SUMMIT SAGA

The Summit Saga is a bi-weekly newsletter that tells the stories of Summit Athletics and the amazing athletes that call themselves Spartans.

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Visit the Athletic Website for more information about Summit Athletics. For information about specific sports, click the Coach Contacts button to reach out to the coaches specifically.

Coming off up and down District, Regional and Sectional tournaments, what team was going to show up at Blackman HS for the State Tournament. Well, it was by far, nothing but the best the Spartans had to offer. The girls took on the Siegel Stars and sent a message to their fellow state competitors that they were here to win and win big. They won in straight sets, 25-20, 25-18, 25-5.

Summit was led in Kills by Maggie Kalisz (12) and Skyler Lambert (11). Skyler also led the team in Blocks and Aces. Mandy Shanahan had 31 assists while digging out 11 balls. Bella Lambert had 17 digs.

Less than 24 hours later, the girls found themselves back a Blackman HS for the semis against a team that just swept Clarksville the day before. Science Hill came in looking the part of a state contender. The girls jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and the nearly 300 students in attendance let everyone know they were there to back this team. With every Spartans Kill, the crowd became louder and louder. The Hilltoppers definately felt they were on the road for this one. The girls took the first two sets easily, 25-18, 25-16. Science Hill did not go away. In fact they came out in set three with a determination to fight back. They were up at one point 18-12. That is when the Spartans said enough was enough. Just a few points later, the Hilltoppers were taking a timeout as the Spartans found themselves down only 20-18. Four straight points later, Science Hill needed another timeout as the Spartans took the lead 22-20. After a few back and forth points, the Spartans closed it out on a perfectly placed ball by Mandy Shanahan to the back corner and Summit won the set 27-25.

Two of the states top teams clashed for the 5th time this season. The MaxPreps rankings had Brentwood as the #1 team in the state, with Summit listed as #3 in the state. These two teams split their season series. In league play, Brentwood won the first match 3-1. Summit won in the second half of league play, 3-2. They met once again in the District Tournament Championship, where Summit annihilated the Bruins in straight sets. Finally, they met in the Regional Championship, where Brentwood turned the table and swept the Spartans.

The State Championship was played at MTSU's Murphy Center and both teams supporters showed up and showed out for this one. It was the Spartans who took set one and quieted down the Bruins faithful. After a hard fought set two, the Bruins evened up the match, 1-1. Brentwood took advantage of a few miscues and won set three handlely. Just like the season series went back and forth, so too did set four, going to the Spartans. This set up an EPIC final set that was won by the Spartans. The final scores were 25-23, 26-28, 19-25, 25-21, 15-13. For a complete run down of every point and all of the stats, click the link below for the game report.

The Boys and Girls Cross Country teams competed at the MSCCA Championships on October 18th. The girls team came in 1st place with top finishes from Lorelai Whitten (3rd) and Sienna Anderson (4th). The boys team came in 4th place with top finisher Kaden Pease (7th) leading the way.

The Cross Country teams took on the best from Region 7 and let everyone know that Summit had runners to be noticed. The girls ran first and first is what they sought. Senior Sienna Anderson did just that. She finished in first place with a time of 17:37. Right behind her was Lorelai Whitten finishing in 2nd with a time of 17:42. The entire team place well enough to qualify for the state meet as a team. They finished in 3rd place with qualifying times from Miranda Nixon, Kenzy McConathy and Tegan Smith. The boys ran next and while they finished 7th as a team, Soph. Kaden Pease finished in 3rd place with a time of 15:58 and Nick Sieberg finished in 21st with a time of 16:33. They both qualified as individuals for the state meet. Congrats and best of luck at the state meet on Nov. 7th at Shelby Farms Park.

While it has been a difficult year for the young Spartans football team, playing in a tough 6A league, whenever you line up against your rival, nothing is for certain. Indy travels to us this year and there is no doubt that our home field advantage is our 12th man in the stands. The Spartans will undoubtedly be hyped to take on the Eagles. The boys have been competitive in every game this month. They look to surprise the visitors and end the season on a high. The game is tonight, Thursday, October 30th at 7:00pm. It is a WHITE OUT! Good luck boys!

After a strong district league run, finishing undefeated in league play, the Lady Spartans took to the post-season with one goal in mind, WIN! While the run in league had been great, the girls looked to bring home Championships. After a district playoff run with wins over Centennial and Page, the girls found defeat in a 2-0 loss to long time state power, Franklin. They moved on to Regional play where they took on Franklin County on their home turf. It was a tough battle back after being down 2-0 in that game, but they found a way to take the game to overtime, where they won 3-2 and another chance at Franklin in the Regional Championship. In that game, they jumped out early scoring in the first two minutes of the game. They carried that goal for a bit and ultimately into a 1-1 tie at regulation. Franklin scored in overtime to win that game 2-1. Next up was #3 in the state Hendersonville. The girls again fought hard all game long, needing to comeback again and again. They did and advanced to state with a 3-2 victory.

The state game was new for the Spartans, but the familiar feeling of being down early found it's way into the Spartans view, down 2-0 to Houston in the first 20 minutes. Summit rallied behind two goals by Summer Riley. First a penalty shot and then a free kick from just outside the box and right before halftime and the score was tied 2-2. The Mustangs didn't take long in the 2nd half to find themselves up 4-2. The game got physical and took a turn for the Spartans. Houston struck one more time late, putting the game out of reach for Summit, 5-2.

The girls should be proud of their season and making their mark in the Tennessee soccer world. Coach Deni and the returners will look to build on this momentum and carry forward this level of excellence.

The Uniifed Flag Football team competed at a state level competition on October 18th. The team comprised of students with special needs and their partners finished in 5th place. Congrats to all who competed and supported these incredible students.

The Club Swim program is off to a quick start as they had their first meet of the season. They will have three more meets before Regionals and State meets after the new year. Best of luck to all of our swimmers.

October 6th-11th

October 13th-18th

October 20th-25th

The Baseball Program will be hosting their annual Songwriters Night on Saturday, November 8th. The event will take place at Summit in the Auditorium. Doors open at 6:00pm with the first round at 7:00pm and the second round at 8:00pm. Songwriters include Gary Chapman, Andrew Bloom, Daniel Andrews and Charles River. Admission is $50. Click the link below to purchase today.

The Summit HS HOSA club is hosting a blood drive on Friday, November 7th from 7:30am-1:00pm in the Aux Gym. To schedule an appointment and to complete the pre-drive paperwork, visit RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass .

Check out this clip from an interview with football analyst Kirk Herbstreit. He says, "I'm cool with my kids failing... It's part of the process. Every day there is adversity... They have to learn how to deal with junk... It's okay to make a mistake. Get back up and let's keep going forward."