Top 15 rising high school seniors in Weakley County for the 2025-26 school year

By Michael Odom | July 9, 2025 |

Westview’s Jack Mantooth celebrates after crossing the finish line and winning the Class A 1600-meter run at Middle Tennessee State University.

With dead period coming to a close, athletes are back practicing and getting ready for the 2025-26 athletic season.

Over the month of June, we looked back at what last year brought us with the most memorable games, top coaching jobs, best teams and top athletic performances.

Now, we look toward the upcoming year. Here are the top 15 rising high school seniors in Weakley County for the 2025-26 school year.

1. Jack Mantooth (Westview boys track & field, cross country, boys soccer) – In track & field, Mantooth won two state championships at the Class A state meet in the 1600-meter run and 3200-meter run. In the 1600-meter run, Mantooth finished with a time of 4:31.68, which was 1.38 seconds ahead of Union City’s Woodrow McKinnis. In the 3200-meter run, Mantooth won with a time of 9:38.04, which was 17 seconds ahead of Huntingdon’s Blaine Todd. In cross country, Mantooth finished second in the Class A state meet with a time of 15:45.59, falling to Liberty Creek’s Jaden Hillis by 2.11 seconds. In boys soccer, Mantooth was named the All-Weakley County boys soccer player of the year as he scored nine goals and added seven assists as a midfielder.

2. Easton Sullivan (Greenfield baseball, basketball and football) – Sullivan, a Delta State commitment, will look to help the Yellowjackets make a strong postseason run after he helped the team to a 19-6 record and the No. 1 seed going into the District 14-1A tournament. He was 8-0 on the mound with 50 innings pitched, striking out 99 batters and finishing with a 0.28 ERA. Defensively, he had a .955 fielding percentage. Offensively, he batted .500 with 34 hits, 23 RBI, two triples, nine doubles and three home runs. As the quarterback in football, Sullivan helped lead the Yellowjackets to a five-win season as he threw for 76 yards and five touchdowns to go with 689 rushing yards with nine touchdowns. In basketball, he averaged 11 points, eight rebounds and two assists as the Yellowjackets reached the Region 7-1A quarterfinals.

3. Donteze Joy (Westview football, boys basketball) – Joy excelled in two sports for the Chargers last season. In football, Joy helped lead the Chargers to a 14-win season and a spot in the Class 3A title game with 1,015 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns on 64 receptions to go with four rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown. In basketball, Joy helped lead the Chargers to the Region 7-2A semifinals as he averaged 7.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.

4. Maddie Horton (Westview girls soccer) – Horton helped the Lady Chargers become the first public school program to play for a state championship, and she will try to build on that for next season. She scored 30 goals last season.

5. Drake Lehmkuhl (Gleason boys basketball) – Lehmkuhl was named the All-Weakley County boys basketball player of the year last year for the second straight season. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish in DIstrict 14-1A as he averaged 21.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals.

6. Arden Smith (Westview boys basketball) – Smith joined the Chargers over the summer after transferring in from Dresden. Last season, he helped lead the Lions to a third-place finish in District 14-1A during the regular season as he averaged 18.9 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 1.8 steals.

7. Christopher Damron (Westview football, baseball) – Damron excelled in two sports for the Chargers. In baseball, Damron helped lead the Chargers to their first-ever appearance in the Class 2A state tournament as he batted .406 with 47 total hits – including eight doubles, 11 triples and three home runs – along with 32 RBI and 28 stolen bases. On the football field as a defensive back, he helped the Chargers to a 14-win season and a spot in the Class 3A title game as he recorded 82 total tackles with 28 solo, four tackles for loss, one sack, five interceptions and one forced fumble. He also had 488 receiving yards with six touchdowns.

8. Luke DiPietro (Dresden football) – DiPietro will try to lead the Lions back to the top of Region 7-1A this season as he helped lead the Lions to a five-win season last year as he had 227 carries for 1,363 yards with 12 rushing touchdowns. He also threw for 147 yards and three touchdowns.

9. Landon Carter (Dresden baseball) – Carter helped lead the Lions to a third-place finish in Region 7-1A last season as he batted .531 with 11 doubles, two triples and three home runs to go with 41 RBI and 24 runs. He also picked up four wins on the mound with 32.2 innings pitched, allowing 23 earned runs and striking out 65.

10. Kade Sawyers (Gleason boys basketball) – Sawyers stepped up his game last year and has continued to work on his game. Last season, he helped lead the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish in District 14-1A as he averaged 19.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals.

11. Cevon McMullen (Greenfield football) – As a lineman, McMullen helped the Yellowjackets to a five-win season as he recorded 94 total tackles with 53 solo and 42 assists to go with seven sacks, 14 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.

12. Cooper Allman (Dresden football) – Allman picked up his work load in the second half of the season, and he is primed for a strong senior season. Last year, he helped the Lions to a five-win season as he recorded 78 total tackles with one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also rushed the ball for 281 yards and five touchdowns on 60 carries.

13. Tess Anderson (Westview girls soccer) – Anderson played a key role in the Lady Chargers becoming the first West Tennessee public school to play for a state championship last season. She was an all-state defensive player that finished with 84 steals.

14. Jaqwan Ellison (Dresden football) – As a lineman, Ellison helped the Lions to a five-win season, playing on both sides of the ball. He helped Luke DiPietro run for over 1,300 yards, and he recorded 41 total tackles with 13 tackles for loss, three sacks and one forced fumble. He was also 3-for-4 on 2-point conversions.

15. Sarah Beth Byars (Westview softball) – Byars helped the Lady Chargers to a top-six finish in the Class 2A state tournament last season as she batted .364 with 28 hits, three triples, four doubles, 18 RBI, 23 runs and 18 stolen bases.

Michael Odom is the sports editor for the Mirror-Exchange, Weakley County Press, Brownsville States-Graphic and Fayette Falcon. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @GCSportsWriter. Reach him by email at michaelodom@milanmirrorexchange.com.