McCallie coach Mike Wood has something for folks who say the prep track and field stars of yesteryear were better in some ways than those of today: Take a close look at his 2016 Blue Tornado track squad.
After they captured top team honors Saturday at McCallie's 33-team, 700-athlete Mid-South Invitational, you probably wouldn't hear a peep from naysayers.
The Blue Tornado won with 117.5 points, with the individual highlights including a 1-2 finish in the shot put as Jay Roberts threw 50 feet, 4 1/2 inches and Trel Phillips went 48-3. Also for McCallie, Pete Pritchard won the pole vault (13-0) and runner-up finishes were earned by Romeo Gibbs (long jump), Tons Ferguson (110-meter hurdles) and Hakim McMorris (300 hurdles).
Kingsport's Dobyns-Bennett - led by sprinter Bryce Barrett, who set meet records while winning the 400 (48.99) and 200 (22.17) - placed second with 101 points. Nashville's Montgomery Bell Academy (95) was third, with Baylor (74) fourth.
Wood has the perspective to know what this year's team is truly made of.
"What I love about it is, all these 30-some years that I've been coaching, you still have the hard-nosed kids," Wood said. "That's what you love to see. Like our 4x400 (relay team) today. Because those guys were dead, and they stepped up and gave it all they had (and finished fifth). We were getting a lot of second-, third- and fourth-place finishes. Parker Marshall ran a personal best in the two-mile (with his 10:07.03 earning sixth).
"People say, 'Back in the day, you know, we were this, this and this.' I'm like, 'Back in the day, pretty much what I see out here now is kids who just get after it and got a lot of heart.' And it's the same thing I saw 30 years ago. It's just a great group."
In other top Chattanooga-area boys' performances, Baylor's 4x100 relay team was first, while the 4x800 and 4x200 teams were second. The Red Raiders' Ryan Parker won the discus (156-05) and teammate Ulysses Strawter won the long jump (20-9 1/2). Chattanooga Christian's Benjamin Moore was second in the high jump.
In girls' competition, Signal Mountain tied for first place with Dobyns-Bennett as each scored 82 points, six ahead of Baylor. The title wasn't decided until the 4x400, the day's final event. Dobyns-Bennett won it in 4:09.43, but Signal Mountain was sixth, just enough to earn a share of the crown.
Signal Mountain coach Dustin Carpenter said his Lady Eagles "are really just giving phenomenal effort at this point in the season. They don't take 'no' for an answer. Each and every day is 100 percent. Even running some different kids in different events today, they still rise to the occasion and perform to everything that we're asking of them."
Signal Mountain's McKenzie Ethridge won the 100 in 11.96 and the 200 in 25.04. The Lady Eagles' Stephanie Peterson won the 3200 (11:12.57) while teammates Taylor Luthringer and Becca Umbarger were second and fourth. Signal also won the 4x100, and Emily Davis was second in the mile with Aryn Sanders third in the long jump.
In other top girls' finishes, Baylor looked strong as Ally Craig won the high jump (5-2), and the 4x800 relay team and 100 hurdles competitor Rachel Smith were second. Soddy-Daisy won the 4x200, and CCS's Olivia Huffman was second in the 400.