CALEDONIA — Caledonia cross country made waves at the Mississippi High School Activities Association championships last weekend, winning the girls’ Class 4A state championship, with Ella Shepherd finishing first overall in the individual standings.
The boys’ team also produced a strong showing, placing third in the team standings with James Luttrell finishing second overall.
Four runners from the Cavalier girls’ team finished in the top 15 individual standings, the most of any school. Freshman Addie Shepherd was close behind her sister, finishing in third, while Peyton Kielman and Molly Harlow finished in 14th and 15th, respectively.
“Each girl worked very hard this year and did their best,” head coach Michele Shepherd said. “I am so proud of them! They each set personal goals and a team goal at the beginning of the year and worked hard to achieve them. One of the team goals was to win the state championship. They really put in the time and effort to be their best which really paid off for the team as a whole.”
Ella Shepherd was nominated for MileSplit Mississippi Performer of the week in September after a win at the Mooreville XC Invitational, so rounding out the year with a win at the state level wasn’t much of a surprise to her coaches and teammates. Her head coach and mother, Michele, noted the hard work put in by her and the rest of the team going into the meet, recognizing her leadership as well as commitment.
“She said last year that her goal was to come in first this year,” she said of her daughter. “She has spent countless hours training and pushing herself to perform at her highest level alongside the rest of the team. She has mentored her other teammates and encouraged them through her example to try their best and to focus on growth toward a goal, not just the goal itself. I find it fitting that she can celebrate both her growth and her goal this season in her senior year.”
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