Spadafora repeat highlights 2026 Freedom Run
Exactly one year later, on the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, the Farragut High School standout executed a perfect rinse and repeat.
He won the same event with the same time, even donning the exact shoes and shirt he wore for his first Freedom Run victory in 2025.
“It was a pretty good feeling,” Spadafora said. “Somehow I ran the exact same time as last year, which is pretty crazy. There was one
guy who I thought might beat me because he looked pretty fast, but I ended up taking it home.”
The repeat occurrence was one of several highlights in the 2026 Freedom Run, which featured more than 500 runners as it preceded the Town’s annual Independence Day parade.
In the 2-mile open, Bearden graduate Cash Coggin (10:54) took the top spot, avenging second-place finishes in 2024 and 2022.
“It felt good,” Coggin said, “especially after finishing second those two years prior. It was good to get the win.”
Behind Spadafora in the 1-mile were David Hudson (5:08) in silver with Jackson Lowe (5:09) in bronze.
Meanwhile, Ryan Hartzel (11:12) finished second to Coggins in the 2-mile, and Quinn DeGuira (11:26) came in third.
In team results, Grace Community Church (31:09.6) totaled the best time in the 1-mile event with Crossways/GH Team (32:47.6) in second and Farragut XC (35:04.4) in third.
In the 2-mile open, Farragut XC (1:13:53.3) took the top team spot while Stars, Stripes & Wolves (1:23:19.3) and Smoky Mountain Service Dogs (2:21.52.9) took silver and bronze.
The Smoky Mountain Service Dogs organization is the beneficiary of the event, as a portion of the proceeds are donated to help its mission.
“It’s a dream come true as a business owner, and being able to work with a local organization and give back to that organization that supports our wounded veterans, it’s fantastic,” Fleet Feet owner Shahin Hadian said. “For us, it means a lot to see them continue to do what they do, and we donate $6,000 — whether we make that or not — so that it goes to training the dogs.”
As of Sunday afternoon, July 5, $726 had been raised for the organization.
In other race results, Katie Ruby (6:25) was the top female finisher at 20th overall in the 1-mile run with the 49-year-old Hudson as the top male finisher in the master category. Kyoko Yamamoto (7:15), 52, was the top female finisher in the same category in 48th place, while 58-year-old Andrew Sauter (6:35) and 63-year-old Sharon White (8:57) were the top male and female finishers at 25th place and 134th place, respectively, in the grandmaster level.
The top male veteran finisher was 66-year-old Chris Knight (7:36) in 61st place, and 64-year-old Atress
McBee (11:56) notched the
top female veteran finisher with 244th place in the 1-mile run.
For the 2-mile run, 15-year-old Farragut High School athlete Bailey Ann Smith (13:44) was the top female finisher at 13th overall.
Yangyang Wang (12:07), 42, was the top male finisher in the master category at seventh overall with 58-year-old Laura Froning (14:18) taking 19th overall to earn the top female finisher in master.
The top male grandmaster finisher was 51-year-old Damon Andersen (14:41) at 25th overall, and Deedra Fay Bejarano (16:45), 57, took top female grandmaster finisher for 57th place.
The top male and female veteran finishers for the 2-mile event were 64-year-old Brent Bueche (16:47), who finished 58th overall, and 62-year-old Sherry Dutkosky (17:02), who finished 66th.
“We’ve gone through some growing pains, but every year seems to get a little better,” Hadian said.
The same should be true for Spadafora, who will be a junior at FHS this year.
But when he pursues a three-peat next summer, he may have to choose a different outfit.
“The shirt is one of my favorites, so a weekly wear, and the shoes are race day shoes,” he said. “But I’m almost growing out of both of them.”
