2022 was another banner year for sports at Bearden High School – literally – as dance, girls soccer, and girls basketball all won state championships. It was hard to pick just 10 moments, but these were our 10 favorites:

10. Bearden brings powderpuff football back – Powderpuff football made its return to Bearden in April of 2022 with the juniors (Class of 2023) winning the championship by taking down the sophomore and senior teams.

9. Laila Rudolph sets school record for the 100m dash – Laila Rudolph ran a 12.1 at the Volunteer Track Classic. The previous record of 12.19 was set in 2005 by Judy Johnson. Rudolph ended up placing 10th in the state championship in May.

8. Bearden baseball makes it to regionals – The Bearden baseball team made it to the regional round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2014 when Lane Thomas (see No. 6) was a senior at Bearden. The Bulldogs won against Heritage and Hardin Valley in the district tournament before Powell eliminated them 1-0 in a pitchers’ duel in their first region game.

7. Bearden football picks up early season win against Oak ridge – Early on in the 2022 football season, Bearden set the tone for the Josh Jones era with a 14-10 win against Oak Ridge. Kai Ironside and Drew Parrott each rushed for a touchdown to lead the Bulldogs to victory.

6. Media vote BHS alum Lane Thomas as Washington Nationals player of the year – Lane Thomas made his debut with the Washington Nationals in 2021 after stints in both the Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals systems. Thomas was the team’s starting left fielder and was voted by media who cover the team as the Nationals player of the year. In 2022, Thomas had a slugging percentage of .415 and finished the season with 17 home runs. 

5. Bearden softball beats Farragut for the first time since 2015 – Bearden softball had their most successful game in seven years against the Farragut Admirals in April. The Bulldogs won in a close 5-4 game that ended the Admirals 12 game win streak against them. The team finished the regular season second in the district.

4. Bearden dance team wins another national title – Listing a national championship at No. 4 might seem low, but the Bearden dance team has just been so dominant for so long that we decided to put a couple of other programs ahead of them. That does not take away from the historic nature of their accomplishment, as their varsity game day national championship adds yet another trophy to an already overflowing cabinet.

3. Lady Bulldogs repeats as soccer state champions – This is the second consecutive year that the girls soccer team has won the state title. The team won against Houston High School 3-1 in Chattanooga. Breana Mendoza scored the third goal, dribbling in from near the corner flag before unleashing a right-footed strike past the keeper, to secure the Lady Bulldogs’ victory.

2. Brinley Murphy breaks school record with 110 career goals – It was one of those records that was never supposed to fall, but when Brinley Murphy started scoring goals at a ferocious clip as a freshman, it seemed inevitable. It is no secret that Murphy has helped lead the Bearden girls soccer team to victory many times throughout her four-year career. In 2022, she broke the school record for career goals that was previously set by Sam Turner at 94 goals. The South Carolina signee has scored 110 goals total, 41 of them being this year alone.

1. Bearden girls basketball wins first state championship in school history –  After losing in the state quarterfinals in 2021, the Lady Bulldogs not only won the state championship in 2022, but did so against rival Farragut. Avery Treadwell and Bailey Burgess each scored 15 points to lead Bearden to a 52-34 win.

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