This past weekend, Cocke County’s track and field program competed at the Farragut Secret Safe Place Invitational in west Knoxville.
In the biggest news of the day, CCHS freshman Karmine Carmichael set a new PR and a new CCHS record in the 400-meter dash.
She came in fifth place with a time of 1:01.54, breaking the record in just her second experience running in that event within her first ever year running track.
With that time, Carmichael is now ranked seventh in the state, sixth in Cocke County’s section alone.
“She’s just a tremendous athlete,” said Dudley. “Everybody knows the 400 is one of the hardest races in track and field, and a lot of kids don’t exactly embrace running it. She has. We broke her in with the 200, thinking that by season’s end, she could do the 400. She has embraced it and is enjoying it. I’m looking forward to seeing how much she can progress. She’s a pretty talented kid, naturally.”
Dudley also noted Carmichael’s change in form, as she has shifted her mechanics to fit this style as opposed to when she runs freely down the court during basketball.
“It’s still a work in progress, but I see her mechanics getting better,” said Dudley. “Her stride pattern and arms are better, so she’s definitely improving and has been working on her mechanics. You can see the athleticism and the toughness, just from a mental aspect.”
Aside from running, Carmichael also demonstrated her ability in long jump by notching fourth place with a distance of 15-0.5.
Cocke County also got a strong finish from the boys’ 4x100 team, which finished first overall in its relay.
That team features three sophomores — Daniel Price, Cam Forte and Will Sutton — and a junior, Raeshon Palmer.
“Between events Saturday, they ran through their handoffs unprompted,” Dudley said. “They’re very bought-in and have embraced anything I’ve thrown their way. They’re young, so we’re super excited about them. They’re ahead of where we thought they would be.”
Jessi Swanger finished fifth in the 100-meter dash at 13.12 and third in the 200-meter dash at 27.22.
She has battled a minor injury recently, but Dudley has seen Swanger’s toughness emerge through the past couple of weeks.
“I rely on our athletic trainer, Alisha (Fillers),” said Dudley. “She evaluated her Friday. Saturday, said she felt good during warmups. She didn’t run any last week after the meet Tuesday, just treated it.
“And when I’ve watched her warm up, couldn’t tell there was a problem. I think she’s been smart about it. But also, she’s dialed in when it comes to her warmup and doing things correctly.”
Finally, one part of that boys 4x100 team has seen a particularly positive introduction to the sport, with Raeshon Palmer placing fifth in the 200-meter dash at 23.24 and fifth in long jump at 20-0.75.
“He’s just embraced being a track and field athlete,” said Dudley. “He’s a sponge. You tell him something, it gets fixed pretty quickly. By no stretch has he hit his ceiling yet. He’s continuing to progress, and his attitude has been great.”
After it competed in Morristown yesterday, CCHS will look to take that kind of mindset into this weekend’s Vol Classic at Tom Black Track in Knoxville — which will also be the site of this year’s sectional meet to determine state qualifiers.
“It’s probably the biggest meet we go to,” said Dudley. “It’s regional, so some of the top teams in the south will be there. We look at that to get us prepared for sectionals, shake out some nerves about competing there. We’ve done quite well there, so it’s been a good meet for us. So we just look to go compete.”
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