Murfreesboro was the epicenter of Tennessee high school sports at last month’s TSSAA Spring Fling Championships, and both Robertson and Sumner Counties were well represented in the 11-sport lineup.

Countless hours of practice and mental preparation paid off for both team and individual qualifiers representing the following area schools: Jo Byrns, East Robertson, Springfield, and White House Heritage in Robertson County and Beech, Hendersonville, Liberty Creek, Merrol Hyde, Pope Saint John Paul II, and Station Camp in Sumner County.

Headlining the week was Liberty Creek’s girls’ softball team, which captured its second consecutive state championship in Class 2A – a remarkable feat for a school that has only been in existence for three years. Coach Kelsey Cartwright’s Wolves hoisted the trophy after defeating Alcoa 7-1 in the title game on May 23, capping off a dominant tournament week that saw the team outscore its opponents 29-3 in four games.

“With last year’s team, we kind of snuck up on people to win the title,” says Coach Cartwright. “That made it even more satisfying to win it this year because we weren’t a secret anymore; teams knew about us and were coming for us. But you really couldn’t pitch around anybody in our lineup. That’s how we were able to score so many runs.”

Only two seniors departed from this season’s team, so few will be surprised if Liberty Creek makes a run at title No. 3 next year. But Cartwright isn’t resting on her laurels.

“Most of our team will be back, but that doesn’t guarantee success,” the coach says. “The work we do off the field with our weight program and our character coach will be just as important as the work we put in during practice.”

Another local softball powerhouse, Jo Byrns, continued its streak of excellence by earning a state tournament bid for an impressive fourth straight season. The Red Devils notched two wins before bowing out to eventual state champion Eagleville on May 22.

Co-headlining the week’s accomplishments was Station Camp’s boys’ soccer team, which also brought home championship hardware. Behind two goals from junior midfielder Ryan Hendon, the Bison bested Knoxville-area high school South-Doyle 3-1 in the title match.

Additionally, the Merrol Hyde boys’ tennis team avenged its loss in the state tournament finals last year to take home its third championship in the last four seasons. The Hawks swept Cannon County 4-0 in the finals singles matches behind wins from Lars Blomquist, John Wilkes, Declan Cleary and Carson Webb.

In baseball, four area schools – East Robertson, Liberty Creek, White House, and White House Heritage – played their way into the tournament, with Heritage making the trip for the fourth year in a row and advancing to the semifinal round. Each of the other three teams won at least one game in the double elimination format.

Here is a rundown of the other sports that had participants from Robertson and Sumner County high schools in the 2025 TSSAA Spring Fling, including Girls’ Flag Football, which was in its inaugural season:

Girls’ Flag Football – East Robertson (10-2 record), Liberty Creek (12-3); East Robertson eliminated in first round, Liberty Creek eliminated in quarterfinals.

Soccer (boys) – Hendersonville earned a Class AAA berth, winning its opening match 1-0 over Franklin before losing to eventual state champion Hardin Valley 1-0 in the semifinals.

Boys’ Tennis – Merrol Hyde showed its dominance beyond the team competition by winning both the Class A Singles and Doubles championships. In singles, John Wilkes defeated Fairview’s Carter Terry 7-5, 6-4 for the title, while in the doubles finals junior Declan Cleary and eighth-grader Lars Blomquist dominated Scotts Hill’s Patrick Lewis and Marcus Bielinski 6-2, 6-1. For Pope Saint John Paul II, the doubles duo of sophomore Alex Castro and senior Evan Nessari earned their way to state before succumbing to Montgomery Bell Academy brothers Billy and Baker Renhoff in the opening round.

Girls’ Tennis – After tasting victory as an eighth grader during last year’s Class A singles tournament before losing in the semifinals, Merrol Hyde freshman Logan Foster went the distance this year to claim the title. In a twist of irony, Foster defeated the individual who eliminated her in 2024, Signal Mountain’s Ananya Panicker, 6-4, 6-4 in the finals. Merrol Hyde doubles partners Ava Autry, a junior, and Hadley Jones, an eighth-grader, advanced to the state semifinals before bowing out to Bindi Patel and Brook Martin of Signal Mountain. Springfield’s doubles duo of seniors Perri Fisher and Mallory Powell lost a hard-fought first round match to finalists Laura Jenkins and Weatherly Baker of Soddy Daisy.

The following student athletes earned state tournament trips in Boys’ Track and Field (listed by name, school, and event):

Class A

Harrison Gill, Merrol Hyde, High Jump (3rd place)

Gavin Bridges, Liberty Creek, Pole Vault (5th place)

Grant Garner, Liberty Creek, Pole Vault (6th place); Decathlon (4th place)

Liberty Creek 4x800 Meter Relay Team (6th place)

Ryan Breitling, Merrol Hyde, 1,600 Meter Run (4th place); 800 Meter Run (3rd place); 3,200 Meter Run (8th place)

East Robertson 4x100 Meter Relay Team (8th place)

Will Gulotta, Liberty Creek, 3,200 Meter Run (7th place)

Class AA

Zeke Rowland, Station Camp, Long Jump (4th place); Triple Jump (4th place), High Jump (4th place)

Gavin Quinn, Station Camp, Pole Vault (3rd place)

Caden Costello, Station Camp, 3,200 Meter Run (5th place); 1,600 Meter Run (4th place)

Station Camp 4x800 Meter Relay Team (1st place)

Justus Murray, Station Camp, 800 Meter Run (7th place)

Class AAA

Brock Murray, Hendersonville, Discus Throw (inc.)

Rohan Ali, Hendersonville, Pole Vault (4th place)

Wesley Luisi, Beech, 1,600 Meter Run (4th place)

Garrett Tunks, Beech, 800 Meter Run (13th place)

Division II-Class AA

Thomas Arender, Pope Saint John Paul II, 1,600 Meter Run (4th place); 800 Meter Run (6th place)

Earning state berths in Girls’ Track and Field were:

Class A

Gracie Ray, Liberty Creek, Long Jump (6th place); 300 Meter Hurdles (5th place); Outdoor Pentathlon (5th place)

Rachel James, Merrol Hyde, High Jump (8th place)

Adey Nitz, Liberty Creek, Pole Vault (2nd place)

Kinley Holl, Liberty Creek, Pole Vault (4th place); 400 Meter Dash (6th place)

Rachel McDonald, Liberty Creek, Pole Vault (8th place)

Liberty Creek 4x800 Meter Relay Team (1st place)

Sydney Arezza, Merrol Hyde, 100 Meter Run (6th place)

Maggie Rives, Liberty Creek, 100 Meter Run (7th place); Outdoor Pentathlon (12th place)

Taylor Hahn, Liberty Creek, 100 Meter Dash (5th place); 200 Meter Dash (6th place)

Liberty Creek 4x200 Meter Relay Team (3rd place)

Sydney Tackett, Liberty Creek, 1,600 Meter Run (2nd place); 800 Meter Run (6th place); 3,200 Meter Run (2nd place)

Lydia Morrison, Liberty Creek, 1,600 Meter Run (3rd place)

Lyla Hillis, Liberty Creek, 1,600 Meter Run (4th place); 3,200 Meter Run (1st place)

Mia Rives, Liberty Creek, 400 Meter Dash (8th place)

Chaiti Ainapure, Liberty Creek, 800 Meter Run (2nd place); 3,200 Meter Run (5th place)

Kayliana Martin, Liberty Creek, 800 Meter Run (5th place)

Liberty Creek 4x400 Meter Relay Team (7th place)

Class AA

Kyree Maxey, Station Camp, Long Jump (7th place)

Caroline Cooper, White House, Triple Jump (2nd place)

Braden Lawler, Station Camp, Triple Jump (3rd place); Pole Vault (3rd place)

Brynn Balturshot, Station Camp, 3,200 Meter Run (2nd place); 1,600 Meter Run (1st place)

Brooklyn Moody, Station Camp, 3,200 Meter Run (6th place)

Station Camp 4x200 Meter Relay Team (3rd place)

Station Camp 4x100 Meter Relay Team (1st place)

Class AAA

Amanda Bourk, Hendersonville, Discus Throw (14th place)

Division II-AA

Molly Abbondanza, Pope Saint John Paul II, Outdoor Pentathlon (17th place)

Maya Briggs, Pope Saint John Paul II, Outdoor Pentathlon (21st place)

Congratulations to all those who made their hard work pay off!