Division II-A season roundup: CAK boys track & field 2nd in state; CCS track, baseball highlights
MURFREESBORO — With 104 points, Christian Academy of Knoxville was state runner-up during TSSAA Division II-A Boys Track & Field State Meet, led by junior Gabriel Fulford who won the decathlon (5,795 points) by edging out teammate and runner-up Landry Mitchell, also a junior (5,755).
Josh Whitaker, a third Warriors junior decathlete, placed fourth.
Fulford also was champ in the 110-meter hurdles (15.67) during the state meet in late May at Middle Tennessee State University, while finishing second in 300 hurdles (39.38) — and just .03 of a second behind champ Logan Collier of Mt. Juliet Christian in the 200 dash (22.40).
Whitaker also finished second in pole vault (14-00.00) followed by teammate Luke Etherton, also a junior, taking third in this event plus two others: discus and 400 dash.
The Warriors’ 4 X 100 relay team finished third.
Concord Christian School
Concord Christian School scored six team points at the Division II-A state meet thanks to Nikolaj Murasov, a sophomore from Switzerland, who placed third in the 800 run.
“He’s very hard working, and he’s just a stellar all-around athlete,” said Jeremiah Tener, CCS track & field head coach. “He also plays soccer.”
CCS Lions baseball
Ending the regular season strong with two wins despite an overall losing record, “I really enjoyed this group because their whole goal was to try and lay a foundation for the future,” CCS head coach Bruce Johnson said. “And you know what, they did that. They fought pretty hard all year.
“Competed in quite a few games and won their last two,” he added. “… We were playing pretty decent baseball by the time the year ended.”
Senior Troy Jackson, staff pitching ace, “had a really good year. Averaged eight-and-a-half strikeouts per game,” Johnson said. “Had 11 strikeout against Grace (Christian Academy).”
Offensively, “Daylan Coffey was our best hitter,” the coach said about the senior. “He caught, pitched and had a really good year, too.”
Jackson and Coffey also held a distinction almost unheard of with any high school sports team.
“Both of them had been captains for five years (starting as eighth-graders),” Johnson said.
Looking to the future, “Our middle school team went 11-7,” Johnson said.
“They came in third in the county, lost in the semifinals.
“And our varsity players really worked hard with our middle school kids,” he added.
