2004 Season Outlook

The 2004 Cross Country team is hoping to continue the success that has occurred over the past several years. Under Coach Buddy Thomas the Hilltoppers have won five of the last six Big 7 Conference championships, won the Region 1 title for the past six years, and have finished in the top 8 at the state meet for the past nine years. The Toppers finished sixth in the 2003 state meet due to their top two runners being hampered with injuries. With a relatively young squad returning, Science Hill is hoping to return to Nashville for the State Championship in 2004. The 2003 squad suffered through numerous injuries, from stress fractures to shin splints. With 7 varsity runners missing at least one meet, the 2003 team still won the Big 7 Conference Championship, the Region One Championship, won seven meets, and finished sixth at the state meet.

The 2004 team returns several past all conference or all region runners including Ryan Alexander (Sr.), Phillip Dunham (Sr.), Michael Hemphill(Sr.), Todd Smalling(Jr.), a former All State runner in 2002 who was injured much of 2003, and Kenny Love (So). Other key returnees are Eric Schneider (Jr), Damien Buchanon (Jr.), Arun Malikayil (Jr.), Zach Stein (So), Austin Holbrook (So.), Aaron Rice (So.), Bobby Moore (Sr.), Joe Story (Jr.), and Patrick Flynn (So.). Promising newcomers include transfer Ryan Stull (Jr.), Matt Bogle (Fr.), Matt Runyan (Fr.), Rajesh Malikayil (Fr.), and Eric Barrowclough (Jr.). Gabe Felty (Fr.), Will Cherwin (Fr.), Steven Fair (So.), Ben Hemphill (Fr.), John Schmidt (Fr.), Chris Rosselot (Fr.) and Alex Wright (Fr.), are newcomers who will add much depth to Science Hill’s team. The current 8^th grade team now has 20 runners which bodes well for the future.

Science Hill has more depth this year than in years past with well over half the 26 man squad having a chance to be on Varsity by seasons end. Coach Thomas took 16 runners to the Brevard Distance Runners Camp the last week of July. At Brevard, the team enjoyed a great week of watching training videos, hearing motivational speeches, learning about nutritional issues, examining various race strategies, working on running form, and setting team goals. The team enters the 2004 season with no major injuries and is looking forward to early season meets at Melton Hill Dam and Cherokee Boulevard to see how they stack up against East Tennessee competition. The 2004 schedule includes several tough meets at the Hagan Stone Classic, the Furman Invitational, and the Tennessee Classic, where nationally ranked teams typically compete.

Like the 2003 team, the 2004 team has a good attitude, hard work ethic, and is disciplined. The 2004 team is hoping to improve upon the success of the 2003 team, while avoiding the injuries that kept Science Hill from a much higher finish at the Tennessee State meet. The Topper Boy’s Cross Country Team is expected to contend for conference and region honors. They should also compete for top spots at meets such as Melton Hill, Cherokee Blvd, Western Carolina (Cullowhee, NC), Bristol Cross, Hagan Stone (Greensboro, NC), and the Furman Invitational. Coach Thomas is starting his eleventh year as head coach and has led the Toppers to nine straight state meet appearances, five conference titles, and six straight Region One titles. He has coached All-Staters such as John Goodwin (1996/97), Chad Kiser (1996/98), Shane Byrne (1998/99/2000), Robert Hatcher (1998/99/2000), and Todd Smalling (2002). Coach Thomas says “This team is a young team, but they have a lot of potential. We will have a great deal of competition for varsity, and there are numerous boys that have a chance to make varsity by season’s end. We’ll do okay this year, we’ve just got to stay away from the injuries that plagued us in 2003.” Barring the injury bug, the SHHS team should make it back to Nashville in November for its tenth straight state cross country meet.