The Fannin County High School (FCHS) girls and boys cross country teams returned from state championship competition Friday, November 8, with top 10 finishes.
The girls team was the Runner-up in the Georgia High School Association A-Division 1 meet. The boys squad brought home a seventh place finish in the same division.
Making up the girls team were Lindsey Holloway, Karli Sams, Lila Borum, Kensley Pickelsimer, Sydney Ford, Lana Hicks, Annaleigh Cheatham and Claire Saxon.
Austin Prieto, Hudson Lynch, Rylin Davis, Joe DiBenedetto, Gage Bryan, Henry Schueneman, Gavin Davis, Brady Smith, Aiden Jones, Brodey Angel and Matthew Ponton made up the boys team.
Holloway and Sams continued to capture meet titles as they have done all season.
Holloway finished third, and Sams finished 10th out of 150 runners. Both received medals.
The girls team accomplishments set Fannin County High School records. This is the first state runner-up finish for any girls or boys cross country team in school history. It is also the first time a FCHS girls cross country team has made the podium at a state championship meet.
The boys team made a mark of their own. They were not even ranked at the start of the season, so their seventh place finish is “extremely impressive,” Head Coach Miranda Roof said.
She added, “Going into the season, our girls were ranked in the top four in the state. Although we had several ups and downs this season, our girls rose up and took care of business when it counted. They put a lot of pressure on themselves to deliver, and they all responded beautifully to the pressure at the state championships.”
Assistant Coach Lucas Roof spoke to the competition the teams faced, saying, “The level of competition in A is actually higher than the competition in AA and just as challenging as the competition in AAA. For example, the team that finished third in AA would have finished 8th in A.
Also, if we would have been running in the AAA race, then Holloway would have come away with a state championship. This makes our FCHS girls cross country team’s State Runner Up finish that much more impressive,” he added.
The coaches said jointly, “We are extremely proud of these athletes for their performance at the state championships. We are also proud of their dedication and hard work this season; they certainly put in the work. In the sport of cross country, success is always earned and never given.”