Knoxville Catholic shot put and discus thrower, girls relay team win state titles; NDHS has a trio of No. 2 finishes
By Dan McWilliams
The TSSAA’s annual Spring Fling spring-sports championships saw a quartet of Knoxville Catholic High School track athletes three-peat in the girls 800-meter relay and JR Fowler capture the Irish’s first-ever state titles in shot put and discus, while Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga posted state runner-up finishes in boys soccer and boys tennis singles.
Aidan Redner of Notre Dame received two second-place honors as he played both soccer and tennis. Other individual teams and athletes from each school also stood out in state meets and tournaments.
KCHS track and field
The Lady Irish girls 800 relay team of junior Sarah Salsbery, junior Juliet Biden, freshman Zymie’Rah Givens, and senior Chloe Truss captured the school’s third straight Division II, Class AA state championship in the event on May 20 at Tom Black Track on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus. The four girls completed the relay in 1 minute, 40.47 seconds, just .07 seconds ahead of runner-up Harpeth Hall.
Chloe, Sarah, and Juliet have been a part of all three championship relay teams. Senior Payton Sipos rounded out the foursome in 2024-25 but was unable to compete this year because of an injury, and Zymie’Rah took her place.
Knoxville Catholic’s JR Fowler (left photo) earned state-championship medals in discus and shot put. He stands with discus runner-up Dylan Taylor (left) of Brentwood Academy and third-place finisher Charles Doughtie of Memphis University School.
JR, a senior, fouled in his first three shot-put attempts but made a toss of 57 feet, 2 inches, in his final try and won the state title in the event by 3.4 inches over Dylan Taylor of Brentwood Academy on May 20 at Tom Black Track. On the same day, JR made four successful discus throws, the last covering 181-3 and besting Dylan by more than 35 feet. JR’s sister, Charlotte, also placed in state events for the Lady Irish.
“JR has consistently and methodically worked at getting better year after year,” said Knoxville Catholic track-and-field coach Sean O’Neil. “Our division has had some amazing throwers for the past four years, and his discipline and persistence finally paid off. His mother, Erin, is our throws coach, and she does a phenomenal job. His sister, Charlotte, finished second in shot put and discus as a freshman, so the future is bright.”
KCHS junior Chandler Thompson finished eighth with 5,920 points in the state decathlon, also held on May 20 at Tom Black Track. The score was the second-best in Irish history. Chandler placed fifth in the pole vault, discus, shot put, 110 hurdles, and 1,500 dash and sixth in the triple jump among the 10 events. He recorded season bests in eight of the events.
“Chandler had a great season. It was his first year competing in hurdles, and he broke our school records in both the 110 and 300 hurdles. His grit really showed through in the decathlon, where in the last event he managed to secure an All-State position with an eighth-place finish,” Mr. O’Neil said.
KCHS senior Radek Molchan placed fourth in the boys high jump with a mark of 6-2. Junior Warren Brown of the Irish took seventh in the event, clearing the bar at 5-10.
Cade Duncanson, a junior at KCHS, placed second in the 3,200 run in a time of 9:20.53, with Baylor’s Marshall McConville taking first in 9:07.17.
“Cade had a really gutsy race and executed his plan perfectly in the 3,200,” Mr. O’Neil said. “He was the fifth-fastest guy in the race coming in and managed to catch some people off guard and finish second by pushing the pace from the gun.”
Chandler was third in the boys 300 hurdles in a time of 40.61. Sophomore Reid Bannister of Knoxville Catholic took fifth in the 800 run in 1:54.30. Sophomore Quentin Smith came in seventh in the boys 400 dash in 50.03 seconds.
The KCHS boys 1,600 relay team of Chandler, Quentin, junior Dean Hamilton, and Reid recorded a fifth-place finish at the state meet in a time of 3:25.43, breaking an 11-year-old school record.
Knoxville Catholic’s boys earned 52 team points across all events to place seventh in the state out of 14 schools.
Charlotte Fowler of the Lady Irish finished second in shot put with a throw of 39-1 and runner-up in discus with a toss of 120-1. Two Brentwood Academy athletes, Alayna Duhart in shot put (40-10.75) and Jaida Harmon in discus (127-5), won the state titles. Charlotte also placed fifth in the girls long jump with a mark of 17-5.5.
The KCHS girls 800-meter relay team won its third straight state title. In the back row (right photo) are Sarah Salsbery (left) and Zymie’Rah Givens, and in front are Chloe Truss (left) and Juliet Biden.
Chloe—a University of Memphis signee—came in second in the 100 dash in a time of 11.91 seconds, trailing only Lacy Young of Knoxville Webb (11.59). Chloe (24.74) and Zymie’Rah (25.83) scored second- and sixth-place finishes in the 200 dash. Chloe (57.78) and Juliet (1:00.05) placed third and sixth in the 400 dash.
Caitlin Daniels, a sophomore, took fifth in the 3,200 run in 10:59.25. Senior Jillian Hurley of KCHS placed eighth in the girls high jump at 4-10.
Three other Lady Irish relay teams also took part in the state meet. The 3,200 relay all-sophomore foursome of Livi Ray, Olivia Garcia, Drew Gerken, and Caitlin placed sixth in a time of 10:01.30. In the 1,600 relay, Juliet, Livi, junior Giselle Zayas, and Zymie’Rah had the sixth-best time of 4:12.46. The 400 relay team of Sarah, Giselle, Jillian, and Zymie’Rah put up a seventh-place time of 50.82.
The Lady Irish scored 71 team points to come in fifth overall.
Members of both the Irish and Lady Irish set numerous individual school records this season, and the boys and girls track-and-field teams won or placed high in many events throughout the spring, including the Knoxville Interscholastic League and regional meets. Many athletes earned All-State recognition.
“We had a great mix of experience and youth this year, and the highlight of the season for me was watching everyone come together and work for one another as we progressed through the season,” Mr. O’Neil said. “At the KIL and region championships, we asked a number of people to do combinations of events that they never had before in an effort to maximize our team scores, and the kids never batted an eye. They gave us everything they had every opportunity they got. I couldn’t be prouder of the selfless attitude and warrior mentality that this team grew into.”
NDHS boys soccer
The Fighting Irish posted the first undefeated regular season in school history, going 20-0-1 with only a tie against Dalton, Ga., keeping them from a perfect record before Grace Christian of Knoxville topped Notre Dame 3-1 in the Division II-A state final on May 21 at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro.
Grace (16-1-1) avenged its only loss, which came in a penalty-kick shootout against the Irish in the region tournament. Notre Dame advanced to the state-championship game with a 1-0 win over Webb School of Bell Buckle in the semifinals on May 20.
Notre Dame head coach Tyler Robertson is proud of his team, which includes multiple college-bound players.
Notre Dame High School’s boys soccer team finished 21-1-1 this spring after putting together the first undefeated regular season in program history.
“It was a great season finishing 21-1-1,” Mr. Robertson said. “Luke Rosellini finished with 28 goals and 15 assists. Caleb Salenda finished with 25 goals and 18 assists. Josh Bonk finished with 18 goals and 24 assists. Caleb will be attending East Tennessee State University and Josh will be attending Carson-Newman University to play soccer.”
Aidan, a junior, scored 12 goals and made 10 assists for the Irish this season while also playing tennis. He was the region MVP in soccer. Other standouts included senior Owen Maddox with 11 goals and freshman goalkeeper Gio Segura with 11 shutouts
Notre Dame captured both district and region crowns and outscored its opponents 110-17.
Seven players on this year’s team were also on the 2024 squad that finished second in the state. The Fighting Irish won two state titles in boys soccer in 1996-97 and have now made nine state-tourney appearances.
Josh and Caleb, both seniors, as well as juniors Sam Johnson, Luke, and Aidan, made All-District for Notre Dame. Josh, junior Dax Brown, Luke, Aidan, Caleb, and Gio were named All-Region. Josh, Caleb, and Luke were named to the Chattanooga Times Free Press Best of Preps team.
Aidan, assisted by Caleb, scored the only goal for Notre Dame early in the second half of the semifinal win over Webb, which entered the game 19-0-1. Gio recorded a shutout in goal with seven saves. Luke led the Irish with five shot attempts while Caleb added three.
In the championship game, Notre Dame scored first on a goal by Owen in the 23rd minute of the opening half. But Grace tied the score seven minutes later, scored in the first minute of the second half, and added another tally in the 64th minute. Grace outshot the Irish 33-6 in the final, with Luke and Owen making two shots apiece in the loss.
NDHS boys tennis
Aidan won his singles state quarterfinal and semifinal matches on May 14 before falling in the Division II-A title match the next day, all at the Champions Club Tennis Complex in Chattanooga.
His quarterfinal match was a marathon 5-7, 6-4, 12-10 victory over Zoravar Sandhu of Lausanne. Aidan then swept Erick Brasfield of University School of Jackson 6-2, 6-4 in the semis. Jack Veazey of Jackson Christian defeated Aidan 6-2, 6-3 in the final.
In boys doubles, seniors Jaxson Rogers and James Andreach of Notre Dame advanced to the state semifinals. The pair opened play in the quarterfinals with a long match that ended in a 2-6, 6-1, 11-9 win over Will Stearns and Jack Mandrell of Evangelical Christian School on May 14. On the same day, Max Parker and Veer Kodali of University School of Nashville defeated Jaxson and James 6-0, 6-2 in the semifinals and went on to capture the state crown the next morning.
In the boys tennis team competition, eventual champion Lausanne blanked Notre Dame 4-0 in the state semifinals. Aidan, James, Jaxson, and seniors Hayden Marks and Thomas Blalack took part in singles for the Irish.
Aidan was seeking the Irish’s first individual state title since John Dorris won in 2010. J.R. Davis and Charles Jabaley captured Notre Dame’s only doubles title in 2014. The Irish won a pair of team titles in 1963-64.
KCHS softball
The Lady Irish softball team made the program’s first state final four since 1984 and only the third in school history.
Knoxville Catholic, however, lost both of its games in the Division II-AA double-elimination bracket, 9-0 on May 19 to Girls Preparatory School and 11-1 in six innings on May 21 to Baylor.
Juniors Catie Schaad and Hadley Troutt and sophomore Ryleigh McEnery recorded hits for the Lady Irish against GPS at McKnight Park in Murfreesboro. Catie, Ryleigh, and junior Jaylen Drazkowski had the only hits for KCHS vs. Baylor at Cedar Stone Park in Smyrna.
NDHS track and field
The Fighting Irish scored a second-place state finish in the Division II-A coed 1,600 relay on May 20 at Tom Black Track. Senior Ryan Fillauer, sophomores Dryden Anderson-Smith and Harmoni Watkins, and freshman Irelynn Ketron completed the event in a time of 3:52.59, just over three seconds behind Concord Christian School.
Junior Audrey Strickland of Notre Dame finished fourth in the girls shot put with a throw of 37-0.25. Sophomore teammate Tianna McGhee took seventh in the girls 400 dash in 1:00.99 and eighth in the 100 dash in 12.81 seconds.
As a team, the Lady Irish finished 24th out of 34 scoring schools.
KCHS tennis
GPS shut out the Lady Irish 4-0 in the state team semifinals played at the Champions Club in Chattanooga on May 12. Baylor defeated GPS 4-0 a day later for the title.
Senior Lauren Murphy, junior Abby Hammontree, sophomore Nalla Webb, freshman Emma Stafford, freshman Harper Barlow, and junior Mary Caroline Ellis played in singles matches for Knoxville Catholic. Doubles teams pairing Abby and Nalla, Lauren and Emma, and Mary Caroline and Harper also saw action.
KCHS boys soccer
The Fighting Irish made the Division II-AA state semifinals, falling 2-0 to Briarcrest on May 20 at the Siegel Complex in Murfreesboro.
Knoxville Catholic finished the season 9-7-4. Senior Jack Tucker led the Irish with five shots against Briarcrest. Senior goalkeeper Tate McCarty recorded five saves.
KCHS boys lacrosse
Knoxville Catholic reached the state quarterfinals as the fourth seed from the east but lost 20-1 at west top seed Montgomery Bell Academy on May 1.