On Thursday, at Shelby Farms, the Collierville Boys and Girls cross-country teams battled a loaded Region 8 championship field for the opportunity to compete against Tennessee’s elite at the State Championship meet in Hendersonville.

Behind their best team performance of the year, the two junior captains, Emma Hurlbut and Caroline Moerbe and the Fabulous Five Freshmen of Maya McCloskey, Sydney Collins, Allie Timms, Bella Carothers, and Lauren Moerbe, advanced to State with a 3rd place finish, behind Arlington High and Houston High. McCloskey (9th) and Hurlbut (10th) earned All-Region Honors. This was the first time Collierville has had two All-Region cross-country performers since the consolidation of Region 7 and 8. Before 2017, CHS only competed against Germantown, Houston, and White Station for a Top 3 trip to state.

On the boy’s side, Senior Tal Old led the team with a 7th place All-Region finish. Junior Ben Linder, in his first year of cross-country and his first race in nearly 3 weeks, earned All-Region Honors with an 8th place finish. Senior Andreis Campo and sophomore Reese Webber would not be denied. They willed themselves to finish before Arlington’s 2nd man, which all but guaranteed a Dragon victory. Sophomore Clayton Maxwell closed out the scoring as 5th man in his first Regional appearance, battling a pack of three Arlington runners for most of the race. Matt Haws (18:07) and Nic Daniel (18:55) were the final Dragon finishers.

Arlington High School was 3-0 against the CHS boys this season, winning by 3 points at Crossing Paths #2, 7 points at the Frank Horton Invite, and by 5 points at Crossing Paths #1. An inspired effort led the underdog Dragons to earn a state bid by crushing AHS by 19 points. Defeating Arlington and returning to State competition were team goals since July.

Both teams will compete in the State Championship Meet at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, TN on Thursday, Nov. 5. Girls race at 10am. Boys race at 10:40am.