TSSAA Spring Fling top moments: Alcoa and Greeneville state track champions, Austin-East soccer upset

MURFREESBORO - Here are some of the biggest moments from Tuesday during the first day of competition at the TSSAA Spring Fling state championships:

Alcoa, Greeneville bring home track and field team titles

It was a big day in track and field for two Knoxville-area boys track and field teams. Alcoa brought home the Class A team championship for the second year in a row, and Greeneville won the Class AA title for the first time since 2014.

Army football commitment Major Newman led the scoring for Alcoa, winning the decathlon last week and placing first Tuesday in the triple jump. He took second in long jump behind teammate Jordan Davis. The Tornadoes also won the 4x800-meter relay.

Jaden Stevenson led the charge for Greeneville, winning the 100, 200 and 400. He also placed second in long jump. Teammate Mason Gudger, a Georgetown football signee, was runner-up in both the 100 and 200.

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Austin-East soccer upset in first round by Red Bank

After winning the program's first state championship in 2021, Austin-East soccer moved up from Class A to AA for 2022. The Roadrunners repeated as district and region champions, but the new classification proved to be a bigger challenge at the state level. Their season ended in a 2-1 loss to Red Bank in the first round.

Masudi Nyembo, the District 4-2A player of the year, scored the lone goal for the Roadrunners, assisted by Lavie Ushindi.

Gatlinburg-Pittman's Stefani Johnson repeats as state champion

Gatlinburg-Pittman junior Stefani Johnson won her second consecutive state title in the 1,600, beating the second place finisher by nearly 11 seconds in 5:36.87. The time was also a season best by nearly two seconds, though she did not match her personal best of 5:27.29 that she ran at the 2021 state championship.

Johnson has not finished lower than fourth in a single race this season, and her victory in the 1,600 helped lead the Highlanders to a third place finish in Class A.

Alcoa softball earns program's first state tournament win

Alcoa softball has reached the state tournament five times since 1983, but it took until 2022 for the Tornadoes to get a win. In its second state appearance since 2019, Alcoa beat Riverside 4-3 in a nine-inning showdown.

Adrianna King led the offensive effort, batting 3-3 with two RBIs, and Dylan Jablonski batted 2-3 and scored two runs. Freshman pitcher Gabby Burkhart, who also tossed the win in the sectional, struck out seven batters in five innings, and senior Cassa Arnold allowed just three hits in four innings.

The Tornadoes, led by Tennessee softball legend Sarah Fekete Bailey, will face Community in the second round of the Class 2A tournament Wednesday.

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Freshman Lacey Keck pitches shutout for Gibbs softball

The biggest stage in high school sports didn't phase Gibbs softball freshman ace in the opening round game against Tennessee High. Keck, who entered the Class 3A state tournament with a 1.31 ERA and 148 strikeouts, allowed three hits in the seven-inning shutout and struck out nine batters to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 victory.

Keck was also a standout at the plate, hitting 2-3 and scoring a run. Senior Gracie Palmer and freshman Maliyah Smith scored the other two runs for Gibbs.

Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA Spring Fling: Top 5 moments from the Knoxville area on Day 1