Tennessee: Brentwood Academy Aiming For Seventh-Straight Title

Last season, the Eagles made Tennessee Secondary Schools Association history by winning their sixth-straight state championship. No. 7 is within reach as Brentwood Academy will be the overwhelming favorite at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Spring Fling state championship next month in Murfreesboro.

Brentwood Academy started its dominance in 2003 after seeing Montgomery Bell Academy and Baylor combine to win all five state titles since 1998 when the TSSAA formed Division II.

Although the Eagles had won 10 state titles, BA coach Charlie Harper hatched a plan in 2000 to make his team more competitive at the start of the decade.

We had to redefine our program,” Harper said. “We had to develop depth in Division II to be successful and it took us a couple of years of taking our lumps to finally get it.”

When the Eagles were in Class AA and A/AA, depth didn’t matter as much as they were able to win a state title without a ton of points.

“When we were in the other classes, you could win a state title with 50 to 65 points,” Harper said.

The Eagles in their Class AA state title wins averaged 72.6 points. The Class A/AA state titles produced an average of 77 points. The Eagles have averaged 150.3 points in their six Division II title wins.

Good athletes have helped the cause as BA has had three Division I signees in Andrew Bumbalough (Georgetown), Chris Vaughn (Indiana) and Ben Davies (Florida) since 2005.

While the athletes have come and gone, the one stable force behind the Eagles' success is Harper who has coached the Eagles to 13 state titles in his 26 seasons as head coach.

“While we have had some good athletes we have also had some very unselfish, team-oriented kids that have really been key,” Harper said.

The Eagles have several football players on the team this season, including Vanderbilt signee Thad McHaney who is running the sprint relays and throwing the discus and the shot put. Navy signee Barry Dabney is throwing the shot put as well.

The Eagle sophomore class is talented led by Josh Davies in the decathlon and hurdles, Bryson Lillard (hurdles, 400 meters), Derek King (100, 200 meters) and Victor Caro (long jump, 100, 200, 400 meters).

Senior Chase Brannon leads in the way in the pole vault. Fellow seniors Terrance Scott (relays) and Breon Dixon (400 and 800) are major contributors while freshman Sam Roberson (3,200) leads the distance runners for BA.

Don’t forget about us

While BA is the favorite to win a seventh-straight state title, three other teams could contend;

Memphis University School

The Owls were young last season and bring back a slew of athletes that finished fourth at the state meet with 88 points.

Junior Stephond Allmond excels four events, the 110 hurdles, pole vault, long jump and triple jump.

Senior Barrett Folk competes in four events, as well, 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump and pole vault.

Juniors Keith McBride, Hank Hill and Elliott Bryant leads the sprint events.

Matt Grisham leads the distance events as he runs the 800 and 3,200, while Jared Davis does both the high and triple jump and Michael Delugach throws the shot put and discus. 

Christian Brothers

The Purple Wave could be the spoiler in the Division II state meet thanks to several returning lettermen.

They recently defeated MUS and 15 other Memphis-area teams in the Christian Brothers Invitational.

Whit Orians (400, long jump), Will Sneed (800 and 1600 runs) and Tyler Catterton (800, 1,600, 3,200 runs) led the way in the distance runs.

Tristan Jaynes (300 hurdles, 110 meter hurdles), Seymore Wright (high jump),  Lane LaChapelle (long jump, triple jump) are good in the field events.

Bruck Brucker (shot put, discus), Lyndell Mitchell (shot put, discus) and Tony Downs (pole vault) are also consistent scorers.

Montgomery Bell Academy

The Big Red actually own a head-to-head win over the Eagles in the Doug Hall Relays so they know they can beat BA.

They also won their fourth consecutive Nashville Track and Field Championship last weekend, their 10th Nashville Track and Field title in the last 13 years.

They also picked up a win in the Buster Relays in early April.

The Big Red are led by athlete Patrick Crum in the long jump, Vanderbilt football signee Wesley Johnson handles the shot put and big man Scott Bubis throws the discus.

Chase Owen takes care of the long jump while Brian Oslin, Ryan Venable and Rhett Wallace comprising a solid group of hurdlers.

Michael Peters (800, 3,200), Dalton Fouts (800), Jarrett Love (400) and Baker Mulherin (800) provide leadership and depth.

Questions? Comments? Contact Donovan at dstew4vu@yahoo.com.