Trojan Timing Classic boasts strongest field in decades

The Mountain Empire's premier high school outdoor track and field meet will renew on Friday at Science Hill's Kermit Tipton Stadium. The 46th Trojan Timing Classic — formerly the Times-News/Six Rivers Relays — is celebrating 50 years since its inception in 1976 when founder Ron Bliss and the staff at the newspaper had all of 21 days to prepare for the meet at Sullivan Central. The meet is set to be one of the highest caliber editions since the early 1980s and maybe ever. Last year, five meet records were broken and was the fastest on-average track portion of the meet since before 2000. Nine meet records were broken in 2024, which was the most since 1981. The event has partnered with Up & At 'Em, Inc., a local organization focused on improving the health and well-being of the Tri-Cities community. Up & At 'Em, Inc. also sponsors the Johnson City Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving Day, which regularly draws thousands from the surrounding area and set an attendance record in 2025. The meals for the coaches this year were paid for by Visit Johnson City. BEST OF THE BEST Only the top 16 in each individual event and the top nine relays gain entrance into the event. Laned track events — except relays — will feature two sections while distance events (1,600-meter run and further) will feature one section. All field events will be one flight. The meet traditionally brings together the best of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia to go head-to-head in a late-season "all star" showcase that was the vision of Bliss 50 years ago. The meet has expanded to Western North Carolina in the last few years and has benefited greatly as teams like Watauga (Boone), A.C. Reynolds (Asheville) and Swain County (Bryson City) are making return trips back over the mountain for the meet. This year, two more North Carolina schools are set to be represented as North Buncombe (Weaverville) and Asheville High registered for the meet. The meet will feature 49 schools — a representation record — from three states and over 600 athletes vying to go down in the annals of history in the area's most prestigious event. The meet will start at 3:30 p.m. with the girls pole vault competition and a new event to the meet this year — the 2,000-meter steeplechase. The rest of the field events will start at 4:30 p.m. Running events will get started at 5:30 p.m. with another new event — the mixed 4x400-meter relay. Admission to the event is $7, and concessions will be available on-site. RECORDS UNDER THREAT? The meet is loaded on the girls side in both the running and field events. On the oval, University High sprinting star Dalencia Kittrell — a Lipscomb signee — will take aim at winning the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash for a second straight year. Last year, she became the first girl to do it at the meet since 1987. Her coaches have communicated that Kittrell will be taking on the hallowed hand-held meet records, all of which have been standing since the mid-1980s. In the field, Watauga senior standout Lily Stough, a North Carolina State commit, is seeded beyond the meet record in the triple jump with an impressive mark of 40 feet, one-half inch. She is currently tied for eighth nationally in the event. Also watch for Elizabethton junior Liahna Nave in the shot put and discus. She's seeded beyond the meet record in the discus and is barely off the mark in the shot put. The meet record in the shot put has been standing since 1989, having not been relatively threatened since it was set. The high jump will also be rather interesting as Stough and Daniel Boone basketball star Aaliyah Story will both have a chance at the meet record that has been standing since 1986. For the boys, the highlight sprinting event should be the 100 as Watauga's Nile Peays, A.C. Reynolds' Tremaine Keeter and Morristown West's Matthew Victory are all seeded under or near the meet record. The premier event for boys distance is the 800 as each entry into the meet is seeded better than 2:03. The fastest section has seven of the nine entrants faster than 2:00. In the field, Morristown West's Victory is seeded better than the long-standing meet record in the long jump and each entry has a season-best of 21 feet. The other boys field event to keep an eye on is the high jump. Sullivan East's Carter Malone has been on a tear lately, winning all seven of his meets this year, including last weekend's Volunteer Track Classic in Knoxville. That meet record has been standing since 1999 and could be under threat for the first time in many years.