PREP SPORTS: St. Bernard’s Guthery signs with Lee
Caleb Guthery simply couldn’t wait to cross the finish line on Thursday.
The St. Bernard senior happily and readily put pen to paper on a cross country and track scholarship with Lee University, where he’ll join his older brother, Casey, beginning in 2020.
Guthery was accompanied by family, friends, coaches, teammates and school administrators.
The Division II Flames compete in the Gulf South Conference. The school is located in Cleveland, Tenn.
“First of all, to God be the glory for everything he’s done for me in my life — putting me in a situation where I can make a decision like this,” Guthery said. “Every little kid who does any sport hopes one day they’ll carry it on to middle school, high school and then to college. That’s always the dream. Seeing all the work I’ve done lead to one point, where it is now, is awesome. And honestly, it just makes me want to work harder and harder. There’s always another level to get to. This is just another chapter.”
Guthery won six cross country meets this fall and 10 over his impressive career — same as big brother.
He also finished third at the Class 3A state meet earlier this month.
In track, Guthery helped the Saints secure a Red Map trophy in Class 1A following a pair of gold-medal performances in the 800-meter and 3,200-meter runs, respectively, at the state meet last spring.
And that’s just in 2019.
According to coach William Calvert, Guthery is one of the top runners to come through St. Bernard.
“He’s contributed to several championships, and he’s done that since eighth grade, which is hard to do for boys,” Calvert said. “He’s an example of someone with great talent and a great work ethic. He’s worked hard for everything he’s accomplished. I’m very proud of him and excited that he’s going to get to run with his brother again at a great program. We’re going to miss him, because he’s become a great leader for us. But he’ll be cheering us on, and we’ll be cheering him on.”
Casey Guthery was an accomplished runner himself at St. Bernard before graduating in 2017.
The redshirt sophomore has been one of Lee’s most consistent runners this season and contributed to the team’s second-place performances at the Gulf South Conference Championship and Division II South Region Championships. He and the Flames will be competing in the Division II National Championships in Sacramento, Calif. this weekend.
Caleb Guthery is ready to join in the fun next fall.
“I don’t know if we’ll be racing the same distances, but I always have a little chip on my shoulder to get where he’s at,” he said. “He’s always been just a little bit ahead of me, but I feel like I’m getting closer to evening the gap out. Hopefully in track I’ll beat some of his records, and then I’ll talk a little trash to him. Then it’s just more work and more work to get where he’s at now. That’s not the only fuel in my fire, but that’s definitely part of it.”