By Allen Hamrick
For the first time in school history, the Lady Panther Cross Country team placed in the top ten in the state this past Saturday at the State Cross Country meet held at Cabell-Midland High School. They represented their sport, school and county well and placed 8th as a team. One may not think this is such a great feat, but to go up against the best of the best from all over the state is quite an accomplishment.
These Lady Panthers – Ashley Roberts, Jayda Stricker, Cheyanne Taylor, Abigail Grandon and McKinley Mahan – have had their dogs in the hunt every race, and this event was icing on the cake of a great season. They are still a young group, losing only one to a tax paying society…Ashley Roberts is a Senior and will move on to the next chapter in her life at the end of the school year. All season long, these girls have proven their talents repeatedly and have put this county on the map in the sport of Cross Country.
For the boys, it was Kaden Fitzwater who finished 27th in a field of one hundred of the best runners in the state in AA high schools. The Cross Country boys’ team narrowly missed the cut as a team at the regionals for all runners to go to the state competition. However, Kaden represented the CCHS Panther team very well. He is also a senior, and he, too, will move on to his place in society but not before he set a lofty goal for future cross-country runners at CCHS to reach.
Both the Lady Panthers and the Panther teams had a great year and will only get better as they go. Congratulations to Kaden Fitzwater and Mckinley Mahan for their 27th and 40th place finishes.
