June 21, 2026
Panthers break four school records at State
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The East Middle school track team had a fantastic day at the State Championship Saturday. They brought home two gold medals, a silver medal, a bronze medal and broke four school records.
The Panthers girls’ team came in 4th out of the 44 Single-A schools competing. There were only four girls competing. The girls there were Brindley Duncan, Katie Grace Nichols, Madison Crowder, and Emily Bell. They ran the 4×400 meter relay and finished third with a time of 4 minutes 27.99 seconds. That is a new school record, beating their previous record of 4:33.18 that they set at sectionals. They finished just 2.34 seconds behind the winners of the event. Nichols came in second in the 800 meter dash with a new personal record of 2:29.44. That mark was just three seconds off of the previous State record for the event.
Duncan won both the 800 and 1600. She finished the 1600 with a time of 5:31.08, just .88 seconds ahead of the second place runner. Duncan not only won the 800, but she set a new State Single-A record with a time of 2:24.31. That beat her previous State record of 2:26. According to TNMileSplit, Duncan finished the season ranked as the 25th eighth grader in the nation.
“It feels amazing knowing that I put in a lot of time to work to get here,” Duncan said. “I had some nerves ahead of the race because I was really hoping to beat my record and keep my place as champion.”
The East middle boys 4×400 relay team of Adrain Perkins, Maddox Muse, Kobe Taylor, and Gage Allen beat their own school record from sectionals with a time of 4:06.72. That was just one place away from a State medal. They were one second away from eighth place. That was only their second time running together in a meet.
Addy Peterson medaled in the girls discus throw for West Middle school. She had a distance of 66 feet and 11 inches. She placed eighth in the event.
“I am so proud of all these middle-school athletes,” said TCS Director of Schools Dr. Catherine Stephens. “Every single one of these athletes represented Tullahoma at the highest level. This success speaks highly of our track and field programs, their coaches and their families who support them. I cannot wait to see what the future holds, and for those eighth-graders, I look forward to seeing what they can accomplish at the high school level.”
