Emma Woodlee picked up her best state championship finish in her third trip to state.
The Warren County High School junior capped her cross country season Thursday with a 79th-place finish at the TSSAA Class AAA State Championships, completing the 5K course at Shelby Farms Park in 21:00.87. The performance marked a career-best placement at state for Woodlee, who has now qualified for the championship meet in each of her three high school seasons.
Woodlee finished 84th as a freshman in 2024 with a time of 20:56.77 before placing 106th last fall in 21:04.53. While Thursday's time was just over four seconds slower than her freshman performance, she climbed 27 spots from last year's finish and improved five positions on her previous best placement.
Woodlee has been building toward a great final run in the postseason this year, including setting a new school record during a third-place finish at sectionals held at Warren County High School.
That performance punched her ticket to Memphis for the third consecutive year and gave Woodlee an opportunity to finish her junior campaign on the state's biggest stage.
Although she couldn't match her record-setting sectional pace Thursday, Woodlee improved her standing against the state's top Class AAA runners and continued building an impressive high school résumé.
With three state championship appearances, another school record and a full senior season still ahead, Woodlee has established herself as one of Warren County's most accomplished distance runners in recent years.
