Columbus East High School

NASHVILLE — The Columbus East cross-country teams took on tough regional competition on Saturday at Brown County High School’s Eagle Classic, putting in gritty performances as they prepare for the upcoming postseason push. Highlighting the day for the Olympians, Norman Dickson delivered a standout performance in the Boys Elite race. Dickson posted a blazing time of 16:00 flat to claim 20th place overall among the region's top runners. In the Boys AA division, Columbus East secured a 16th-place team finish. Cullen Fullerton led the Varsity AA squad across the line, finishing 48th overall in 19:14. Liam Wiltsey followed shortly after in 54th place at 19:20, while Mick Emme took 75th in 19:46. Rounding out the varsity scorers were Alexander Weatherford in 125th (21:53) and Jayden Carter in 137th (23:41). The Olympian underclassmen also made a strong showing in the Freshman/Sophomore division, placing 12th as a team with 302 points and a top-five average time of 19:59. Henry Meredith paced the group with a time of 18:36, followed by Daxton Wolf (19:00), Caleb Reid (19:59), Zayden Weatherford (20:12), Evan Holley (22:09), and Levi Eickmeyer (23:11). Reflecting on the heavy training block leading into the event, Columbus East boys coach Chanel Thompson noted that the team is right on schedule. "The team is running on fatigued legs, but we have one more hard week of training and then we will begin tapering as we go into conference and sectionals," Thompson said. On the girls' side, the Olympians put together a disciplined pack-running effort to place 10th overall in the Girls AA race. Elizabeth Sztaba led Columbus East, taking 35th place in 22:43. London Kareus earned 41st place in 23:03, with Lily Pendleton close behind in 45th (23:13). Abby Morales placed 49th (23:19) and Abby Collins finished 61st (23:39) to complete the scoring lineup. With peak training coming to an end, both Olympian squads now look ahead to final preparations before shifting focus to conference and sectional titles.