The Tallulah Falls Middle School girls won the 2019 Tri State Cross Country Championships Tuesday at Summit Charter in Cashiers, North Carolina. The team was led by champion Jenna Chesser, fourth-placer Josie Chesser, and sixth-place finisher Maggie Shelton, who didn’t let a recent injury curtail her deep competitiveness. Shelton ran her best race of the season to earn TFS Runner of the Meet honors.
Haygen James placed eighth while Dani Prince ran a personal record to place 13th. Every TFS girl ran a PR on this fast, mostly flat 3k course around the Summit Charter school including Jasmyn Marshall, Carsyn Griffis, and Mallory Higgins.
Blair Moore placed eighth in the boys race with a PR, followed with PRs by QianFeng William Xu (11th), Henry Rickman (17th), and Dalton Geltz (18th). Timothy Beck preceded sixth-grader Charlie Harris, who also ran his best race ever.
Though the week has included heat record forecasts, the 53 harriers scurried under near ideal weather – droplets falling on some as if a lottery winner – like a preposition (“anywhere a mouse can go”) around the field twice before up the road, loop the oval, through the portico, down the hill, on the grass, to the line and through the chute. Cheering onlookers hollered running cliches like Forest Gump were emceeing the race. Post race fruit goodies were had by all, making the banner ceremony even better!
Girls: TFS 11, Highlands 14, Rabun Gap 31, Towns Co 43, Summit 45
Boys: Summit 8, Towns Co, 14, TFS 32, Highlands 41, Rabun Gap did not score
