Memphis at Spring Fling: Eight things to watch

Spring Fling, the annual championships for high school spring sports, gets underway Monday in Murfreesboro with competition in the decathlon and pentathlon. And as usual, Shelby County athletes and teams will be in the mix to take home plenty of hardware.

Here's a look at some of the top storylines to follow this week.

Division 2-A domination

You could easily call the Division 2-A baseball and soccer tournaments "The Shelby County Invitational." Three of the final four teams in each sport hail from Memphis: ECS, Harding and St. George's on the diamond and ECS, Lausanne and St. George's on the pitch. University School of Jackson makes it four West Tennessee teams in baseball, which will certainly save time going over scouting reports.

More:Memphis-area Spring Fling participants

Austin's the idol

Calvin Austin has made the spectacular look routine during his time at Harding but the senior outdid himself at last week's West Regionals, setting meet records in winning the 100, 200 and 400. He'll be looking to defend his D2-A title in all three races this week and will also run the anchor leg on Harding's 800-meter relay team which has the top time in the state.

The need for speed

Last week's AAA sectional boys 100 meters was something special with the top nine finishers all breaking 11 seconds. The top four — Central's Rashad Haynes (10.47); Cordova's Isaiah Norman (10.65); Melrose's DeQuan Dallas (10.71) and Whitehaven's Kedrin Jefferson (10.81) — along with Ravenwood's Elijah Dryer (10.80) should make the final memorable.

Rhodes to victory

There can't be many competitors this week with better motivation than Kiara Rhodes of two-time defending champion Whitehaven. The University of Tennessee signee lost last year's AAA decathlon by just one measly point. Her qualifying score was almost 400 points better than the next participant and she'll also be favored in the 100 hurdles, an event in which she held the fastest time in the nation at one point earlier this year.

Houston on a high

Speaking of motivation, Houston's soccer team has played with a purpose after a disappointing loss in last year's AAA semifinals. USA Today's third-ranked team has steel in the midfield, plenty of attacking verve and a defense that has conceded just seven goals in 19 matches. The Mustangs' arch-rival Collierville is also in the field and by rule those two could only meet in the final since both come from Region 8.

Rising star

Those in the know think Collierville's Sneha Sinha has a chance to rank among the finest female tennis players the area has produced. She lost in the AAA title match as a sophomore in 2016 and enters this week's tournament after two strong performances in winning the district and region titles.

More:TSSAA's Spring Fling schedule

Best of enemies

MUS has won 16 state tennis titles, more than any other school in Tennessee. Chattanooga Baylor has 15 and is the defending champion. And there's no love lost between these two either, which means a meeting in Wednesday's final would be a doozy. Chattanooga McCallie and Montgomery Bell Academy round out the D2-AA field, marking the eighth straight year these teams have comprised the final four.

Eagle up!

O.J. Simpson was still a popular ex-football player, "Pulp Fiction" topped the box office and Hakeem Olujawon met Patrick Ewing in the NBA Finals in 1994, which was also the last time St. Benedict missed a state softball tournament. The Eagles are making their 22nd straight appearance in D2-AA this week, the longest current consecutive streak of any TSSAA team in any sport.

Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas.