Nine titles for lions
So he knows when a team has what it takes to win it all.
Earlier this season, he saw those signs within his Concord Christian track squad. And in May, the Lions proved him right by winning nine state titles with 22 All-State performances at the Division II-A state track meet at Tennessee’s Tom Black Track. It was an impressive win for any team but especially one that had just four athletes on the entire team last year with no track to practice on at Concord.
To compensate, Prince had his sprinters run on the CCS soccer fields — not a rare approach, considering athletes, such as Usain Bolt, have trained on the same surface. Meanwhile, distance runners would head down Kingston Pike, hang a right at Starbucks and continue on their way for practice.
“It was a small school, but being a mile from Farragut, we realized we weren’t big as a school but had these elite athletes,” Prince said. “We’ve got quality kids, and we recognized that early. Everybody ran faster at the state meet and peaked at the right time, so that was really fun.”
The state championship athletes included Lydia Kohlbusch, Maurice Smith, Presley Horst and Reese Franklin in the Co-Ed Relay; Baylor Kohlbusch, Lydia Kohlbusch, Presley Horst and Annie Von Hagen in the girls 4x400 relay and Kohbe Ward in the 400-meter event.
Notably, the Kolbusch twins were moved up for state since they are eighth-graders. Ward, meanwhile, finished with a time of 48.72 seconds, as Prince estimated he is the fastest freshman in Knoxville history in that event.
“I don’t remember anybody else in my career being that fast,” he said. “Kohbe, he just worked his tail off this year.”
In terms of team finishes, the Lady Lions came in sixth with five girls while the Lions took 10th with six guys overall.
The team also racked up three second-place finishes in the girls 4x200 relay (Baylor Kohlbusch, Lydia Kohlbusch, Presley Horst, Annie Von Hagen), girls 4x100 relay (Baylor Kohlbusch, Lydia Kohlbusch, Emory Thomas, Annie Von Hagen) and boys 200-meter event (Dasani Moulden).
Moreover, CCS saw three top-four state finishes, too: the boys 4x200 relay (Dasani Moulden, Reese Franklin, Amare McKenzie, Kohbe Ward), the boys 400-meter run (Baylor Kohlbusch) and the boys 100-meter event (Amare McKenzie).
Overall, it was a rewarding performance for the Lions — and a welcomed victory for Prince, who recognized that potential early this year.
“When you’ve been there before,” he said, “you know what’s possible. It came true because I knew the material we had, and it’s been a great group to work with. A lot of camaraderie and fun.”
