How Tennessee's best distance runners Abby Faith Cheeseman, Claire Stegall inspire each other

Abby Faith Cheeseman looked like she still had plenty of energy only an hour after running the fastest 1,600 meters of her life. She didn't have much time to waste.

It's demanding enough to cheer on Claire Stegall, let alone compete with her, but Cheeseman is capable of both.

Cheeseman caught Stegall 500 meters into her 800-meter race at the Great Eight Invitational on Thursday before darting through a crowded infield to the other side of track to shout more words of encouragement at Stegall, who crossed the finish line seconds later with a personal best of her own.

The 2:05.51 was the second personal best of the meet for Stegall, who ran a 4:35.36 in the 1,600. The Nolensville junior already held state records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, and lowered the first two even further with the third-fastest 800 and fourth-fastest 1,600 in the nation this spring. In one of the fastest 800-meter fields in Tennessee this spring, no one came within 10 seconds of Stegall.

Cheeseman, in her only race of the evening, finished in 4:42.24 in the 1,600. The Webb School - Bell Buckle junior, a four-time TSSAA cross country champion, was 17 seconds faster than third-place Morgan Bissonnette of Green Hill.

"I was hoping to maybe be a little closer to Claire," Cheeseman said. "But she's a really, really great athlete, and it was really just awesome to be out there and chasing her."

Cheeseman and Stegall don't get to race or even see each other often, since their schools are in different classifications and they live an hour apart.

But over the last year, they've gotten to know each other through national events like the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships and New Balance Nationals. Conversations about their recruitments, their shared Christian faith and life in general have led to a budding friendship between the two fastest Tennessee high school girls distance runners.

"(Cheeseman)'s awesome, super talented, a great person," Stegall said. "... Just knowing that someone's behind me and chasing me, it's a little more fun and more competitive."

In February, Cheeseman and Stegall both signed Name, Image and Likeness deals with New Balance. Cheeseman's father Ken, Webb's headmaster and an assistant track coach, said they've gone on "at least one" recruiting trip together, and have done a photo shoot together for New Balance as well.

"It's super fun seeing (Cheeseman) there and getting to race her and see another familiar face, a girl from Tennessee," Stegall said.

Cheeseman and Stegall likely won't go head-to-head again until New Balance Outdoor Nationals in June. For now, both are focusing on reaching peak shape for the postseason, including the TSSAA state meet in Murfreesboro and beyond.

Stegall, last season's Class AAA state champ in the 1,600, dealt with a cuboid bone stress fracture this winter, which was aggravated by a fall at Foot Locker National Championships in December. She took a month and a half off from running, incorporating swimming midway through that break, and since then has slowly built up from under 10 miles a week to about 28.

MORE: TSSAA track and field: 10 Nashville area boys, girls athletes to watch in 2024

"My dad (Nolensville assistant coach Joseph Stegall) was telling me, don't count yourself out on PRs," Stegall said. "Even if you're hurt and not ready yet, we're racing for June, those are still really possible. I'm honestly surprised that I'm at this point. If you had told me a few months ago that I would have already beat my PRs from last year, I'd probably be shocked."

Cheeseman, the defending DII-A champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, currently runs about 25 to 30 miles a week and swims as cross-training. While her training regimen is similar to Stegall's, the two have different strengths. Stegall prefers the 1,600, while the greater the distance, the more Cheeseman excels. She won the 5,000 at New Balance Indoor Nationals in March with a time of 16:19.82 — 33 seconds ahead of second place.

"(Stegall) has a little bit more of that speed factor, and I'm usually geared a little bit more towards the longer stuff," Cheeseman said. "... It's good to be able to see her faster side and be inspired by that. Hopefully I'm pushing her as well."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA track: Abby Faith Cheeseman, Claire Stegall budding friendship