Getting up at 5:30 Saturday morning was a tough task for Chantal Wilson as she and her Morristown West teammates traveled to Chattanooga for the Cross Country Festival at the Chickamauga Dam recreation area.
The trip back was a lot nicer.
Wilson and her twin Cherie finished first and fourth in the girls' race, with Chantal claiming the title in 19 minutes, 56.02 seconds for the five kilometers. Quintin McKinnish, also of Morristown West, was the boys' winner in 16:22.67.
McCallie's Matthew Jones took second, finishing about 13 seconds behind.
Team titles went to Knoxville West's girls and North Hall's boys. Top area finishes went to McCallie's boys, who finished second, and Heritage's girls, who took fourth.
"I thought it was a pretty good day, but we did have two of our top three guys that didn't have good performances," McCallie coach Mike Wood said.
Chantal Wilson finished 11 seconds ahead of a Pelham (Ala.) runner. McMinn County's Haley Ward was third, Rhea County's Maddie Garland was seventh and Chattanooga Christian's Sarah Hoffman was eighth.
"I'm pretty excited to get the win, but I think I would have done better had I known the course beforehand," said the freshman victor. "I was pleased with my performance because it was a course I had never run on before, so I can do better next year."
Chattanooga Christian's Jessica Duble set the girls' course record in 2006 with a time of 19:40.
"The next time I run here, it's going to be my goal to get that time," Chantal Wilson said.
The boys' record also had been set by a CCS runner, Matt Coniglio, but his mark wasn't as fortunate to make it through the 2011 meet. McKinnish, McCallie's Jones, Lenoir City's Nathan Jones and North Hall's Brandon Lawson all broke the previous record time.
East Hamilton's Nick McCormick was sixth and Bradley Central's Harold Smith was eighth.
"I thought I had a good run today," McCallie's Jones said. "The four of us ran together for the first mile, and I led for about a half mile, but the Morristown guy passed me late.
"I'm pleased with my time, though. I felt I gave it my all. I wanted to get the win, but I'm definitely pleased with my time today."