Jake Renfree of KCHS finds himself in a familiar position—first place—in the state track-and-field meet.
Jake Renfree concluded his stellar running career at Knoxville Catholic High School with two more state titles in the TSSAA Large School Track & Field Championships on May 23 at Middle Tennessee State University.
The senior, a University of Notre Dame signee with multiple track and cross country titles on his ledger, captured state crowns this spring in the 800-meter and 1,600 runs.
Jake completed the 800 run in a time of 1 minute, 53.80 seconds, to beat out Gabriel Robinson of Ravenwood by 1.92 seconds. Jake ran the 1,600 in a time of 4:14.30 to win by a margin of 1.98 seconds over Davis Bove of Centennial. KCHS teammate Riley Smith, a sophomore, finished 14th in the 1,600 in a time of 4:38.55.
Knoxville Catholic senior John Rentenbach placed fourth in the pole vault, clearing 14 feet even. Sophomore Nicklaus Iverson finished 14th in the state 100 dash with a time of 11.51 seconds.
As a team, the KCHS boys scored 25 points to place eighth among more than 55 schools competing.
The Lady Irish also were heard from at the state meet. Junior Eleanor Mancini topped all KCHS girls with a second-place finish in the 800 run, coming in at 2:15.61 to finish just 1.38 seconds behind winner Jenna Hutchins of Science Hill.
Junior Callie Tucker took seventh place in the 3,200 run with a time of 11:14.62. Junior Anna Witsoe recorded an 11th-place time of 1:00.36 in the 400 dash.
The KCHS girls 1,600 relay team of Eleanor, Anna, Kelsey Miller, and Mary Oakley Robinson captured fourth-place honors with a time of 4:01.73.
The Lady Irish team scored 15 points to place 18th out of more than 55 schools in the field
