach Jim Dobson will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the season.

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The Coffee County Central High School and Coffee County Middle School teams both had improved seasons under new head coach Nathan Wanuch.  The middle school team showed improved numbers and had 1^st place finishers in both boys and girls divisions in late September at Arrowhead Ranch.  The high school team had their strongest showing since the sport was renewed 3 years ago after a 25+ year hiatus.

Thunder Radio reported on their success with the following story we also published on September 22^nd

The Coffee County Central High and Middle School cross country teams traveled to Normandy on Tuesday to take part in a meet on the hilly Arrowhead Ranch course.

The Red Raiders remained perfect on the season as they outdistanced second place Warren County by 5 points. James Lynn was the overall top finisher as he won the boys race. Bradley Kishbaugh was 4th, Andrew Godwin was 5th, Andres Cavalie was 6th, Reuben Chaput was 16th, Larson Meltzer was 30th and Neil Slone came in at 37th place.

The Lady Raiders had a respectable showing in spite of having several runners missing. Official team results and times have not been released for the meet as of yet but Sarah Pearson finished in 2nd place as the top Coffee County runner. Emily St. John was 5th, Byanka Woods finished 20th, Jasmine Farrar was 31st, Kelsey Selvage was 33rd and Keisheal Norton was 35th.

The CCMS runners had the best showing of the year as Raider runners won both the boys and girls races. For the Red Raiders, Ethan Welch finished first followed by Jacob Rutledge in 2nd and Jaylen Selvage in 7th place. For the Lady Raiders, Shelby Watkins was the first place runner followed by Jasie Willis in 2nd place.

The CHS thinclads are back in action on Friday when they travel to St. Andrew’s-Sewanee for the Mountain Lion Invitational meet.

We continue our year in review on Monday as we celebrate the year in wrestling.