MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - It might seem unreasonable for any athlete to be disappointed after winning a second straight state track title in just his sophomore season.
But when Arts & Sciences' Brevin Sims realized he had missed breaking a state record that has stood for 37 years by just 0.05 second, he couldn't help but be a little upset.
Sims won the Division I small schools' 110-meter hurdles in 13.89 seconds Wednesday afternoon at Middle Tennessee State University, more than a full second faster than his nearest competitor. Sims followed that up later in the afternoon with another title in the 300-meter hurdles (38.56).
"I wanted that record so bad," Sims said. "I broke the 60-meter indoor record earlier this year, so that was my goal coming into today. I've been a little hurt all season, so I haven't been able to train the way I've wanted to, but I'm really happy with the way I ran today."
Sims wasn't the only Patriots sophomore to make multiple trips to the podium Wednesday. Teammate Alayah Dozier picked up four medals, winning the 400 (57.28), finishing second in the 100 (12.22) and third in the 200 (25.45) and being part of the 4x400 relay team that finished seventh. Deyonna Lansden finished second in the triple jump (34-1.5).
Two local seniors finished their prep careers on a high note with state championships. Tyner's Nicole Johnson won the girls' 100 (12.13) and finished second in the 200 (25.27), and Brainerd's Joseph Norwood won the triple jump by half an inch with a 44-1.5 on his final jump. Norwood also finished second in the long jump (22-6.25) and third in the 400 (49.35) after winning the state decathlon last week.
"This is my first year doing triple jump," Norwood said. "It's all about being competitive; I hate losing, so I just have to go out there and get it. I love coming out here to have fun, but I just can't stand losing."
After Chattanooga hosted the Ironman competition on Sunday, Signal Mountain junior distance runner Mattie Parker had her own version Wednesday. In the span of about two hours, Parker ran a total of three and a half miles, finishing second in the girls' 1600 (5:29.90) and third in the 800 (2:23.37) and then ran the 3200 with nothing left in the tank.
Parker, along with teammates Tara Jessen and Briley Lowry, led the Lady Eagles to a team runner-up finish. Jessen - an eighth-grader - finished second in the 800 (2:22.94) and fourth in the 1600 (5:38.39), while Lowry had the surprise performance of the day, finishing second in the long jump (16-3) after coming into the competition seeded 12th.
Signal Mountain's Jonah Bird won both the boys' 1600 (4:33.69) and the 3200 (10:09.53), while teammate Garrison Wheeler finished just a few seconds behind him for second place in the latter.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.