MileSplits official coverage for the 2024 2024 HXN T&F Championships, hosted by Tennessee Heat (High School) in Lebanon TN.
Source: 2024 HXN T&F Championships 2024 – Coverage
Homeschooling is often misunderstood by those who have only participated in traditional school setups. The students tend to be considered socially awkward and those used to how schooling takes place, via public and private institutions, believe that students aren’t getting the benefits of participating in clubs or athletics.
The misunderstandings can overshadow amazing opportunities which bring together aspects of traditional education with homeschool values. In sports, homeschool teams often compete against public and private teams, but they can’t participate in state sponsored tournaments which include regional and state championships. This is where the team behind HXN comes into play.
Welcome – HXN Events | Homeschool Runners
Coach Jay Tippens and Coach Matt Smart take on the huge challenge of pulling together a national event for both Cross Country and Track & Field. This weekend at the host school of Lebanon High, right outside of Nashville, HXN organized to bring together 25 teams loaded with talented elementary through high school athletes. Over the course of two days the competition kicked off with Field Events on Friday night and culminated with a boy’s competition that couldn’t be totaled until the final event was completed.
It was an amazing weekend that got completed even as there was a ridiculous amount of rainfall which saw the event placed on hold for almost an hour. Who were the standouts beyond unattached Daniel Skandera (profiled on MileSplit) – Daniel Skandera – AL #2 3200 Meter 8:53! | 2024 HXN T&F Championships (milesplit.com)?
Let’s start with some of the elite performances. On the boy’s side twin brothers Jamie Ellzey and Thad Ellzey led the Memphis based MHEA team to a second-place finish. Between the two brothers they combined for an amazing 56 points in individual events. Jamie locked down 38 total points while Thad, who only competed in field events, landed an incredible 18 points finishing first in Shot Put and Second in the Discus.
In direct competition with Thad was Hudson Burge of the Delta Dash, from Mobile, Mississippi. Thad and Hudson alternated the 1 and 2 spots in the field events. Other boys standout performances arrived from the Kentucky based CKY Homeschool team. CKY took advantage of an undermanned MHEA squad that lacked distance runners and hurdlers at the end of the event. CKY added a 2nd place victory in the 4 x 800 to grab 8 crucial points, and Henry Kiser, 11 grade ran the 1600 in 4:30.52 adding another 8 points while MHEA remained on 79 points. The 79 points led the the way as the sprint events ended. CKY stormed back and took the championship with 92.5 due to CKY’s two boy’s hurdlers combining for an additional 7pts (Zach Dehut 12th grade 47.98 and Jadon Garcia 12th grade 51.12). Little things made a huge difference in the team scores for the event as the boys’ team of the dominant Indianapolis based Indy Genesis squad secured 3rd place for teams.
(incorrect label for events in this video)
HXN Girl’s Division
The girl’s division saw an equally compelling performance from MHEA with two athletes carrying the load for the squad, but that has to be placed on pause as the number one team took 134 points! MHEA may have had two of the best performers with sophomore hurdler and middle-distance runner Emmalee Lentile (a combined 30 points with first place finishes in the High Jump, 100mH and 300mH) and junior sprinter and jumper Hannah Hardaway nabbing another 19 points, but Indy Genesis stormed away with great performances throughout both days.
For every event MHEA performed well in Indy Genesis was right there waiting. Julia Kennedy (11th grade) finished the 300mH in second place with a 52.34 time and chased Emmalee in the 100mH to finish at 17.28. While MHEA had one more medal finish in the High Jump with Victoria Burns (sophomore) taking 3rd place that was one of the few individual medals for MHEA’s girls. They performed well in hurdles and sprint relays, but it wasn’t enough to keep them on pace with the Indianapolis based squad.
Indy Genesis piled up points in Field events with Hanna Gliege, 9th grade, took 3rd in the Shot Put, 3rd in the Discus, and senior Gracie Gliege securing 2nd place in the Long Jump and High Jump. In the running events, as mentioned earlier, Indy Genesis was right there in three events, but once again, in similar fashion to the boy’s squad for MHEA, the distance runners allowed for complete separation from the pack. Actually, Indy Genesis girls across all categories were astounding.
- 3rd place in the 3200
- 1st place and 4th place in the 4 x 800
- 1st place in the 4 x 200 (ahead of MHEA)
- 2nd and 7th in the 1600m
- 1st place in the 4 x 100 (ahead of MHEA)
The third-place team for the girls was the Greenville Hurricanes (South Carolina). Overall, the weekend was masterfully run with parents and volunteers assisting and the combination of public and homeschool administrators coming together to show how collaboration in all aspects of education and sport is key to the success of all student athletes.
Award Ceremony
