BELL BUCKLE, Tenn. – The Webb School welcomed 56 competing schools and approximately 850 cross-country runners to its 150-acre campus for the 22nd Annual John Freeman Invitational on Saturday, September 12, 2026, in Bell Buckle, Tenn.  

Established in honor of former Webb student John Freeman ’03—a cross-country captain who passed away suddenly during his senior year of high school—the invitational has grown substantially, from just a handful of teams in 2004 to more than 50 to date. John’s mother, Patsy Freeman P ’97, ’03 of Tullahoma, Tenn., and sister, Keri Freeman Maffei ’97 of Crestview, Fla., presented the race’s top athletes with individual medals and team awards on Saturday. 

The Freemans expressed gratitude to Webb’s coaches and staff for their tireless work in keeping John’s memory alive, and this outpouring of love for John was evident in the spirit of the athletes, spectators, coaches and volunteers who came together to make this past Saturday’s race a success. Throughout the morning, runners enjoyed partly cloudy skies and the occasional rain shower as they competed in several back-to-back races, including two-mile races for Middle School and Junior Varsity runners and 5K races for the day’s Varsity girls’ and boys’ athletes. 

Congratulations to the Mt. Juliet cross-country program on taking the Middle School girls’ and boys’ team awards. Finishing among the top five in the Middle School girls’ race were: 

• Aleeya Pilkington ’32 of Siegel Middle School (12:41.08) 
• Catherine Myers ’31 of The Webb School (13:25.29) 
• Anna West ’32 of Mt. Juliet Middle School (13:29.73) 
• Chloe Love ’31 of Columbia Academy Middle School (13:32.22) 
• Avery Blackwell ’31 of The Webb School (13:39.52) 

The Middle School boys’ race was led by: 

• George Myers ’31 of The Webb School (11:05.98) 
• Aden Richey-Grant ’32 of Mt. Juliet Middle School (11:26.75) 
• Lincoln Price ’32 of Tullahoma Middle School (11:42.81) 
• Chase Conrad ’32 of Blackman Middle School (11:59.96) 
• Alex Montes ’31 of Siegel Middle School (12:05.90) 

Centennial High School runners Daniel Aleman ’29 (11:16.35), Hudson Zapf ’30 (11:35.77), Evan Espiritu ’29 (11:52.12) and Oscar Lee ’29 (11:57.60) dominated the JV boys’ 2-mile race, with Tucker Logue ’30 (12:00.16) of Fred J. Page High School also finishing fifth. 

The Centennial Cougars likewise dominated the JV girls’ race, with Emori Pearson ’29 (14:15.26), Averey Smith ’28 (14:21.15), Katherine Nilsen ’30 (14:38.24) and Kaylee Daman ’29 (16:31.79) taking the top four spots, followed by Isabella Boldt ’29 (17:16.44) of Watertown High School in fifth. 

Helen Kates ’28 (second, 19:30.79), Eleanor Kates ’30 (fourth, 21:01.29) and Finleigh Sarkis ’27 (eighth, 21:38.44) finished among the top 10 in the Varsity girls’ race to help Girls Preparatory School earn the team award. In the Varsity boys’ race, Levi Detwiler ’28 (16:15.20), Aden Goode ’28 (16:34.45) and Jackson Shearer ’30 (17:41.24) of Cookeville High School took first, second and seventh, respectively, to edge past Fred J. Page High School and also earn the team award. 

Congratulations to all athletes on a job well done!