Lawrence County girls make history again
Nov. 11—After winning three straight state championships for the first time last year, the Lawrence County Red Devil girls have made history for the second year in a row by taking four consecutive titles at the state cross-country meet in Oakville on Saturday.
They won the Class 5A girls' section of the meet with only a difference of three points (47 to 50) to the nearest competition, Bayside Academy.
"I knew it was going to be real close and it was tight the whole way," said cross-country head coach Stanley Johnson.
Class 5A's No 1. Runner Katie Mae Coan finished off a self described "off year" by placing first in the state race for the Red Devils with a time of 18:33, her nearest competition almost 10 seconds off.
"To get four in a row, that's crazy." Coan said. "This one is really special because I've gotten runner up three years in a row."
The next Red Devil girl to cross the line was Avery Dutton in sixth, followed by Katie Dumas in 12th and Lillie McLemore in 13th.
"I didn't know. I had an inkling that we might have won but I did not know for a long time." Johnson said. "I saw we were up by four, but the timekeeper wouldn't make it official until the last girl had came through."
Even after losing top runners Savannah and Taylor Willaims last year, Lawrence County girls placed five runners in the top 25.
"I told the girls earlier 'You've got to develop your own legacy," Johnson said. "We can't live on the last three years."
Johnson said he couldn't put his feelings into words, that it won't hit him until later.
"We are living at a level we have never been at before," Johnson said.
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Lawrence County boys
The Lawrence County boys took fifth in the Class 5A boys race and made an improvement over last year's ninth place finish.
Blake Graham placed sixth with a time of 16:14 and was the only Red Devil runner to breach the top 10. Next was Cade Padgett who placed 19th, and Kain Parker who crossed the line in 23rd.
"The boys had a lot of momentum, a lot of leadership going into this and their pretty tight knit." Johnson said.
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Hatton boys
The Hatton boys finished runner-up in the 1-2A section of the race by only a difference of four points to Cold Springs High School.
"I think my guys did exactly what they were supposed to do today," Head Coach Brandon Barringer said. "We just came up short."
Carson Masterson was the top Hornet runner in fifth with a time of 16:32, Calob Miley also broke the top 10 placing in eighth. Dakota Kidd and Isaiah Crosslin were both inside the top 15 for the Hornets.
"It was a tough race and we all ran as hard as we could," Masterson said. "I'm proud and this was a good season."
This race marks the end of Barringer's 22-year coaching tenure at Hatton as he plans to retire from coaching following this year.
