Cross Country Brings Home the Conference Championship

Volunteer Cross Country began their tournament run yesterday, Tuesday, October 17th, and they are looking to have another run at the TSSAA State Title. The girl's and boy's teams brought home the Title as the Twin Lakes Conference Champions, so it’s safe to say they are off to a good start.

Roman Borghetti-Metz won Conference Champion with a time of 17:13. All-Conference Runners on the boy’s team were awarded to Roman Borghetti-Metz, Kevin McCurry who placed 3rd with a time of 18:01, Carter Manis who placed 6th with a time of 18:18, and Eamon Ailshie who placed 8th with a time of 19:09. On the girl’s team, the All-Conference Runners went to Jacie Begley the Runner Up with a time of 20:08, Lillie Bullock who placed 6th with a time of 23:22, Emma Houck who placed 7th with a time of 23:28, and Anna Houck who placed 9th with a time of 23:36.

Eager to learn more about the Cross Country program, Volunteer Sports Network reached out to Coach Jim Ailshie for a short interview to find out more about the head coach and his runners. Coach Ailshie was eager to talk to us about the program. He stated that he wants nothing more than the hard-working athletes to get the recognition they deserve.

Throughout the conversation, Coach Ailshie discussed his players, their success, the athletes, and much more. Coach Ailshie was asked what contributed to his team's success this year, and he stated “We have had a lot of success over the years, and the changing of the classification helped with that”. Volunteer currently sits in the Twin Lakes also known as the A-AA which encompasses around 200 high schools in the state. Over the past two seasons, the boy’s and girl’s teams have qualified for the TSSAA State Championship. It was the first time a Volunteer team had competed in Hendersonville in the History of both High Schools in Hawkins County. During the 2021 season, the boy's team finished sixth, which at the time was the highest place for a Volunteer team in history. The Girls finished in the top fifteen that same year. In 2022 the boys and girls qualified again for the State Championship. During this time Volunteer was the only school, including large schools, to qualify both teams consecutively two years in a row. Those same years the Cross Country team won two Conference Championships. The Girls won the 2022 conference championship and the Boys won in 2021. The Region they compete in has around thirty schools stretching from Seymour to the Tri-Cities area. In 2022 the Conference Championship won by the Girl’s Team was the first ever in school history.

Jim Ailshie has been in the school system since 1999. When asked about why he got back into coaching, he said he had always been around it. He had a son who ran for Wyoming and his younger son is running for him now at Volunteer. He stated that the most rewarding aspect is watching the progress of each athlete, including the development not only as an athlete but as a person. Ailshie stated his teams work hard; they are out there every day working competing and working together to make everyone better as a team.

Both teams move on to compete in the Region Championship on Tuesday, October 24th at 1:45 pm at Daniel Boone High School.

Coach Ailshie's Headshot was provided by OH! MG PHOTOGRAPHY. Team photos provided by parent, Marcie Gibson Begley.