MEMPHIS – No one could keep up Trey Bailey on Thursday afternoon as he dominated the course and the field at the TSSAA Cross Country State Championships at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis.
The Greeneville junior ran a blazing fast 15:12.89 to finish 25 seconds ahead of second place as he claimed the Class AA Individual State Championship.
“This feeling is indescribable. It just feels amazing. I’ve worked so hard for this and I ran so hard,” Bailey said. “I knew I had to start strong today and then about halfway in I had to turn it up and really push to the finish. I’m just so happy right now!”
Bailey becomes Greeneville’s first cross country state champion since Wesley Pectol in 2013. It is his second state championship, however, after he won the Class AA 3,200 meters on the track in May. Overall, it is the 87th state championship in Greeneville High School history.
When Bailey crossed the finish line on Thursday there were no other runners in sight, but claiming the state title was in no way easy.
The race started with Bailey coming out of the gate fast and he beat 192 other runners to the front of the pack with teammate Isaac Gibson by his side. By the one mile mark a four-man pack had formed in the front with Volunteer’s Kevin McCurry and Westview’s Jack Mantooth on his heels, and Martin Luther King’s Wyatt Boling a few strides back.
As the race’s first of two laps closed Bailey began to pick up the pace and McCurry was left chasing 20 meters back. By the four-kilometer mark Boling had moved into second, but he was 100 meters behind the leader.
By the time Bailey reached the final straight away no other runners could be found. The Greene Devil cruised down the home stretch to a crowd in awe of his dominance as finished well over 200 meters ahead of second place.
“It feels really good right now to know that I won by so much, but at the time it felt terrible. I really had to push myself and it was tough and it hurt,” Bailey said. “To about the halfway point there were a couple of guys right there with me. I knew I had to find that extra gear and start to pull away from them. I knew if I could find that little bit extra they were not going catch me.”
Bailey finished 25 seconds in front of Boling who ran the five-kilometer course in 15:39.69. Mantooth (15:42.94) was third and McCurry (15:48.83) finished in fourth place.
There were three boys state championship races on Thursday and Bailey was the fastest overall. He bested Class A state champion Vaughn Bounds of Dresden by more than a minute and topped Division II Class A champion Duncan Oshumu of The Kings Academy by 36 seconds.
The win completes an undefeated season for Bailey, something rarely seen in the sport at any level.
“Trey was great today, a 15:12 on a hot day with no one pushing you is really an impressive time,” Greeneville coach Larry Blalock said. “He has been great all year and we are already looking at getting him in some really big races next year. You don’t see anyone finish the season undefeated. I don’t even know what to say about that, it’s unheard of, I think it speaks for itself.”
As a team the Greeneville boys had a strong showing on Thursday and placed third overall. It was their first top-five finish at state since coming in fourth in 2015 and their best finish since winning the state championship in 2012.
The Greene Devils came into the race seeded sixth, but they were determined to run in the front of the pack and put five runners in the top 34 of the 193-person field.
Jules Richard finished just off the medal stand with a 16th-place finish in 16:54.60. Isaac Gibson was 24th in 17:12.83, Grant Tunnell 29th in 17:25.12 and Carter Raby was 34th in 17:31.56.
“These guys ran super,” Blalock said. “To come in ranked sixth and pull off a top-three finish is phenomenal. Nobody expected us to show today, but we showed who we are. We had been preaching to get out fast, get up with the top guys and then hang on. They did what we asked perfectly. We’re only losing one of these guys and have some good young guys coming in. I expect to be back here again next year.”
Martin Luther King captured the team title with 67 points and had four runners in the top 10. Murfreesboro Central Magnet was second with 89 points and Greeneville was third with 97 points.
In the Class AA Girls race Greeneville’s Ashlynn Ranly came in 81st in 23:21.46
Anderson County’s Ava Moody won the state championship in 18:20.45, and Elizabethton’s Arvella Nave was second.
Signal Mountain won the team title with 46 points, and Heritage was second with 100 points.
In the Class A boys race South Greene’s Noah Case was the top local finisher. He placed 38th in 18:46.61.
South Greene’s Jayden Laycek was 76th, Gabriel McKinney 85th, Andrew Lacy 95th, Aiden Hawk 111th and Blake Tweed 121st. As a team the Rebels finished in 13th place.
University High of Johnson City won the boys Class A State Championship with 69 points, and University High of Memphis was second with 96 points.
In the Class A girls race South Greene’s Chelsea Metcalf had a strong showing and placed 23rd in 22:30.4. Ava Leasure was 52nd in 24:55.20.
West Greene’s Ella Norris was 53rd in 25:06.7.
University High of Johnson City won the girls Class A State Championship with 52 points, and University High of Memphis was second with 70 points.
Dresden’s Hudson McDaniel won the individual title in a time of 19:12.20.
Greeneville Cross Country placed 3rd overall in Thursday’s Class 2A State Championship Meet with standout Trey Bailey taking 1st place as an individual. Hear what Coach Larry Blalock’s thoughts were after a terrific day for the Greene Devils. pic.twitter.com/Oot24fNl34
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 7, 2025
