Harold SmithWith one finger pointed in the air and a big smile across his face, Bradley Central junior Harold Smith crossed the finish line in a position he had never attained before – first.
With four of the top 12 finishers in the same event, the McCallie cross country team also was No. 1.
Smith won the Chattanooga Cross Country League festival at Chickamauga Dam, running the five-kilometer race in 16 minutes, 26.98 seconds. Christian Academy of Knoxville’s Sarah Zimmer won the girls’ event in 20:35, while Columbia Central won the girls’ team title.
It might not have been Smith’s best race of the season or his best time, but it ended in the best result of his career.
“I’ve always wanted to get first,” he said. “I’ve had some tough times, but I’ve wanted to get down that ladder [of placement]. I thought it was a good race today and a good challenge. They changed the course a bit, but it was still fun.