Some schools are fortunate enough to have display cases full of state championship trophies.. Fairview, however, hasn't been among them until Saturday when the middle school claimed the TMSAA Class A State Boys Middle School Cross Country title in Clarksville.
Fairview won the meet with just 38 points. Central Magnet was second with 62 points.
"We're pretty elated to say the least," said Falcon coach Preston Brooks. "As far as I know this is the first state championship of any kind that Fairview has ever won at the middle or high school level. Maybe they'll give me a key to the city or something."
"I'm thankful that the TMSAA decided to divide the state meet into two classes because it really gives smaller schools like ourselves a chance to win something. It's tough for a little school to have to compete against the bigger schools who have a lot more students to choose from. This makes it a lot more fun!"
Brooks admitted the state championship wasn't a total surprise.
"We won all but one meet this year, including the sectional," he explained. "I knew we had a chance to win if everything went well."
Brooks said the key to success was hard work and team chemistry.
"The kids ran at least once a week during the summer and in the past they haven't done that," he stated. "And this past month, we added some intervals, and it helped them really improve. We got better and better as the season went on."
William Perry was their top runner. He finished second with a time of 11:21.7. South's Ayden Yates won the race in 11:17.87.
"William had never run before this year, so I thought he did really well," Brooks said. "I can't wait to see what he can do in track." Brooks also coaches FMS track.
Rounding out the top five for the 'Jackets were Mason Dowdy (ninth in 11:35), Jose Perez (ninth in 11:36), Matthew Andrea (15th in 11:53) and Ryan Keeton (21st in 12:13).