STATE HONORS

Fannin cross country individuals, teams bring home AA titles

  • Zechariah Prater won the state championship in the boys cross country race this past Saturday.
    Zechariah Prater won the state championship in the boys cross country race this past Saturday.
  • Koen Verner finished the boys cross country race in fourth place.
    Koen Verner finished the boys cross country race in fourth place.
  • Lindsey Holloway finished second in the state cross country meet Saturday.
    Lindsey Holloway finished second in the state cross country meet Saturday.
  • Shown on the podium celebrating their fourth place finish in the Cross Country State Championships are, from left, coach Suzianne Pass, Koen Verner, Zechariah Prater, Luke Callihan, Conner Kyle, Rylin Davis, Gage Bryan, Mason Sandefer, coach Miranda Roof, and coach Lucas Roof.
    Shown on the podium celebrating their fourth place finish in the Cross Country State Championships are, from left, coach Suzianne Pass, Koen Verner, Zechariah Prater, Luke Callihan, Conner Kyle, Rylin Davis, Gage Bryan, Mason Sandefer, coach Miranda Roof, and coach Lucas Roof.
  • The Lady Rebels finished fifth in Georgia in the Cross Country State Championships held this past Saturday in Carrollton. Shown are, from left, front row, Jaclyn Cracknell, Shaylee Jones, Olivia Temples, and Kristin Cipich; and, back, Kensley Picklesimer, Karli Sams, Annaleigh Cheatham, Lindsey Holloway, Sydney Ford, and Makaylee Clore.
    The Lady Rebels finished fifth in Georgia in the Cross Country State Championships held this past Saturday in Carrollton. Shown are, from left, front row, Jaclyn Cracknell, Shaylee Jones, Olivia Temples, and Kristin Cipich; and, back, Kensley Picklesimer, Karli Sams, Annaleigh Cheatham, Lindsey Holloway, Sydney Ford, and Makaylee Clore.

    Zechariah Prater made history for Fannin County High School this past Saturday when he became the first runner, male or female, to win a state championship.

    Prater was not alone securing his place in the history book as Koen Verner  finished in fourth place and the Rebels cross country team combined for a third place finish in the state.

    On the girls side of the cross country team, Lindsey Holloway finished second in the state and the Lady Rebels placed fifth in Georgia.

    The Rebels and Lady Rebels cross country team competed in the AA State Championship at Carrollton High School.

    The Rebels started off the morning at 9:30 and they started off on fire.  The Rebels had their top seven runners in the starting box alongside the top 202 best runners in the state’s AA classification.

    Senior Zechariah Prater was predicted to win the race and did exactly that.  He started out strong and led the entire race and finished in 16:23. He is the first male or female to win a Cross Country Individual State Championship for Fannin County and he did so in dominant fashion.

    The next runner from Athens Academy was 20 seconds behind in second place.  Freshman Koen Verner was 29 seconds behind and finished in fourth place.  Verner started out strong and finished strong.  Fannin’s third finisher was senior Luke Callihan who finished in 29th place with a strong time of 17:59.

    The next runner to cross the finish line for Fannin County was freshman Rylin Davis who finished in 50th place with a great time of 18:46.

    Sophomore Gage Bryan rounded out the top five for the Rebels in 19:13 in 62nd place.

    Freshman Mason Sandefer was in 91st place with a time of 19:58 and sophomore Conner Kyle finished in 112th place with a time of 20:14.  Each runner was given a goal and not only did they meet their goal they exceeded it and together they earned a spot on the podium and finished in third  place out of 31 total teams.  This is the best finish for a Fannin County cross country team.  Last year the team finished fourth and graduated two strong runners, Sam Jabaley and James Kyle, and had a few others not return this season.

    Fannin County Middle School provided the team with some strong freshman runners and they just reloaded for this season.   The team also has a strong reserve of runners who were there in Carrollton cheering the team on.  “All 13 boys worked very hard this season and the coaches and the school is very proud of them for the hardwork and dedication to the program,” head coach Suzianne Pass said.

    The Lady Rebels ran immediately after the boys race on Saturday.  The Lady Rebels competed against 27 teams with 178 total runners.

    Junior Lindsey Holloway was predicted to be a top five finisher and she did not disappoint. Holloway finished in second place with a time of 20:01. This is the highest finish for any girl at the state meet in school history. Freshman Sydney Ford was in 18th place with an amazing time of 22:07.

    Senior Olivia Temples crossed the finish line next in 40th place with a time of 23:25.

    Freshman Kensley Picklesimer was not far behind with a time of 23:54 in 52nd place.

    Freshman Annaleigh Cheatham crossed next in 81st place with a time of 25:05.

    Senior Shaylee Jones finished in 88th place with a time of 25:33.

    Sophomore runner Karli Sams was unable to finish the race due to an injury.

    The Lady Rebels finished in 5th place.  “All of the girls ran as hard as they could and made everyone very proud of them,” Pass said.

    Shaylee Jones, Olivia Temples and Kristin Cipich, who was unable to compete in the state due to an injury, are the lone seniors on the team this year.

    “I am so proud of these kids. They have worked very hard this season. Every kid had preseason goals and they went after them. They have made me proud, the school proud and the community. Running is used as a punishment in most other sports. These kids love to run and want to get faster each day. We are losing some very important seniors but I know we will reload and be ready to compete again next year,” Pass said.