As 2017 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Middle School cross country team who sent 3 athletes to the state track meet where Jacob Rutledge claimed a state title.

Thunder Radio reported on the state meet in a story we published on October 9th

Coach Nathan Wanuch and members of the CCMS XC team on Saturday at the state meet. (Left to right) Greenlee Woods, Wanuch, Ethan Welch and Jacob Rutledge

Jacob Rutledge of the Coffee County Middle School cross country team claimed the state title on Saturday in the TMSSA State Cross Country Championship in Clarksville.  Rutledge, who finished 2nd at the middle sectional championship 2 weeks ago, sprinted past Joe Neglia of John Sevier MS to capture the crown with a time of 11:37.02 over the 2 mile course.

Rutledge was one of 3 Coffee Middle runners competing in the event and is the first runner from Coffee County Middle School to earn a state championship in cross country.   Greenlee Woods survived a fall in the final half mile to finish in 17th place out of 104 runners.  Woods, a 6th grader, completed the 2 mile course in a time of 13:56.49.  That time was 6th best among 6th grade runners in the event.

Ethan Welch also qualified for the state meet and finished in 29th place, out of 116 runners, with a time of 12:50.79.  That time represents an improvement of 50 seconds over his time in the middle sectional meet.  Welch was the lone CCMS runner competing at the state meet to have been with the program since its inception 3 years ago.

After the race, Coach Nathan Wanuch was effusive in his praise for his runners.  “I couldn’t be more proud of how all three performed today! Greenlee had an exceptional race. She is a 6th grader going up against older 7th & 8th graders and she holds her own.  For her to do so well in her first year as a middle schooler makes me so excited to see how much she will improve in the next two years. She has so much potential!  Ethan had a great race today too!  I know he wanted to do better than he did, but he has been the heart and soul of the middle school team for three years.  I doubt there would even be a team without the efforts of Ethan to recruit athletes and build the team. He has been an incredible leader and has helped every athlete on the team to improve.  For him to finish 29th in the state is a great way to bring his middle school Cross Country career to an end.  I’m so proud of how he has grown as an athlete and an individual. Jacob had the perfect race today.  For a runner who has only been running for a little over a year, he has had an amazing career so far.  He has developed into such a smart racer. He knows how to pace himself and he knows how to read his competition and adjust his race to that.  All three athletes have had great seasons and represented Coffee County well at the state meet.  The future of our program looks great and I’m so excited to see these athletes continue to grow in the coming years.”

Coach Nathan Wanuch will have members of the CHS cross country team competing in Mid State Cross Country Association championship meet on Saturday.  The boys’ race will get underway at 10:30 AM and the girls’ race follows at 11:15 AM.   The championship races will take place at Buckner Park in Dickson.

As 2017 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for Coffee County Central High School cross country program.  The Raider and Lady Raider harriers continued to see their numbers get bigger and their race times get faster in 2017.

Thunder Radio reported on their final meet of the year in a story we published on October 30^th

Bradley Kishpaugh of CHS Cross Country

The Coffee County CHS cross country season came to a close on Thursday at the Region 4AAA meet in Columbia. Facing one of the most difficult courses of the season, neither harrier team earned an individual qualifier for the TSSAA state meet. While posting team scores ahead of district rivals Lincoln County, Columbia and Shelbyville, neither Coffee County team will qualify for the state meet.

For the Lady Raiders, Emily St. John was the top fininsher as she finished in 26th place out of 89 runners. St. John ran the 3.2 mile course in 24:28. Sarah Pearson was close behind in 29th place with a time of 24:42. Trava Brown finished with a time of 27:16 and Byanka Woods ran a time of 28:09. Kara Mueller had a time of 30:20 and Zoe Mills finished at 30:22. Jasie Willis broke the tape at 31:31

For the Red Raiders, Bradley Kishpaugh was the top finisher as he finished in 33rd place out of a field of 107 runners. Kishpaugh ran the 5K course in a time of 19:57. Andres Cavalie finished with a time of 21:28. The trio of Reuben Chaput, Johnny Dulin and Jalen Cummings came in at 22:15. Renato Ayala came in at 23:36 and Jacob Melton broke the tape at 24:26.

The Raider and Lady Raider harriers of Coffee County Middle School and Coffee County CHS were guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show talking about their seasons. The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast LIVE each Saturday from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio.  You can download the podcast at:

http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/coffee-coaches-show_116699

As 2017 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for Westwood Middle School softball team.  Under first year head coach Amanda Sullivan, the Lady Rockets finished the year with a record of 7 and 6 including a 5 game winning streak.

Thunder Radio reported on their final game of the year in a story we published on April 25^th

Kaitlyn Davis of Westwood softball

The Lady Rocket softball team of Westwood opened up play in the Duck River Valley Conference tournament on Monday night with a doubleheader in Shelbyville.  In the opener, Westwood dropped Riverside Christian 15 to 0.  In the nightcap, the Lady Rockets lost to Fayetteville 6 to 3.

Monday’s opener was the conclusion of a game started on Friday and suspended due to rain.  Westwood pitcher Kaitlyn Davis tossed a 3 inning no-hitter as she struck out 7 and walked 1.  Westwood scored 11 runs in the first inning when they sent 17 batters to the plate.  The Lady Rockets got the benefit of 17 free passes due to walks and hit batters.  Westwood needed only 4 hits to end the game in 3 innings due to the mercy rule.  David had a had a single and a double while Hallie Wimberley added a double.

Facing Fayetteville, the Lady Rockets defense gave up 5 unearned runs with 6 errors to see their season come to an abrupt end.  After jumping out to a 1 to 0 lead in the 2nd, Fayetteville rallied for a pair of unearned runs in the top of the 3rd inning.  Westwood was able to tie the game in the bottom of the 3rd, but another pair of unearned runs in the 5th inning put Westwood in a hole from which they could not recover.  Davis once again swung the hot stick as she had a double and a single.  Allie Roberts had a triple and Madison Wakefield had a single and 2 RBI.

Westwood’s season comes to a close with a final record of 7 and 6.

As 2017 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Middle School volleyball team who finished 3^rd in the CTC postseason tournament.

Thunder Radio reported on their final match of the year in a story we published on October 2^nd

The Coffee County Middle School volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the CTC conference tournament on Friday before being eliminated.  After getting a win over South in the quarter finals, the Lady Raiders fell to White County in a hard fought semifinal matchup.  Coffee County will finish the season with a record of 7 and 5 and a 3rd place finish in the CTC regular season standings and the CTC tournament.

The Lady Raiders squared off against South Franklin in the first round on Friday and captured a straight win in dominant fashion.  Coffee County rolled through the Lady Trojans by set scores of 25 to 3 and 25 to 6.  In the semifinals, the Lady Raiders pushed White County to 3 sets before losing a heartbreaker.  After dropping the first set 19-25, Coffee Middle roared back for a 25 to 13 win in the second set.  The tie breaker set was all White County as they won 15 to 5.